900 billion yuan in incremental funds enter the market! Public funds focus on two main themes

The Year of the Horse Market Opening is imminent, and public funds are preparing to continue increasing their positions.

According to statistics from Securities China, the two main categories of public funds entering the market at the start of the Year of the Horse are stock ETFs and emerging active equity funds established before the Spring Festival that are awaiting position building. Together, their total scale exceeds 90 billion yuan. Public market forecasts suggest that the A-share market in the Year of the Horse is expected to present a richer main theme lineup and a more balanced structure. “Technology growth” and “China’s advantages” are the two core themes, with a firm outlook on the long-term upward trend of the entire tech industry led by AI, as well as globally competitive Chinese manufacturing.

ETF Positions Rapidly Increasing Upon Market Entry

The first category of public funds entering the market in the Year of the Horse is stock ETFs. According to Wind data, as of February 14, three ETFs are scheduled to list during the first week of the Year of the Horse, namely the E Fund CSI All Share Dividend Quality ETF, Hu’an CSI Nonferrous Metals Mining Theme ETF, and Guotai Hang Seng Biotech ETF. The combined initial investment exceeds 1 billion yuan, with listing dates on February 24, 26, and 26 respectively.

Additionally, six ETFs were recently established in mid-February, with their market entry dates to be confirmed after the market opens. Based on their establishment scale, these six ETFs have a combined scale of nearly 3 billion yuan. Most of these are thematic ETFs, such as the Hengsheng Biotech ETF established by GF Fund and Morgan Fund, with a total scale of over 800 million yuan. Bosera Fund established the CSI Industrial Nonferrous Metals Theme ETF and CSI Photovoltaic Industry ETF, with a combined fundraising of over 500 million yuan. Furthermore, E Fund established the Hengsheng A-shares Power Grid Equipment ETF, and ICBC Credit Suisse launched the CSI All Share Electric Power Utility ETF.

In total, the nine stock ETFs are expected to have a market entry scale of about 3 billion yuan. Individual investors are the main force entering ETFs in the Year of the Horse, with many products having over 90% of their shares held by individuals. For example, the Guotai Hang Seng Biotech ETF listed on February 24 shows individual investors holding 288 million shares, accounting for over 95% of the total fund shares. Among the top ten shareholders of this ETF, 12 holders are listed, with 10 being individual investors. Similarly, the Hu’an CSI Nonferrous Metals Mining Theme ETF listed on February 26 has individual investors holding 460 million shares, representing 83.85% of the total. The GF Fund’s CSI All Share Dividend Quality ETF, also listed on February 26, has over 95% of its shares held by individuals.

Looking at ETFs that were close to listing before the Spring Festival, related funds have rapidly increased their positions to prepare for the Year of the Horse market. For example, the Wanjia Guozheng New Energy Vehicle Battery ETF listed on February 12 had a stock position of less than 20% as of February 5. By February 11, just before listing, the proportion of assets invested in the underlying index components and alternatives reached 96.94% of the fund’s net asset value. Similarly, the Yongying CSI Livestock Breeding Industry ETF, also listed on February 12, had a stock position of less than 10% as of February 5, increasing to 98.51% of net asset value by February 11.

Emerging Active Equity Funds Building Positions for Market Entry

The second category of public funds entering the market in the Year of the Horse comprises active equity funds established at the end of the year or early in the new year, currently in the position-building phase. Wind data shows that as of February 14, there are 112 equity funds (including general stock funds and partial equity hybrid funds, excluding asset management transition funds) established since December 2025, with a total fundraising of approximately 88.75 billion yuan.

Specifically, 29 funds have raised over 1 billion yuan each. Among them, GF Research Intelligence Select, Huabao Advantage Industry, and Yinhua Smart Share have raised over 5 billion yuan each, at 7.221 billion, 5.777 billion, and 5.099 billion yuan respectively, with effective investor accounts of 78,500, 61,300, and 50,400. Additionally, five funds—Morgan Shanghai-Hong Kong-Shenzhen Technology, GF Quality Selection, GF Growth Return, E Fund Balanced Selection, and Invesco Great Wall Prosperity Drive—have each raised over 3 billion yuan.

