Page 75 - RusRPTDec19

8.3 ​Stock market
8.3.1 ​Equity market dynamics
More than 60% of foreign investors remain overweight on Russia, ​with such names as Sberbank, Yandex and oil shares being in favour, while steel, gas and retail are outsiders, BCS Global Markets wrote on November 26 citing a survey of 30+ institutional investors carried out during its marketing trips.
"Russia remains a consensus overweight with 60% affirmative answers, while only 17% [of investors] said they were underweight relative to their benchmarks," BCS GM wrote, noting that this has been confirmed in both various surveys and actual positioning, as per EPFR Global data.
BCS GM also acknowledges the likely positive bias in the sample, as BCS GM is seen as a top Russia/regional specialist.
As analysed by bne IntelliNews, Sberbank has become a so-called “tourist stock” – if an investor has an appetite for Russian risk then the first stock they buy is Sberbank.
Yandex, Russia's most valuable digital company, has recently shrugged off governance concerns as it reached an agreement with authorities and established a Public Interest Foundation, an NGO that would hold the golden share in the company and address "national interests".
Investors have been most positive on banks, oils and media, with banks, mostly referring to Sberbank, again taking the helm as the top expected outperformer for the next six months — a favourite for 57% of investors, while only 7% said it would lag.
Some 30% named media as a likely outperformer, despite all of Yandex’ volatility during the survey period.
75​ RUSSIA Country Report​ December 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com