Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 17
Franklin Templeton Cuts $14 Billion Fund's AI Bets, Favors Chinese Internet Stocks
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 17

Franklin Templeton Cuts $14 Billion Fund's AI Bets, Favors Chinese Internet Stocks

2 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 17

Summary

  • Franklin Templeton shifted its main emerging-market equity fund to a neutral stance on AI supply-chain stocks, ending a long-standing overweight position.
  • Chetan Sehgal, who oversees more than $14 billion across several emerging-market portfolios, said the firm trimmed memory-chip holdings after their sharp rally.
  • Alibaba and Tencent are now among the preferred names as the manager rotates into Chinese internet platforms that investors have largely avoided this year.
  • The move reflects a valuation-driven pivot away from AI hardware winners toward lagging Chinese tech stocks in emerging markets.

Insights

As AI chip stocks boom, is betting on China's heavily regulated internet giants a masterstroke or a massive miscalculation?
Will the 'geopolitical time tax' on AI chips pose a greater risk than China's stringent regulatory environment for tech platforms?