Group 1 - The core viewpoint is that active fund managers must adopt hedge fund strategies to cope with the shift of funds towards low-cost passive management portfolios [1][2] - Olivier Nobille from Arkea Asset Management emphasizes the need for active funds to utilize mathematical models, algorithms, derivatives, and hedging techniques to enhance the likelihood of outperforming indices and provide stronger protection during market downturns [1][2] - Arkea Asset Management manages $55 billion in assets and has seen its two major funds outperform nearly 90% of their peers this year, with returns of 9% and 18% compared to a 12% increase in the Euro Stoxx 50 total return index [1] Group 2 - Over the past decade, only 14.2% of active fund managers in Europe have outperformed passive strategies, highlighting the challenges faced by active managers in justifying their higher fees [5] - The market has seen a significant influx into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other passive products due to their lower costs and better liquidity, making it increasingly difficult for active fund managers to demonstrate their value [2][5] - Nobille believes that smaller boutique firms will struggle to compete with larger asset management companies due to the lack of economies of scale, and the only way to justify higher fees is by offering unique products that employ hedge fund-like strategies [5] Group 3 - In late 2022, Arkea launched a series of thematic funds using a "layered strategy" designed to manage specific risks and enhance returns [8] - Stress tests simulating a market crash similar to 2008 indicated that the hedging strategy could offset about two-thirds of the decline [8]

Fund Flow Analysis - In May, Chinese stock funds experienced a mild outflow, with foreign long-only funds (LOs) seeing a withdrawal of $200 million, a significant decrease from the $5.3 billion outflow in April [1][3] - Passive funds saw a recovery with an inflow of $14 billion in May, compared to an outflow of $3.7 billion in April, while active funds continued to experience outflows of $1.5 billion [1][3] - Southbound capital inflow weakened, dropping to $6 billion in May from $21 billion in April, marking the lowest level since 2024 [1][14] Global Fund Allocation - The global fund's underweight position in Chinese stocks has slightly narrowed, with global funds underweight by 12 percentage points, Asia-Pacific funds by 15 percentage points, and emerging market funds by 30 percentage points [2] Sector and Stock Performance - Active fund managers increased their holdings in Consumer Durables & Apparel and Consumer Services, while reducing their positions in Capital Goods, Food Beverage & Tobacco, and Media & Entertainment [10] - The most increased stocks included Alibaba, BYD, Midea Group, and JD.com, while Tencent and Zijin Mining saw the most reductions [11] Local Fund Dynamics - Local passive funds tracking A-shares saw a significant outflow of $9 billion in May after a large inflow of $27 billion in April [12] - The cumulative outflow of overseas active funds since 2022 has approached levels seen in early March 2025, with cumulative active fund flows hitting historical lows since the end of 2022 [5] Short Selling Interest - As of May 31, short positions in offshore/Hong Kong stocks amounted to $900 million, primarily concentrated in the Financials and Real Estate sectors [20]