GQG Partners chief investment officer Rajiv Jain has surprised the market with an aggressive pivot into semiconductor stocks over the past month, despite his previous warnings about a technology bubble. Jain, one of Australia’s most prominent stock pickers, oversees more than $220 billion in funds at the ASX-listed global equities giant. GQG Partners is a global investment firm specialising in equities, managing funds for institutional and individual investors worldwide. Its primary business involves active management of diversified portfolios.
For the past year, Jain criticised the booming artificial intelligence trade, avoiding tech shares due to fears substantial AI investments would not deliver big returns. This strategy, favouring old-world industries, led to underperformance and prompted investors to pull $27 billion from GQG funds this year. Recent disclosures show GQG significantly cut utility exposure, instead investing in technology shares that experienced a June and July sell-off. Jain noted the opportunity to upgrade the portfolio based on compressed valuations. GQG’s flagship Global Equity Fund, previously without sector exposure, now holds giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple, comprising a third of its portfolio.
Jain acknowledged underestimating “compute demand,” now finding it “not only stronger but more durable,” leading GQG to be overweight in technology and semiconductor stocks across most funds. Financially, GQG reported a 95 per cent drop in performance fees to just US$630,000 for the first half. Management fees, however, rose 1 per cent to US$164.5 billion, contributing to overall first-half revenue of US$397.2 million, a slight decrease from last year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of US3.62 cents per share, with the half-year payout of US7.16 cents down from the prior year. GQG shares fell 4 per cent on Friday, tumbling approximately 18 per cent this year.
