策略周报：白马股逆袭与重返核心资产-重拾价值投资，淡化行业属性

Core View - White horse stocks have staged a comeback in 2024, significantly outperforming the broader A-share market and small-cap stocks, with the white horse stock index rising by 7.21% year-to-date as of May 17, while the Wind All A Index fell by 0.22% and the Guozheng 2000 Index dropped by 8.58% [2][8] - The resurgence of white horse stocks is driven by four key factors: valuation bottoming out, stable profitability, a shift in market style favoring large caps, and policy support for value investing [10][15][45][46] - The current market environment favors a return to core assets, with a focus on value investing principles such as selecting companies with strong moats, high ROE, stable cash flows, and high dividend yields [17][32][49] White Horse Stocks' Comeback - After underperforming small-cap stocks in 2021-2022 and roughly matching their performance in 2023, white horse stocks have turned around in 2024, delivering positive returns and outperforming the broader market [9] - The white horse stock index's price-to-earnings ratio (TTM) has fallen to below 10x, indicating that valuations have bottomed out and these stocks are now in a range with high allocation value [10][12] - Despite a slowdown in macroeconomic growth since 2022, white horse stocks have maintained superior profit growth compared to the overall market and small-cap stocks, with stronger stability and consistent dividend-paying ability [13][14] Market Style and Macro Factors - The A-share market's large-cap/small-cap style rotation cycle is approximately 6 years, and the current cycle has lasted 7 years, with large caps underperforming small caps for 3 consecutive years, creating conditions for a style shift [15][30] - As China's economy transitions to high-quality development, many previously high-growth industries and companies have entered a mature phase, with significantly reduced growth potential [30] - The new "National Nine Articles" policy emphasizes value investing and encourages long-term investment, with measures such as stricter regulation of speculative trading and higher dividend payouts [31][46] Investment Strategy - The current market favors a return to core assets, with a focus on selecting high-quality individual stocks based on fundamentals rather than industry themes or valuation expansion [32][34] - Investors should consider broad-based indices with a focus on core assets, such as A50, SSE 50, and CSI 300, as well as dividend-related ETFs, while de-emphasizing industry attributes [35] - For active equity funds, investors should look for those with a large-cap value or absolute return style, high industry diversification, and strong stock-picking ability [37] - Fixed-income plus funds with a focus on low valuation and high dividend attributes are also attractive options for risk-averse investors seeking stable returns [51]