A robust earnings season from major US tech firms has ignited confidence in AI applications, while cybersecurity themes showed notable strength. On Friday, August 28th, the software development sector staged a collective recovery: 麒麟信安 and 鼎捷数智 hit their 20% daily price limits, while 天融信, 税友股份, and 久其软件 each closed at their 10% upper limits. 福昕软件 and 三六零 touched intraday highs before settling with impressive gains of 7.06% and 6.65%, respectively.
The benchmark index tracked by the 华宝软件ETF (159036), which encompasses 107 software development stocks, surged over 3% during morning trading before closing up 0.69%. On the news front, international heavyweights like Salesforce and CrowdStrike reported better-than-expected financial results, significantly easing market anxieties about AI disrupting traditional software companies. This development has fueled strength across the global AI software sector and opened a valuation repair window for China's software development segment.
Looking at specific AI application sub-sectors, AI-powered office tools are emerging as a strong candidate for the next predictable Token consumption driver following code generation. Overseas, Anthropic has taken the lead with its Claude Cowork product, while OpenAI has integrated Codex with ChatGPT to expand its office capabilities. Domestically, major players including Tencent, Alibaba, and DeepSeek are advancing AI agent products like WorkBuddy. The potential of AI office applications is substantial, poised to introduce AI to the mass market, with office software likely becoming the next platform-level product and primary traffic gateway for B-end users.
CITIC Construction Investment noted that the AI industry's investment thesis is shifting from a race for model capabilities and capital expenditure toward commercial validation. Domestic models are rapidly narrowing the capability gap in coding and agentic tasks, with the application flywheel closing its loop better than anticipated. The firm recommends focusing on B-end AI application providers with strong access to specific scenarios, proprietary data, and proven enterprise delivery capabilities.
Amid the rapid growth of AI agents, cybersecurity has captured significant market attention. The robust growth metrics recently reported by US cybersecurity titan CrowdStrike add credence to the thesis that AI-driven threats are compelling higher security spending. On August 27th, OpenAI published an open letter titled "A Call for Collective Action in Cyber Defense," joined by over one hundred organizations including Anthropic, AWS, Google, and Microsoft. The collective cautioned that the window for strengthening cyber defenses is limited and urged all organizations to elevate network defense to a top leadership priority.
According to Zheshang Securities, AI will not replace cybersecurity vendors; instead, it magnifies the essential demand for protection. Leading companies with full-stack AI security capabilities are seeing their competitive moats widen. Overseas AI frontrunners are accelerating the development of specialized tool models for security scenarios, while AI-enabled automated attack methods are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. This dynamic is compelling government agencies and corporations to boost their security procurement budgets. Domestic cybersecurity firms possessing AI security products and comprehensive defense capabilities stand to benefit from both incremental AI security demand and the dual tailwinds of domestic substitution initiatives.
From a valuation standpoint as of August 27th, the software development index's price-to-earnings ratio (TTM) stood at 164.78 times, which is lower than its valuation during more than 78% of its history since listing. This suggests a relatively attractive risk-reward profile and a notable margin of safety.
Throughout historical technological revolutions, profits have consistently flowed from hardware to applications. Earlier this year, concerns over AI models displacing software triggered a notable valuation discount in the AI application space, positioning the software development sector as a relative value opportunity within the broader AI value chain. While the software industry is currently in an upward cycle, identifying the winning sub-sector or individual stock remains challenging. For investors seeking broad exposure, the 华宝软件ETF (159036) offers a comprehensive avenue—spanning all 107 constituent stocks that cover AI applications across finance, healthcare, office, education, information security, and government services. Driven by both AI empowerment and domestic innovation initiatives, the software development segment stands poised for growth.
The benchmark index tracked by the 华宝软件ETF (159036) encompasses several hot concepts, with constituent weights as of the end of July distributed as follows: AI applications at 47.88%, cloud computing at 42.77%, domestic innovation at 42.43%, fintech at 32.73%, cybersecurity at 16.36%, and HarmonyOS ecosystem at 14.44%.
Regarding fees, the 华宝软件ETF does not charge a sales service fee. When investors subscribe to or redeem fund shares, the authorized broker may charge a commission of up to 0.3%. On-exchange trading fees are subject to actual charges by the securities firm.
Institutional perspectives referenced: CITIC Construction Investment's "August AI Monthly Report: Steady Players Increase Compute Investment, Application Flywheel Closure Exceeds Expectations," published August 20th; and Zheshang Securities' "The More AI Booms, The More Expensive Security Becomes," published July 2nd.
Risk Disclosure: The 华宝软件ETF passively tracks the CSI All Shares Software Development Index, with a base date of December 31, 2021, and a publication date of March 29, 2023. The fund is managed and distributed by 华宝基金. Distributors do not bear responsibility for the fund's investment performance or redemption obligations. Investors should carefully review fund documents including the Fund Contract, Prospectus, and Fund Product Summary to understand the fund's risk-return characteristics and select products aligned with their own risk tolerance. The fund manager has assessed this fund's risk level as R3-Medium Risk, suitable for balanced investors (C3) and above; please refer to the sales institution for matching opinions. Sales institutions may evaluate the fund's risk differently, and their published risk ratings cannot be lower than that of the fund manager. Note that the risk-return characteristics described in the Fund Contract may differ from the risk rating due to differing considerations. Investors should understand the fund's risk-return profile and make decisions based on their own investment objectives, time horizon, experience, and risk tolerance, assuming responsibility for their investment choices. Registration with the CSRC does not constitute a judgment or guarantee of the fund's investment value, market prospects, or returns. Past performance does not predict future results, and the performance of other funds managed by the same manager does not guarantee the performance of this fund. All investments carry risks; please invest with caution!
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