Proactive Investors - UK equities "stand out" as one of the most popular investments in recent weeks, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) found in its analysts of current fund positioning.
Strategists at the investment bank noted that international funds have increased their exposure to UK stocks across all long-only fund types (ie not hedge funds that take short positions against stocks).
In fact, five of six new additions to the top 35 "conviction overweight" stocks are from the UK: 3i Group PLC (LON:III), Haleon PLC (LON:HLN), Ferguson PLC (LON:FERG), NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) and BAE Systems (LON:BAES).
In terms of specific UK stocks, "NatWest stands out" with a particularly big jump in international fund positioning, it was also noted.
The sixth addition was a former FTSE name, CRH (LON:CRH), driven by its move to a US primary listing.
"Positioning in UK equities has increased across all LO fund types, driven by higher exposure both to domestic and globally-oriented stocks."
European "AI winners" such as ASML Holding NV (LON:0QB8) (AS:ASML), Experian (LON:EXPN), RELX PLC (LON:REL) and London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSEG) and weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb) were also highlighted as particularly popular.
Long only fund are already overweight the AI group of stocks, and Novo Nordisk is the most well-held European stock across all fund types.