Released today (20 October), the study found that 88% of wealth managers reported they had recently invested in nuclear energy or uranium focused funds.
Conducted across 50 wealth managers it found that 80% of respondents planned to increase their exposure to thematic funds over the next 12 months, with 74% reporting increased interest in thematic investing from their clients.
HSBC AM launches four new ESG ETFs
Managers were most positive on the theme of digital assets, blockchain and crypto, with 28% of respondents stating that they were positive on the subject. This was followed by healthcare tech at 18%, with space economy and cloud, digital infrastructure, enterprise software all at 12%.
However, the best performing themes over the last four months were all energy related, being solar, clean energy, smart and distributed energy, uranium miners and midstream energy. Only 10% of managers selected clean and renewable energy as a theme they were positive on.
The report found that 82% of managers dedicate at least 15% of their portfolios to thematic funds, an increase from 73% from HANetf's previous survey. At the same time, 30% of managers reported allocating over a third of their portfolios to thematic funds, while 2% said that they allocated more than half.
Accessing long term trends was overwhelmingly picked as a reason for investing thematically, with 80% of managers selecting it. Diversifying the portfolio and to better express investment ideas came next at 56% and 54%, respectively.
Reacting to a fast-changing world was the least popular reason to invest thematically (10%).
HSBC AM launches four new ESG ETFs
Hector McNeil, co-CEO and co-founder of HANetf, said: "We are thrilled to be publishing HANetf's second Thematic Review, giving investors an in-depth look at the latest developments in the world of thematic ETFs.
"As the survey results in the Thematic Review show, investing in alternative energy sources is at the forefront of investors' minds, and many of them are looking to increase their exposure to thematic funds."