In the first half of the year, private equity held over 1.2 billion shares of ETFs listed this year.

ETFs are becoming the new favorite for private equity institutions to allocate assets.

As of June 30, 2026, in the first half of the year, products under 95 private equity institutions appeared on the top 10 holder lists of 106 ETFs established in the first half, holding a total of 1.21B shares.

Among them, 44 ETFs received key allocations from private equity institutions, with private equity holdings of no less than 10 million shares each, and 11 of them had private equity holdings of no less than 30 million shares. The "Kechuang AI ETF Southern" under China Southern Asset Management attracted allocations from three private equity firms: Zhongyi Asset, Shanghai Binghao Private Equity, and Jiupeng Asset, with a total holding of 51.9 million shares. Next is the "Securities ETF GF" under GF Fund, which saw allocations from five private equity firms including Qilin Investment and Tote (Sanya) Private Equity, both with over 42.97M in scale, holding a total of 48.8989 million shares. Third is the "Home Appliances ETF ChinaAMC" under China Asset Management, with four private equity firms including Shanghai Hexi Private Equity, Shanghai Binghao Private Equity, Ancheng Shuying, and Zhongyi Asset holding a total of 42.968 million shares.

"ETFs offer one-click diversified holdings, becoming an important tool to replace individual stocks. For private equity firms pursuing absolute returns, ETFs can also provide market average returns, effectively strengthening the safety cushion of the base position," said Li Chunyu, FOF fund manager at Rongzhi Investment under the PaiPaiWang Group. Subjective private equity firms use sector-themed ETFs to quickly express their views on specific tracks, while quantitative private equity firms utilize premium/discount arbitrage or stock replacement to reduce costs.

Overall, private equity institutions showed a strong willingness to allocate to Hong Kong stocks. In the first half of the year, private equity institutions appeared on the top 10 holder lists of 19 ETFs with names containing "Hengsheng" or "Hong Kong stocks," holding a total of 233 million shares, accounting for 19.19% of the total shares. Among them, 8 Hong Kong stock ETFs had private equity holdings of no less than 10 million shares.

ETFs with high "tech" content were sought after by private equity institutions. In the first half of the year, private equity institutions held a total of 18 ETFs with names containing "Kechuang" or "Technology," holding 180 million shares, accounting for 14.83% of the total shares. Among them, 5 ETFs with high tech content had private equity holdings of no less than 10 million shares.

According to data from PaiPaiWang, in the first half of the year, 30 private equity managers held no less than 10 million shares of ETFs established this year. Among them, 10 were large-scale private equity firms with assets over 5 billion, 12 were medium-scale private equity firms with assets between 1 billion and 5 billion, and 8 were small-scale private equity firms with assets under 1 billion.

Zhufeng Asset appeared on the top 10 holder lists of 21 ETFs established this year in the first half, holding a total of 144 million shares, ranking first. These included "Nonferrous Metals ETF Huaan," "Grain ETF ChinaAMC," "Hong Kong Stock Connect Information Technology ETF China Universal," "Nonferrous Metals ETF E Fund," and "Automobile ETF Southern."

Zhongyi Asset held 8 ETFs established this year in the first half, including "Kechuang AI ETF Southern," "Farming ETF Yongying," "Home Appliances ETF Hwabao," "Hong Kong Medical ETF Yinhua," and "Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect ETF Boshi," with a total holding of 141 million shares.

Three large private equity firms with over 10 billion in scale—Qilin Investment, Luoshu Investment, and Tote (Sanya) Private Equity—showed high enthusiasm for ETF allocations, holding 60.0034 million, 49.9781 million, and 41.8996 million shares of ETFs established this year, respectively. Among them, Qilin Investment appeared on the top 10 holder lists of 8 ETFs established this year, including "Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet ETF Industrial," "Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF Boshi," and "Hong Kong Medical ETF Yinhua."

Luoshu Investment appeared on the top 10 holder lists of 8 ETFs established this year, including "Grain ETF Southern," "Farming ETF Huaan," "Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF Guolian," "Grain ETF ChinaAMC," and "Food ETF Fullgoal."

Tote (Sanya) Private Equity appeared on the top 10 holder lists of 3 ETFs established this year: "Farming ETF Yongying," "Dividend 100 ETF Invesco," and "Securities ETF GF."

Editor: Xu Nannan

(Data source: PaiPaiWang)

(Editor: Xu Nannan)

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