The July Tech Stock Pullback: Which Funds Are Paying the Price for Buying High?
In July, China's technology stocks experienced a sharp correction, causing significant pain for actively managed mutual funds that aggressively increased their holdings in the sector during the second quarter.
The sell-off saw major indices like the ChiNext and STAR 50 fall over 25% and 28% for the month, respectively. Funds that piled into tech at its June peak faced steep losses. Notably, several veteran "value investor" fund managers, known for long-term holdings in consumer staples, made dramatic shifts. Star managers like Zhang Kun (E Fund Blue Chip Selected) and Liu Yanchun (Invesco Great Wall Dingyi) drastically reduced positions in liquor stocks like Kweichow Moutai, switching instead to semiconductor and AI hardware companies like SMIC and Ingenic International.
Data shows active equity funds' allocation to the electronics sector reached a historical high of 42.64% by end-Q2. Around 67 funds saw their TMT (Technology, Media, Telecom) weighting surge from an average of 6.75% to 54.99%. The consequences were severe in July: these high-TMT funds fell an average of over 20%, with 12 plunging more than 40%. Examples include Jinhua High-Quality Growth and Guoshou Anbao Wenhui, which fell 26.34% and nearly 40% respectively after raising TMT weights above 70%.
The article also highlights issues of "style drift," where funds with names like "high-dividend" held high-P/E tech stocks instead, confusing investors. Newly launched funds suffered even more. For instance, Guotai Haitong New Energy RuiXuan Hybrid, launched in mid-June, saw its net asset value plummet to 0.5509 yuan by July 30, a loss of nearly 45%.
Analysts note the extreme sector concentration mirrored past bubbles (e.g., 2021 new energy). The intense, crowded trade itself became a major risk. While tech stocks rebounded sharply on July 31, the funds that chased the high face a longer-term market test.
marsbit08/04 04:45