In terms of investment focus, these emerging funds include both broad-market allocation products and many industry-themed funds. For example, technology-focused funds include Ping An Semiconductor Leading Selection, Shangyin Technology Pioneer, and Bank of China Pioneer Semiconductor; consumer-focused funds include Dongfanghong Consumer Research Selection, Wanjia Consumer Opportunities, and Taixin Consumer Selection; pharmaceutical-focused funds include E Fund Hong Kong Stock Connect Pharmaceuticals, China Merchants Pharma Quantitative Stock Selection, Hongde Pharma Selection, and CITIC Prudential Pharma Selection. There are also thematic funds targeting digital economy (Fuguo Digital Economy) and low-carbon economy (Dongxing Low Carbon Economy).

As of the close on February 14, these newly established funds have shown generally small net value fluctuations, still in the early stages of position building, with most of the raised capital yet to be invested. Specifically, the average return since inception for the 112 funds is 1.16%, with a median of -0.03%. GF Research Intelligence Select, established on January 20, has a return of -0.9% since inception. Bank of China Pioneer Semiconductor, established on January 15, has a return of 1.08%. China Europe Value Select, established on January 23, has a return of -0.3%. Wanjia Consumer Opportunities, established on January 29, has a return of -0.59%.

Core Themes for the Year of the Horse

Looking ahead to investment in the Year of the Horse, Chen Heng, fund manager of Huashang Xin’an Flexible Allocation Hybrid Fund, believes that 2025 will see two main themes—nonferrous metals and AI—driving strong performance throughout the year. As the market’s valuation dynamics adjust and industry logic continues to evolve, other sectors with high cost-performance ratios are gradually emerging, and the A-share market is expected to present a richer main theme lineup and a more balanced structure.

Chen Heng states that benefiting from global demand and valuation reappraisal, the risk-reward ratio of nonferrous metals remains attractive. He also pays close attention to sectors such as power equipment, chemicals, and aerospace: power equipment represents China’s new core competitiveness in manufacturing, is an essential energy “utensil” for AI, and a main force in “going global”; the chemical sector is expected to benefit from revaluation of commodities, leading to both profit and valuation growth; the aerospace industry is poised for supply-demand improvements and a recovery in prosperity. He plans to continue monitoring the fundamentals and valuation alignment of these sectors to identify medium- and long-term growth opportunities.

Peng Xinyang, manager of Huashang Industry Upgrade Hybrid Fund, states that under the catalysis of concentrated global capital, computing power, and talent, AI is rapidly iterating and breaking through. He remains optimistic about AI leading the long-term upward trend of the entire tech industry. With vast application scenarios and a robust industrial ecosystem, Chinese AI is expected not only to catch up quickly in technology but also to have unique advantages in application-driven breakthroughs. On the supply side, continuous innovation and a long-term approach will help domestic computing power systems mature and grow.

Regarding the semiconductor sector, Xiao Ruojin, manager of Bosera Digital Economy Hybrid Fund, believes that from an industry development perspective, China has entered a harvest cycle of domestic semiconductor technological innovation. Continued investment in key processes, equipment, and materials is expected to yield significant breakthroughs, enhancing the overall strength of China’s semiconductor industry chain and creating many investment opportunities. She maintains a positive outlook on China’s semiconductor industry, planning to continue overweighting key processes, equipment, and materials for domestic innovation, as well as AI chips and storage chips, in the first quarter of 2026, while underweighting power semiconductors driven by new energy demand.

Li Kunyuan, executive general manager of Manulife Fund’s Equity Investment Department, states that future focus will be on the two core themes of “technology growth” and “China’s advantages,” with particular attention to the following structural opportunities: first, the AI industry wave—from the certainty of overseas computing infrastructure to the explosive opportunities in domestic computing industry chains, and to terminal innovations like robotics and intelligent driving, as well as AI applications across industries; second, globally competitive Chinese manufacturing, including leading enterprises in new energy, electronics, and machinery with technological advantages and cost competitiveness; third, sectors with potential fundamental turning points, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and military industries that have attractive valuations after long adjustments, as well as high-quality companies in cyclically bottomed sectors.

(Article source: Securities China)