Morgan Stanley's strategy team made an unusually large overhaul of its high-conviction stock pool, recommending that investors broaden their exposure in European portfolios rather than focus only on market themes such as AI capital spending and defense. According to Sina Finance, the team led by Marina Zavolock said it favors a diversified allocation strategy rather than abandoning the AI investment theme.
Since the end of August, the team has added 15 overweight top picks, compared with the usual monthly addition of three to four names. The list now includes 43 overweight top picks, 60% of which were added over the past three months. The new additions span banks and financials, including ABN AMRO Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Arden, and EQT; companies with their own stock-specific logic such as Accor, Shell, and Scout24; and firms benefiting from artificial intelligence and data center development, including Legrand, Kingspan, and Merlin Properties.