Insurance funds conducted 1,287 A-share investigations at the start of the year: Taikang Asset Management conducted the most, with TianShun Wind Power, Shanghai Bank, and others receiving attention.

Insurance funds’ equity asset allocation accelerates significantly.

According to data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, by the end of Q4 2025, the total funds used by insurance companies reached nearly 38.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.70% from the beginning of the year. Among these, equity allocation remains at a historic high, with stock investments totaling about 3.73 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly 10% of total fund utilization, up 1.30 trillion yuan from the end of 2024 (2.43 trillion yuan), a 53.81% increase.

This trend is expected to continue. Recently, the China Banking and Insurance Asset Management Industry Association released survey results on asset allocation outlooks for 2026. In terms of major asset classes, stocks and securities investment funds are generally favored by insurance institutions for domestic investments in 2026, with most planning to slightly increase their A-share holdings.

According to Wind data compiled by JiJie News, as of February 26, insurance companies and insurance asset management firms have conducted 1,287 surveys of A-share listed companies since 2026. However, this is a sharp decline from 2,242 surveys in the same period last year. The distribution of surveyed companies and industries shows particular interest in the new energy sector, especially wind power, AI industry chains, and other tech fields. Banks like Shanghai Bank (601229.SH) also received intensive surveys from insurers.

2026 Insurance Funds Continue to Favor Equity Markets

Wind data shows that as of February 26, 2026, 1,603 insurance asset management products disclosed their latest net values, with 1,525 of them recording positive returns this year, accounting for over 95%.

Among these, the highest annualized return product is from CITIC Prudential Asset Management, approaching 500%; the lowest is from Great Wall Wealth Insurance Asset Management, at -29.72%. Both are ordinary stock-type products.

From the table, most of the top-performing insurance asset management products this year are stock or equity-oriented. In fact, the overall outlook for the equity market in 2026 remains optimistic among insurance funds.

“Expect the bull market to continue in 2026, with macroeconomic and micro-enterprise profits gradually recovering,” said a senior executive from a leading insurance asset management subsidiary to JiJie News. “Based on short, medium, and long-term assessments, we expect a combination of short and medium-term upward trends and long-term downward trends, with overall corporate profits showing moderate recovery.”

Regarding the performance of the equity market in 2026, an executive from a joint-venture life insurance company’s asset management center told JiJie News, “Currently, the outlook is relatively optimistic. There is active and passive participation. After all, in a low-interest-rate environment, non-standard assets are gradually exiting the stage, and not investing in products with options makes it difficult to meet investment return targets.”

“Overall, the central tendency of the equity market is expected to gradually rise in 2026, but increased volatility and rotation, along with diverging consensus, could potentially heighten market fluctuations,” said an investment department staff member at an internet insurance company.

“From a timing perspective, the first half of 2026 is expected to outperform the second half, especially before April. The baseline forecast suggests the core attack wave may occur from late January to mid-April,” added a senior executive from a leading insurance asset management subsidiary.

Insurance Companies Busy with Research: AI, Wind Power, and Banks

So, which listed companies have insurers been researching since the start of the year?

Wind data shows that Taikang Asset Management conducted the most surveys in 2026, totaling 87 times. The top three most frequently researched listed companies are Semiconductor Microelectronics (688380.SH), World (688028.SH), and Jinshi Resources (603505.SH).

JiJie News found that, within Wind’s industry classifications, Taikang Asset Management’s most researched sector is industrial machinery, with nine companies, followed by electronic components and integrated circuits, each with eight.

Huatai Asset Management and Xinhua Asset Management have also conducted numerous surveys this year, with 68 and 60 times respectively. According to JiJie News, Huatai’s most followed stocks are Jemei Technology (002859.SZ), Guoguang Shares (002749.SZ), and Yuntu Holdings (002539.SZ). The industries most surveyed are fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, and electronic components. Xinhua’s top stocks are Shanghai Bank, Guoneng Rixin (301162.SZ), and Borui Communication (600880.SH). In terms of industry distribution, Xinhua is most focused on regional banks, having surveyed 10 this year, followed by industrial machinery.

Among 132 insurance companies and insurance asset management firms with survey data, the top three most followed stocks are TianShun Wind Power (002531.SZ) and Shanghai Bank, each being among the top three for 15 and 14 insurers or asset managers respectively. Guoneng Rixin also ranks highly, with nine firms showing interest.

Regional banks, as key representatives of high-dividend assets, are always favored by insurance funds. Besides Shanghai Bank, Nanjing Bank (601009.SH), Suzhou Bank (002966.SZ), and Hangzhou Bank (600926.SH) have also been surveyed by 10, 8, and 7 insurers or asset managers respectively since the start of the year.

Guoneng Rixin and TianShun Wind Power both belong to the new energy sector. The former provides software and IT services for the new energy industry, while the latter has been deeply involved in wind power for twenty years, covering wind and offshore equipment manufacturing, development, construction, and operation of wind farms.

From a stock perspective, since the beginning of the year, 20 listed companies have been surveyed by at least ten insurance companies or asset managers. Among them, AI data company Haitian Ruisheng (688787.SH) has been surveyed 24 times, making it the most frequently researched listed company so far this year.

In the wind power sector, Daikin Heavy Industry (002487.SZ) and TianShun Wind Power follow closely, each being the focus of 19 insurers. Daikin specializes in wind power equipment manufacturing, with products covering offshore and onshore wind turbines, towers, transition segments, foundations, large single-piles, and deep-sea jackets.

According to a research report from Guojin Securities, under the global shortage of electricity driven by AI data centers and electrification, wind power—being the renewable energy with the lowest medium-cost electricity—may maintain high demand in the medium to long term.

Also in the AI industry chain, Zhongji Xuchuang (300308.SZ), a provider of high-speed optical interconnection solutions and a leader in optical modules in A-shares, has been surveyed 17 times by insurers since the start of the year.

According to the China Banking and Insurance Industry Association’s survey results, in 2026, insurance institutions are more optimistic about stocks related to the STAR Market 50, CSI 300, CSI A500, and ChiNext. They favor industries such as electronics, non-ferrous metals, electrical equipment, computers, communications, biomedicine, basic chemicals, and are interested in investment themes like chips and semiconductors, defense and military, AI computing power, robotics, energy metals, commercial aerospace, high-dividend stocks, biopharmaceuticals, innovative drugs, and companies’ internationalization and globalization. They believe that corporate profit recovery and liquidity environment are the main factors influencing the A-share market.

“From an investment structure perspective, under the baseline scenario, the two main investment themes will be pan-technology and advanced manufacturing, aligning with the macro narratives of new and old kinetic energy conversion and capacity cycle reversal,” said a senior executive from a leading insurance asset management subsidiary to JiJie News.

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