The great ETF piggyback: Are active funds earning their keep?

InvestorDaily

2025 kicked off with the emergence of DeepSeek-V3, a cost-effective AI model from a Chinese start-up, which sent ripples through global markets and signalled a shift towards an emphasis on not only power but efficiency in AI. But the case for Chinese tech extends beyond DeepSeek, according to Global X, with the start-up’s low-cost model representing just one facet of a broader repositioning of the world’s second-largest economy. Global X investment analyst Justin Lin explained that, since then, companies like Alibaba, Ant Group and Tencent have released or updated a range of open-source, multimodal and industry-specific models, with applications ranging from healthcare to finance.

“China’s playbook – open-source innovation, localised hardware and real-world deployment – is setting the stage for an AI future not dominated by Silicon Valley alone,” Lin said in a recent report. To capitalise on this potential, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider this week announced the upcoming launch of two new investment vehicles to its thematic suite – the Global X Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure ETF (AINF) and the Global X China Tech ETF (DRGN). Expounding on the launch of the latter, in particular, the firm said that the world’s second largest economy is home to some of the globe’s most dynamic and disruptive tech companies.

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