Foreign capital is heavily investing in A-shares through ETFs, now appearing among the top ten holders of 440 ETFs.

Ask AI · How does ETF liquidity help foreign capital quickly deploy in A-shares?

Cailian Press, April 8 (Reporter Wu Yuqi) With the final disclosure of 2025 fund annual reports, the allocation paths of foreign capital in the ETF space are becoming clearer. Based on the data, Hong Kong stocks in technology, internet, innovative drugs, and gold, as well as some cross-border market ETFs, have become the main directions that this batch of capital repeatedly shows up in.

By the end of 2025, seven well-known foreign institutions represented by UBS and Barclays, as well as Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Ltd., appeared on the top ten holders lists of 440 ETFs, corresponding to 584 holding records, with total holding market value of about 186.99 billion yuan. From the perspective of institutional distribution, UBS and Barclays are the two most active categories of funds—UBS covers the largest number of ETFs, while Barclays holds a larger holding volume.

Several industry insiders told reporters that ETFs combine liquidity with efficient thematic expression. If foreign investors want to quickly complete industry or regional allocations, they often prefer to “place their bets” via ETFs.

UBS and Barclays lead; other foreign capital and Hong Kong channels expand in parallel

In terms of institutional activity, UBS and Barclays are the two types of funds receiving the most attention in this ETF annual report’s holdings.

By the end of 2025, UBS held a total of 277 ETFs, with total holding market value of about 66.11 billion yuan. Among them, there were 20 ETFs with holding market value exceeding 100 million yuan; the combined holding market value of these 20 ETFs reached 40.82 billion yuan, accounting for more than 60% of UBS’s total ETF holding market value.

In the top holdings, the E Fund CSI Hong Kong Securities Investment Theme ETF had holding market value of 469 million yuan; Invesco Great Wall CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF and GF CSI Hong Kong Innovative Drugs ETF reached 363 million yuan and 354 million yuan respectively. In addition, UBS also had heavy positions in products such as Huatai-PineBridge Southern East English Saudi Arabia ETF, Harvest CSI S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Select Industry ETF, Hu’an France CAC40 ETF, and GF Germany DAX ETF.

Judging purely from its top holdings, UBS’s ETF allocation has covered multiple cross-border directions, including Hong Kong tech, Hong Kong innovative drugs, Hong Kong financial themes, as well as the Middle East, Europe, and energy, among others.

Barclays’ allocation style is more concentrated. By the end of 2025, Barclays appeared in the top ten holders lists of 200 ETFs, with total holding market value of 86.15 billion yuan, higher than UBS.

If counted by individual ETF positions with holding market value exceeding 100 million yuan, there are 24 products in total, with combined holding market value of 59.50 billion yuan. Its largest single holding is Hu’an Gold ETF, with holding market value reaching 13.03 billion yuan. It also held heavy positions in products such as Woori CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet ETF, E Fund Gold ETF, GF CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Non-bank ETF, HFT CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF, and Huatai-PineBridge Southern East Hang Seng Technology Index ETF, mainly covering directions such as gold, Hong Kong internet, and Hong Kong technology.

Apart from UBS and Barclays, other foreign and Hong Kong capital channels have also formed a stable presence in the top ten holders lists of ETFs. Hong Kong Securities Clearing Co., Ltd. appeared in the top ten holders lists of 56 ETFs, with total holding market value of 28.76 billion yuan. Leading holdings include Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF, E Fund ChiNext ETF, Huaxia CSI Artificial Intelligence Theme ETF, and Yongying CSI Hong Kong-Shanghai-Shenzhen Gold Industry Stock ETF, covering multiple directions such as CSI 300, ChiNext, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics, dividends, and banks.

Jianjie Hong Kong appeared in the top ten holders lists of 23 ETFs, with holding market value of about 151 million yuan, mainly distributed across products such as Hang Seng Technology, Stock Connect 50, Stock Connect Technology, CSI 300, the Sci-Tech Innovation Index, and Sci-Tech 100. Overall, its allocations are more tilted toward trading-oriented and tool-oriented strategies.

