Avantis ETF Expands NIO Holdings

Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF (known as Avem) has made its largest purchase of NIO shares to date in the second quarter of 2025, marking 21 consecutive quarters of buying from the Chinese electric vehicle maker.

According to a recent SEC filing, this $9.7 billion fund reported owning 911,470 shares of NIO by the end of May—an increase of 48.55% from the 613,576 shares it held three months earlier.

This new position was valued at $3.23 million at the time of filing, and with the closing price on Tuesday, it has now risen to over $4.29 million.

NIO’s stocks that are listed in the U.S. saw a significant rise, climbing more than 10% on July 23 to exceed $5.25, which is a peak not reached in four months. This increase has led to a month-long profit of over 41% for the company, partly as it gears up to launch the eagerly awaited six-seat SUV L90 under its ONVO sub-brand.

The latest investment by Avem represents its most aggressive quarterly growth since it began purchasing NIO shares in early 2020, when it initially held just 3,429 shares.

Since that time, Avem has consistently increased its holdings each quarter, even as broader institutional profits from electric vehicle manufacturers have dropped significantly.

This week, two other funds managed by Avantis also updated their positions in NIO. The Avantis Responsible Emerging Markets Equity ETF (AVSE) increased its holdings by 13.24%, reaching 4,816 shares, while the Avantis Emerging Equity Fund Institutional Class (Aveex) remained steady at 17,882 shares.

Avem’s approach focuses on emerging market companies, particularly those that have low-value yet profitable prospects. Its leading investments include Taiwan Semiconductors, Tencent Holdings, Samsung Electronics, and Alibaba Group.

The spike in NIO purchases comes amid a broader trend of inflows into ETFs. In mid-May, Avem recorded the highest weekly net inflow in its history as the U.S. made strides toward a potential trade resolution with China. These inflows accounted for more than half of the capital that flowed into emerging market ETFs registered in the U.S. during that week, as reported by Bloomberg.

As of Wednesday, NIO had 467 institutional shareholders owning a cumulative 231,159,177 shares. Some of the largest supporters include firms like UBS Group AG, Morgan Stanley, Wolverine Asset Management, Jane Street Group, and Susquehanna International Group. The overall ownership is still changing, as these entities have yet to submit their second-quarter updates.

Since mid-2022, institutional holdings in NIO have seen a decline of approximately 61%.

In other noteworthy activities from Q2, Switzerland’s Vontobel private bank more than doubled its stakes in both NIO and XPENG while expanding its U.S.-based Libian holdings. By the end of June, Vontobel owned 1,094,398 shares of NIO, valued at $3.75 million after acquiring an additional 608,000 shares during the quarter.

Conversely, IMC-Chicago, a U.S. subsidiary of Dutch investment entity IMC, significantly reduced its stake in NIO. The company cut its common stock position by 58.1% to 644,280 shares, amounting to $2.21 million at the end of the quarter, and also reduced its exposure to bullish options on electric vehicle manufacturers, as per regulatory filings.

Latest data shows that NIO’s core brands experienced a 30% increase in the final week of July, tallying 3,250 insurance registrations across China, according to social media reports. Additionally, NIO has introduced discounts of up to 190,000 yuan ($26,480) on the ET7 sedan and EC7 coupe SUV.

Under the current promotion, the ET7 starts at 230,000 yuan ($32,040), and the EC7 at 260,000 yuan ($36,220), compared to their original list prices of 420,000 yuan ($58,500) and 488,000 yuan ($68,000), respectively.

Despite a 10% drop in ONVO vehicle registrations, brand marketing head Pu Yiang attributed a staggering 71% slump in figures for other sub-brands to production challenges that were resolved later last week.

At the moment, NIO shares were trading at $4.62, reflecting a decline during Wednesday’s pre-market session.