BofA Survey: 80% of Asian Investors Demand AI Monetization Proof; Taiwan Ties with U.S. as Top Beneficiary Market
nashnova research
BofA's September Asia fund-manager survey shows 80% of investors now require AI monetisation evidence before adding positions, up sharply from 64% in August. Taiwan and the US are tied at 35% as the top beneficiaries of the next AI cycle — signalling a pivot from capex-driven hype to a revenue-delivery test.
Eight in ten investors want proof AI can make money — what does that mean?
80% of respondents say they need clearer evidence of AI monetisation or revenue generation before adding to AI positions — up from 64% in August.
This means → Asia's AI investment thesis is shifting: the question is no longer "who is spending on data centres" but "who can actually turn AI into revenue."
The survey ran September 4–10 with 190 respondents managing a combined $512 billion in assets.
Has AI already been priced in?
55% of fund managers say AI's positive impact on equities is "roughly fairly priced" or "more than fully priced," up from just 37% in August.
In plain terms = more than half of professional investors believe there is little room left for AI hype alone to push share prices higher.
Hedging preferences are shifting too: 25% are rotating into defensive sectors (up from 18% in August), while the share switching from AI to value and cyclical stocks plunged from 41% to just 5%. This reflects not an exit from AI, but a search for safer footing within it.
Inside the AI chain — where is the money flowing?
Software and platforms jumped to 25% support as the best risk-reward segment of the AI value chain, up from 9% in August. The previous leader — power and energy — fell from 23% to 15%.
Memory chips ranked second at 20%; connectivity and networking, data-centre infrastructure, and power and energy each drew 15%.
This means → investors are looking past "building server farms and pulling power cables" toward "who can package compute into software products that sell." Infrastructure spend is maturing; the next test is whether the application layer can generate revenue.
Which market benefits most from the next AI phase?
Taiwan and the US are tied at 35%, both up sharply — Taiwan from 27%, the US from 18% in August. Japan ranked third at 25%.
Semiconductor-cycle confidence partially recovered: the net percentage expecting the cycle to strengthen over the next 12 months rebounded to 35%, but remains below July's 60%.
In positioning, Japan leads with a 45% net overweight, Taiwan at 40%, Korea at 25%. By sector, semiconductors top the list at 50% net overweight; tech hardware follows at 40%.
China: AI still the top theme, earnings expectations improving
55% of investors named AI / semiconductors as their favourite China investment theme — well ahead of SOEs (25%) and high-dividend stocks (15%).
A net 55% of fund managers expect Asia-Pacific ex-Japan corporate profits to improve over the next 12 months, up from 45% in August.
This means → investors see widening room for earnings to beat expectations, and confidence in Asia-Pacific corporate fundamentals is firming.
Japan: 80% of investors bet on a September rate hike
80% expect the Bank of Japan's next rate hike in September, 15% in October, 5% in December.
55% believe USD/JPY reaching 160 is the level most likely to trigger FX intervention by Japanese authorities — up from just 23% in August.
BoJ policy normalisation has overtaken corporate earnings as the single most important theme for Japan equities in the near term, cited by 35% of investors (up from 23%). In plain terms = for Japanese stocks, when the central bank hikes matters more than how much companies earn.
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