Insurance fund research activities reached nearly 1,900 times within the year, with greater focus on Science and Technology Innovation Board and Growth Enterprise Board stocks

Our reporter, Yang Xiaohan

As an important representative of “patient capital” in the A-share market, the allocation trends of insurance funds have attracted widespread market attention. According to Wind Information, as of March 22, when this article was published, insurance institutions (including insurance companies and insurance asset management firms) have conducted nearly 1,900 investigations into A-share listed companies this year, focusing on dividend assets, STAR Market, and ChiNext Board stocks.

Experts interviewed stated that looking ahead, it is expected that by 2026, insurance fund research will trend toward higher quality, with a focus on new productive forces, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance), and the silver economy, shifting from “information gathering” to “industry empowerment.”

Research Frequency

Compared to the same period last year, it has decreased

Since the beginning of this year, insurance companies have conducted a total of 896 investigations into A-share listed companies. Among them, China Yangtze Insurance, Taiping Insurance, China Life Pension, PICC Pension, and Ping An Pension ranked the top five with 65, 60, 56, 50, and 49 investigations respectively.

In terms of insurance asset management firms, there have been a total of 1,001 investigations into A-share listed companies this year. Taiming Asset Management, Huatai Asset Management, New China Asset Management, PICC Asset Management, and China Life Asset Management ranked the top five with 128, 108, 85, 73, and 66 investigations respectively.

Compared to last year, the total number of investigations by insurance funds into A-share listed companies this year is 1,897, showing a decrease. In recent years, the frequency of insurance fund investigations has been declining, with 30,300 in 2023, 22,300 in 2024, and 18,400 in 2025.

Regarding this trend, Long Ge, Deputy Director of the Innovation and Risk Management Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Securities Daily that the continued decline in investigation frequency in recent years does not indicate weakened investment willingness but rather a shift toward more precise and efficient strategies. As the market reaches a consensus on long-term trends in key sectors like hard technology, insurance institutions have reduced broad, scattershot investigations. Meanwhile, in a low-interest-rate environment with regulatory encouragement for long-cycle assessments, insurance funds are focusing more on in-depth research of high-dividend assets and are inclined to shift from short-term trading to long-term allocation, making their research behavior more concentrated.

Expected Focus

On fields like new productive forces

From the perspective of research areas, insurance funds mainly focus on industries such as industrial machinery, electronic components, electronic equipment and instruments, auto parts and equipment, integrated circuits, and Western medicine. Additionally, this year, attention to stocks related to the STAR Market and ChiNext Board has increased.

Wind Information data shows that this year, insurance companies have conducted a total of 434 investigations into STAR Market and ChiNext stocks, accounting for 54.18% of all investigated stocks; insurance asset management firms have investigated 472 such stocks, accounting for 51.87%. Both proportions are over half and have increased compared to the same period last year.

Regarding the research style and preferences of insurance funds, Long Ge said that their research areas show a clear “dumbbell” strategy. One end focuses on high-dividend, stable cash flow assets to match liabilities and secure definite returns; the other end targets sectors representing national industrial upgrades, such as hard technology and high-end manufacturing. This characteristic stems from their large capital scale, long-term horizon, and pursuit of absolute stability, requiring a balance between current yields and long-term growth.

In recent years, insurance funds have gradually increased their allocation to equity markets. According to the State Administration of Financial Supervision, by the end of last year, the combined balance of stock and securities investment fund investments by life and property insurance companies was about 5.7 trillion yuan, an increase of approximately 1.6 trillion yuan from the end of 2024, a growth of 38.9%.

Regarding the future direction of equity asset allocation, Tian Lihui, Professor of Finance at Nankai University, told the Securities Daily that by 2026, insurance fund research is expected to improve steadily, with a focus on the “Three New” main lines: First, focusing on fields related to new productive forces, increasing research on cutting-edge sectors like artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and commercial space; second, “going global” strategies will become standard, emphasizing overseas capacity expansion and geopolitical risk hedging; third, integrating ESG concepts with the silver economy, making them part of routine research and evaluation systems. Meanwhile, the implementation of long-cycle assessment mechanisms will promote insurance funds to be more willing to invest and hold long-term, with research evolving from “information collection” to “industry empowerment,” truly serving as a stabilizer and innovation booster in the capital market. Research is expected to focus on identifying technological commercialization inflection points, supply chain positioning, and companies’ global competitiveness, thereby realizing the value discovery function of “patient capital.”