The trend of AI trading in Asia is changing abruptly! Bank of America: Software and platform stocks “counterattack” and become the first choice for investors

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to a Bank of America survey, Asian software and platform stocks are rapidly being favored by investors. While they were close to the bottom of the ranking just a month ago, they are now the most attractive artificial intelligence (AI) trading direction in Asia.

Bank of America strategists, including Kaspar Lam, wrote in a report on September 15 that a quarter of respondents chose this sector as the preferred AI trading direction for the Asian market in the next 12 months, accounting for the highest share of various options including memory chips and data centers. In August, the ranking for this theme was close to the bottom, only ahead of AI computing power.

The strategist team said, “Software and platforms are now considered to have the best risk-reward ratio for AI, surpassing the electricity and energy sectors.” The survey was conducted from September 4 to 10. A total of 87 participants participated, and their total assets under management reached US$221 billion.

This trend suggests that investors may be shifting the focus of AI transactions from corporate stocks that build computational capabilities to companies that can prove that AI can drive profit growth. At a time when AI industry leaders are calling for slowing down the pace of AI development due to security concerns, this transformation may benefit software companies that benefit from AI in the Indian market, as well as lower-valued Chinese platform stocks and hyperscale cloud service provider stocks.

The Bank of America survey also showed that commercialization is becoming an increasingly important factor for investors to consider when increasing their holdings of AI-related stocks. 80% of respondents said commercialization was a key factor in boosting investment confidence, up from 64% in August.