Austl Hua Australia appeared in 10 ETFs, with holding market value of about 110 million yuan. Its holding directions are mainly Hong Kong growth and resource products. Susquehanna Pacific Pty Ltd appeared in 9 ETFs, with holding market value of about 114 million yuan. Its holdings cover directions such as Hang Seng Internet Technology, Hang Seng Technology, Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, showing fairly clear tech growth characteristics.

In addition, BNP Paribas ( QFII ) appeared in 4 ETFs, with holding market value of about 126 million yuan, with its focus also landing on ETFs related to Hang Seng Tech. JPMorgan Chase Group appeared in 3 ETFs, with holding market value of about 88 million yuan; it has relatively few holdings, combining allocations among broad-based A-shares, internet, and healthcare. Nomura Oriental International Securities appeared only in the top ten holders lists of 2 ETFs; its holdings are relatively small and mainly concentrated in products such as ChiNext 50 and Private Enterprise 100.

In terms of institutional heavy positions, preferences repeatedly include Hong Kong tech, internet, and innovative drugs

From the details of institutional holdings, Hong Kong tech, internet, and innovative drugs are the most concentrated few main lines in foreign capital allocations.

Taking UBS as an example, its heavy-position products include Invesco Great Wall CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF, GF CSI Hong Kong Innovative Drugs ETF, Harvest CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drugs ETF, and others. Among them, Invesco Great Wall CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF has holding market value of 363 million yuan; GF CSI Hong Kong Innovative Drugs ETF has 354 million yuan; and Harvest CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drugs ETF has 201 million yuan.

Besides these products, HFT CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF, Harvest CSI Hang Seng Technology ETF, and Cathay CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF also all appear in its list of high market-value holdings.

Barclays’ holding path also confirms this. Aside from its large position in Hu’an Gold ETF, the holding market value in Woori CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet ETF reaches 620 million yuan. In GF CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Non-bank ETF, HFT CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology ETF, and Huatai-PineBridge Southern East Hang Seng Technology Index ETF, the holding market values reach 332 million yuan, 281 million yuan, and 266 million yuan respectively. In addition, in E Fund CSI Overseas China Internet 50 ETF and Huaxia Hang Seng Internet Technology ETF, its holding market values are also 247 million yuan and 240 million yuan respectively. Harvest CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drugs ETF also enters its top holdings list.

Overall, in foreign ETF holding details, Hang Seng Tech index-related ETFs appear 17 times in total, with combined holding market value of about 987 million yuan. Hong Kong Stock Connect Tech-related ETFs appear 16 times in total, with combined holding market value of about 1.154 billion yuan. Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovative Drugs-related ETFs appear 11 times in total, with combined holding market value of about 903 million yuan. Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet-related ETFs appear 5 times in total, with combined holding market value of about 655 million yuan.

If products such as Hang Seng Internet Technology, China Internet 50, and China Internet 30 are included together, the Hong Kong tech and internet chain appears 50 times in total, corresponding to holding market value of about 3.955 billion yuan. If Hong Kong innovative drugs, Hong Kong-dollar innovative drugs, Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect innovative drugs and healthcare, Hong Kong Stock Connect biopharma, Hang Seng healthcare, Hang Seng biotech, and other products are combined, the medical chain appears 36 times in total, corresponding to holding market value of about 1.959 billion yuan.

Gold is another main line with a very strong presence. Gold-related products appear 5 times in total, with combined holding market value of 2.125 billion yuan. If gold-industry-chain products such as SSH Gold stocks are added on top, the weight of the gold theme in the overall foreign ETF holdings becomes even higher.

In addition, cross-border thematic ETFs are also quite popular. UBS’s holdings in Saudi Arabia ETFs reach 273 million yuan and 200 million yuan respectively; its holdings in the Germany DAX ETF and France CAC40 ETF reach 191 million yuan and 203 million yuan respectively. Barclays also holds European market products such as the Germany DAX ETF.

FTSE Arab-related products have combined holding market value of about 503 million yuan; the German DAX-related products have combined holding market value of about 548 million yuan; and the France CAC40-related products have combined holding market value of about 241 million yuan. The clues of foreign capital allocation at the ETF level extend from Hong Kong themes further into overseas markets such as the Middle East and Europe.

(Cailian Press reporter Wu Yuqi)