Is the "Anti-AI" HALO craze booming again, bringing traditional energy sources back into the spotlight?

As AI intelligent agents like OpenClaw (Lobster) become wildly popular and push forward the implementation of AI in various industries, the investment strategy “HALO” that “opposes” AI has also gained attention.

HALO is an acronym derived from four English words—Heavy Asset and Low Obsolescence—typically referring to investment targets such as oil and gas energy and infrastructure. According to Wind data, many of the stocks with the largest gains in the past month can be categorized under HALO.

However, compared to the buzz in public opinion, the actual implementation of the HALO strategy in practice may not be as significant. An employee from the securities department of a leading energy company told Shell Finance that the company is not familiar with the HALO concept.

“The surge in HALO investment strategies represents an important external value discovery for the oil and gas industry, but its impact within the industry is limited. The main positive aspect might be the opportunity to improve financing conditions for private enterprises,” said a senior industry insider to Shell Finance.

AI and International Developments Catalyze Together

Guotai Haitong Securities research report describes HALO assets as physical infrastructure that “AI cannot take away or destroy over time,” including railway networks, power systems, chemical bases, mines, and ports. These assets share the characteristic that AI can optimize their operational efficiency but cannot reconstruct their physical presence in virtual space.

Lin Boqiang, Chair Professor at Xiamen University School of Management and Director of the China Energy Policy Research Institute, told Shell Finance that in the long term, AI development is indeed profoundly impacting many industries. AI can replace a large amount of information processing and repetitive work, but at the same time, some hard-to-replace “hard assets” sectors are becoming even more important, such as energy, infrastructure, and upstream resources. These sectors fundamentally rely on physical investments, which AI finds difficult to replace.

Lin Boqiang explained that, for example, energy development requires enormous computing power, which in turn depends on energy. Without a stable energy supply, even the most advanced AI systems cannot operate. Similarly, infrastructure like power grids and data centers are essential for AI operation—they are typical heavy asset industries that are hard to replace technologically. Additionally, with the proliferation of robots and automation devices in the future, demand for metals may continue to grow. Both robots and various intelligent devices fundamentally require raw materials like steel and non-ferrous metals, which are also heavy asset industries.

“Against the backdrop of rapid AI development, on one hand, digital technology improves efficiency; on the other hand, the importance of physical assets like energy, infrastructure, and metal resources is further highlighted,” Lin Boqiang said. From an investment perspective, AI represents a long-term technological trend, while current geopolitical conflicts and resource security issues are more short-term factors. The combination of these factors makes the investment logic for heavy asset industries clearer.

Are Opportunities Coming for Traditional Energy Companies?

Wind data shows that recent top-performing HALO concept stocks are mainly in energy, chemicals, and shipping sectors. For example, Baofeng Energy (600989.SH) has gained over 50% in the past month. The company issued two announcements on March 3 and March 13, stating that there are no undisclosed matters that should be disclosed.

However, compared to the hype in public discourse, the actual implementation of the HALO strategy may not be as prominent.

An employee from the securities department of a leading energy company told Shell Finance that the company is not familiar with the HALO concept. An investment professional also mentioned that, to their knowledge, public funds currently have relatively low allocations to traditional energy and other assets associated with the HALO concept.

“The rise of HALO investment strategies is an important external value discovery for the oil and gas industry, but its internal impact is limited. The main positive aspect might be the opportunity to improve financing conditions for private enterprises,” said a senior energy industry insider.

From the perspective of securities firms, the rise of HALO investment strategies does not necessarily mean a conflict between new and old assets.

Lin Rongxiong, Chief Strategist at Guotou Securities, analyzed A-share investment strategies and pointed out that, using narrow definitions of technology, the four major sectors—TMT (Computers, Media, Electronics, Communications)—account for nearly 40% of institutional holdings; with a broader definition including AI and related manufacturing, the tech-related sector allocation exceeds 50%. As PPI stabilizes and recovers, cyclical industries are expected to generate more excess returns. Therefore, by 2026, it will be important to balance investments in technology industries with traditional assets like manufacturing and cyclical goods.

CITIC Securities’ research report suggests that HALO essentially represents a one-time revaluation of low-substitution-risk assets, and its trading reflects stage-based style rotations rather than a new long-term growth paradigm. When AI has no clear new direction, HALO is worth attention; once AI expansion becomes clearer, capital will shift back to high-growth assets.

“HALO assets are not simply ‘anti-AI,’ but rather a rebalancing of investment portfolios,” said Guotai Haitong Securities’ research report. When the market excessively chases the future potential of AI and pushes up growth stock valuations, it is more necessary to solidify the defensive base of the portfolio with HALO assets.

Beijing News Shell Finance Reporter Zhu Yueyi | Editor Chen Li | Proofreader Mu Xiangtong