Who are the top picks for insurance capital’s equity allocations—heavily positioned in bank stocks and adding more exposure to the new-quality productive forces sector?

As typical “patient capital,” the investment moves of insurance funds have long drawn considerable attention from the market. With A-share listed companies gradually disclosing their 2025 annual reports, the latest information on the insurance funds’ largest concentrated holdings has also been released. According to Wind data, as of April 2, among listed companies that have already disclosed their 2025 annual reports, there are 254 A-share listed companies in which insurance funds hold concentrated positions; among them, banking is the industry with the largest number of holdings by insurance funds, and in addition, transportation and communications are also drawing attention.

Industry insiders say that in an environment of “asset scarcity,” high-dividend stocks represented by bank shares offer both stable distributions and valuation-repair potential, and therefore have attracted concentrated holdings by insurance funds. Recently, executives of multiple listed insurance companies have publicly said they will continue to prudently allocate to high-dividend, low-volatility dividend/low-beta income assets.

More Investment in the Peer Industry

As a typical representative of high-dividend, high-distribution stocks, bank shares have long been a key allocation target for insurance funds. Judging from listed companies that have already disclosed their 2025 annual reports, as of the 2025 fourth quarter, among the individual stocks held in concentrated fashion by insurance funds, bank shares rank near the top.

Specifically, according to Wind data, as of April 2, after excluding China Ping An’s holdings in Ping An Bank and China Life Group’s holdings in China Life, among the top 10 stocks by market value held by insurance funds, 7 are bank stocks. They are China Merchants Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Industrial Bank, Huaxia Bank, China Minsheng Bank, and Postal Savings Bank of China; the other three are China Unicom, China Ping An, and China Telecom.

Why have bank shares become insurance funds’ “favorite”? Economist and new financial expert Yu Fenghui said insurance funds favor bank and communications stocks primarily based on the stability and high-dividend characteristics of these two categories. Banks, as a core part of the financial system, play an essential role in the economy; their profit-making model is mature and has strong resilience to risk, providing investors with stable dividend returns. Meanwhile, in the backdrop of accelerated digital transformation, the communications industry has long-term growth potential.

It is worth noting that since last year, investment by insurance funds in their peer institutions has also become increasingly common. Previously, China Ping An had acquired stakes in China Life’s H shares twice. In China Ping An’s 2025 annual report, “China Life Insurance Company Limited—Traditional—Ordinary Insurance Products—005L-CT001 Shanghai” has entered China Ping An’s top ten shareholders list, ranking tenth, holding China Ping An A shares at a proportion of 1.14%. Industry insiders frankly said that insurance stocks are a typical high-interest-rate category, which also reflects that the long-term development prospects and investment value of leading insurance companies have been recognized by their peers.

Focus on the New Quality Productive Forces Sector

In 2025, benefiting from strong performance on the investment side, many insurance companies achieved better-than-expected results. In 2026 and even throughout the entire “15th Five-Year Plan period,” where will insurance funds focus their investments?

Based on statements from various institutions, allocating early to sectors related to the new quality productive forces will be a consensus among leading insurance companies. “Equity investment is the decisive factor for stabilizing and improving investment performance. We will continue to pursue progress while maintaining stability, keep focusing on the allocation of high-dividend stocks, and at the same time, concentrate on the research of growth opportunities embedded in the ‘14th Five-Year Plan’ outline, and strengthen research on key industries and key areas of industry.” That was said by Cai Zhiwei, deputy general manager of PICC, regarding the direction of the upcoming equity investments.

“For patient capital with a long investment cycle, the most important thing is to stay aligned with the direction of the country’s economic development.” At the company’s performance briefing, Guo Xiaotao, Co-CEO of China Ping An, said the company’s investment approach is to find certainty amid uncertainty. New quality productive forces are a certainty factor; strong development of infrastructure is a certainty factor; overall national economic development is a certainty factor; high dividend plus a strong financial country is a certainty factor; and a Healthy China is a certainty factor. These are all important directions for long-term investment asset allocation.

Liu Hui, deputy general manager and Chief Investment Officer of China Life, summarized three directions for the company’s investment: first, seize the opportunity, firmly go long on Chinese assets, and capture the era’s alpha brought by the new quality productive forces. Second, act in line with the trend, adhere to long-termism, and plan strategically with a long-term perspective. The investment centers on a clearly defined strategic asset allocation “center of gravity” and does not deviate from the liability characteristics. Third, respond to the trend appropriately, and conduct flexible tactical adjustments and strategy optimization.

Behind the strategy, which specific sectors are expected to receive additional accumulation by insurance funds? Yu Fenghui predicts that quality enterprises in areas such as infrastructure construction, public utilities (such as electricity and water utilities), consumer goods (especially essential consumption goods), and pharmaceutical and healthcare are expected to see additional allocation by insurance funds. Companies in these areas typically have stable cash flows and sustainable profitability, and can provide relatively generous cash dividends, aligning with insurance funds’ investment philosophy of pursuing steady returns. At the same time, with support from national policy direction, leading companies in these industries will be more certain in their future development, and are also more aligned with insurance funds’ investment strategy as “patient capital.”

Beijing Business Daily reporter Li Xiumei

(Editor: Qian Xiaorui)

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