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Shuo Xu

Shuo Xu

Executive Director, MSCI Research

Shuo Xu is a member of MSCI’s Index Solutions Research team for the Asia-Pacific. He focuses on factor and multi-asset-class indexes and China-related topics. Shuo previously served for more than eight years in MSCI’s analytical team, working closely with different types of clients across the APAC region. He started his career at HSBC and JPMorgan Chase and is a chartered financial analyst by the CFA Institute.

Research and Insights

Articles by Shuo Xu

    Revenge Spending Starts for the World's Second-Largest Economy

    Podcast | May 11, 2023 | Shuo Xu, Thomas Verbraken

    2023 has presented many situations that include both risk and potential opportunities for investors, including inflation, continued war in Ukraine and China’s lifting of the zero-COVID policy, which allowed people and goods to travel as freely as they did before the pandemic gripped the globe. We look into how it’s gone so far.

    How Extreme Temperatures May Affect Chinese Companies

    6 mins read Blog | May 3, 2023 | Siyao He, Shuo Xu

    As temperatures rise in China, comprehensive adaptation and response plans are crucial to mitigate the physical risks of extreme heat. We assess which sectors could be most at risk under both orderly and extreme warming scenarios.

    Key Takeaways from China’s National People’s Congress

    2 mins read Quick Take | Mar 10, 2023 | Shuo Xu

    China recently ended its “zero-COVID” policy by lifting restriction and reopening its economy. We analyze the key takeaways from China’s 14th National People’s Congress and provide context on previous growth targets.

    The Impact of China’s Reopening

    2 mins read Quick Take | Jan 23, 2023 | Shuo Xu

    China recently reopened its borders and eliminated COVID-19 quarantine requirements, which could conclude its three-year-long, “zero-COVID” policy. With this in mind, we examine the potential impact of this action on the markets and global economy.

    Diversification for Home-Biased China Investors

    4 mins read Blog | Nov 7, 2022 | Wei Xu, Shuo Xu

    The U.S. and China represent two of the largest and complementary global-equity markets. We detail whether home-biased investors in China may be neglecting long-term growth and diversification opportunities.

    Drivers of China Equities’ Sell-Off

    6 mins read Blog | Apr 20, 2022 | Wei Xu, Shuo Xu

    Following the recent sell-off in Chinese equities, global investors may have some concerns and questions about their China exposure. Have fundamentals changed? What role did the Russia-Ukraine war play? Which factors are important to keep an eye on?

    Climate Indexes May Have Benefited from Clean Tech Since the Start of the War

    2 mins read Quick Take | Apr 5, 2022 | Peter Zangari

    Given the recent spike in energy prices we ask: How have higher energy prices affected the performance of climate indexes, which normally have less exposure to traditional energy companies?

    Foundations of Dedicated China Allocations: Part 3

    Research Report | Nov 4, 2021 | Shuo Xu, Wei Xu, Wei Zhen

    We present a framework to analyze market-capitalization-weighted indexes’ role in setting equity-risk-premium and capital-market expectations. It breaks return drivers into dividend yield, sales-per-share growth, profit margin and valuation change.

    Focusing a Sustainability Lens on China’s Regulatory Changes

    6 mins read Blog | Oct 28, 2021 | Shuo Xu

    Market fundamentals may not be significantly affected by new regulations in China. But, given the regulations’ focus on ESG-related issues, investors can use ESG data as they seek to identify risks and opportunities across industries and securities.

    So, Factor Investors, Why So Defensive? Part 1

    Podcast | Sep 30, 2021 | Shuo Xu, Hitendra D Varsani

    Concerns over corporate leverage in China, and nervousness about inflation and the direction of interest rates were just a few of the reasons behind the shift toward defensive factors in the third quarter. We analyze the third quarter from three continents, with MSCI’s Hitendra Varsani, Mark Carver and Shuo Xu.

    A Sector-Balanced Approach to China A Mega-Cap Exposure

    7 mins read Blog | Aug 27, 2021 | Shuo Xu, Zhen Wei

    For investors seeking exposure to the mega-cap segment of the China A market, a simple top-50 market-cap-weighted approach can lead to large sectoral biases. We explore how a balanced mega-cap approach may help.

    Foundations of Dedicated China Allocations: Part 1

    Research Report | Feb 19, 2021 | Shuo Xu, Wei Xu, Zhen Wei

    China’s rise in economic influence, market size, improved market accessibility and inclusion in global indexes have led more investors to consider a dedicated China allocation. In the first of our “Foundations of Dedicated China Allocations” series, we discuss investment policy and asset allocation as investors think through setting up such a program.

    Would Integrating ESG in Chinese Equities Have Worked?

    Blog | Jul 7, 2020 | Naoya Nishimura, Shuo Xu

    ESG ratings have reflected financial risk and returns in developed-market and emerging-market equities. But was this true in China, where ESG considerations are still in their infancy?

    Equity-Market Dislocation and Index-Based Investing

    Blog | Jun 3, 2020 | Shuo Xu, Zhen Wei

    Market turbulence amid COVID-19 presented risks and opportunities. We explore how indexes , combined with the use of fundamental data, provided a wealth of information to help identify potential market dislocations.

    Outcome-Oriented Factor Investing with a ‘Barbell’ Approach

    7 mins read Blog | Jun 1, 2020 | Zhen Wei, Shuo Xu

    Though relatively new to wealth investors, index-based factor investing has some similarity to a high-conviction, outcome-oriented approach. We explore combining the two when seeking outcomes such as equity growth, yield enhancement and risk mitigation.

    Asset allocation and index futures during market crises

    Blog | Mar 25, 2020 | Shuo Xu, Wei Xu, Zhen Wei

    During market crises, institutional investors have employed derivatives contracts to hedge market risks or express views on certain performance/risk characteristics. We explore prior use of futures for exposure management and tactical asset allocation.