- This month, China attracts institutional investors as it eases its regulatory crackdown, demand for US-produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) increases, and the US seeks to purchase large quantities of enriched uranium directly from producers in lieu of Russia.
- HANetf is the only ETF provider that publishes fund specific monthly thematic ETF reports written by our expert ETF partners.
- Our monthly reports contain in-depth insights into the latest news, trends, and macro-outlook relevant to each fund’s strategy.
August 2022, London
HANetf, Europe’s first independent white-label ETF and ETC platform, and leading provider of thematic ETFs, and crypto and commodity ETCs, has published its most recent monthly fund reports, containing unique insights into the latest news, trends, and macro-outlook for each of its funds. [1]
HANetf is the only ETF provider that publishes fund specific monthly thematic ETF reports written by our expert ETF partners.
The economic climate was certainly volatile throughout June, as a rapid rise in inflation caused the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates. This development was largely driven by post-pandemic demand surges and significant supply chain issues. [2]
Chinese stocks have become increasingly appealing to investors, given Beijing’s continued curbing of regulations on the tech sector, ever since significant concessions were announced at the Labour Day Symposium on the 1st of May. [3]
The Chinese e-commerce sector had suffered, given the government’s aggressive stance on tech sector regulation and fears of Chinese ADR delistings. While the threat of delisting remains, China’s retreat on tech sector restrictions may have helped to settle some of this turbulence.
Subsequently, institutional investors ranging from UBS to JP Morgan have increased their bullish bets on the space. The clearer and more defined regulatory framework suggests that the worst maybe indeed be over.
Additionally, reports have emerged that China’s Ministry of Finance is debating allowing local governments to raise upwards of $220 billion to invest in their local economies. [4]
Meanwhile, a prevailing story from last month was the increasing need to source alternative sources of energy, given a reluctance to rely on Russian oil and gas. In the midstream energy sector, the abundance of US resources has become extremely relevant, particularly where US liquefied natural gas (LNG) is concerned.[5] With a strong outlook for US LNG demand, export capacity is expected to increase significantly in coming years, which requires more natural gas infrastructure. [6]
In addition to this, growing concerns about a potential recession highlight the historically defensive qualities of the midstream energy sector, given its outperformance of the broader energy sector and the S&P 500 during the 2001 recession and 2007-2008 financial crisis. [7]
Another energy source that provides an alternative to Russian oil and gas is uranium. This fact was identified in the US, when on June 7th the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $4.3 billion plan to buy enriched uranium directly from domestic producers in an effort to reduce its reliance on Russian imports of the nuclear-reactor fuel. [8]
The US is not alone in this; both South Korea and Japan announced in June plans to expand their use of nuclear energy, demonstrating the perceived value of uranium in addressing the world’s energy needs amidst the current turmoil. [9]
HANetf partners include Kevin T. Carter, the founder of the Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (LSE: EMQQ), and previously founder and CEO of AlphaShares. Also included is Stacey Morris, manager of the Alerian Midstream Energy Dividend UCITS ETF (LSE: MMLP) and John Ciampaglia, manager of the Sprott Global Uranium Miners UCITS ETF (LSE: URNM).
Hear more from our expert ETF partners and get the latest updates and macro-outlooks from our monthly reports here: HANetf | Monthly Reports
Tom Bailey, Head of ETF Research at HANetf comments:
“Thematic ETFs tell a story, whether it’s about regulatory changes acting as a catalyst or big technological advances and innovations shaping our world. With this in mind, we believe that investors in thematic ETFs should keep as up to date as possible with the theme they are investing in. As a result, every month we ask our expert fund partners to outline the latest developments of their ETFs in a Monthly Report. As readers of this month’s batch of reports will see, new developments abound, whether it’s the potential better prospects of China tech or the latest in the world’s efforts to seek alternative sources of energy in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We believe it’s important to provide a real-time commentary for each of our themes which advisers and investors can then use for their clients.”
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