Strategic Resources Behind AI: A New Fund Targets Minerals, Nuclear Energy, and Power Grids

Table of Contents

• You might want to know


• Main Topic


• Key Insights Table


• Afterwards...

You might want to know

• Why are strategic resources and energy infrastructure becoming increasingly important to the development of artificial intelligence?


• How does a portfolio combining minerals, uranium, and power infrastructure differ from an investment approach focused on a single technology or commodity?

Main Topic

Global competition is undergoing a significant shift. As concerns about supply-chain security and the re-nationalization of resources grow, the foundations of technological competition are expanding beyond software algorithms and semiconductors. Access to physical resources and reliable energy supplies is becoming an increasingly important part of the technology landscape. Against this backdrop, SinoPac Securities Investment Trust (永豐投信) announced the launch of the SinoPac Global Strategic Resources Fund (永豐全球戰略資源基金) on the 15th. The fund focuses on three areas: critical minerals, uranium and nuclear energy, and electricity infrastructure. Its offering is scheduled to begin on October 19, with the stated aim of giving investors exposure to global industrial upgrading and the changing valuation of strategic resources.

Fund manager Luo Jiade (羅嘉德) says that in recent years, market attention has largely centered on NVIDIA (輝達), GPUs, and AI data centers. Looking more deeply into the industrial supply chain, however, highlights a broader possibility: companies that provide essential inputs to AI may also benefit from its expansion. In his view, the biggest winners of the AI era will not necessarily be limited to AI hardware and software companies.

AI systems require advanced chips, but those chips and the data centers that use them also depend on metals, minerals, and substantial supplies of electricity. Luo compares AI to the “brain” of the future and describes the resources targeted by the fund as the “skeleton, stomach, and blood vessels” that help keep that brain operating. This analogy underscores a practical point: digital technology has a physical foundation, and the availability of materials and power can influence how quickly it can grow.

For many years, global production strategies emphasized low costs. Today, geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and tariff conflicts have helped place resource and energy security closer to the center of national competitiveness. The fund’s thesis is that countries and industries able to secure critical inputs may be better positioned to support future technology and energy systems. This does not eliminate supply risks or guarantee investment returns, but it helps explain why resource access has become an important consideration in discussions of AI infrastructure.

The fund describes its approach as a combination of “great-power competition, future technology, and strategic resources.” Rather than focusing only on the cyclical performance of one commodity, it applies a “three-three-three balanced principle” across three investment themes. Two themes are framed as growth-oriented or offensive exposures, while the third is intended to provide a more defensive infrastructure component.

Critical minerals: materials for technology and electrification

The first theme focuses on critical minerals, including copper, aluminum, platinum, tin, and rare earth elements. These materials are used across a range of industrial and technology applications. Copper, for example, is essential to smart grids, electric vehicles, and humanoid robots, all of which rely on electrical connections and power systems. The source article states that the world has gone 17 consecutive years without discovering a large new copper mine. In the fund’s view, the combination of continuing demand and constrained new discoveries points to a potential supply-demand imbalance.

Mineral markets can be affected by many factors, including production costs, mine development timelines, regulation, and changes in demand. A long-term industrial need does not necessarily translate into a smooth price trend. Nevertheless, the strategic-resource perspective draws attention to the fact that the technologies often described as digital or clean-energy innovations also depend on materials extracted and processed through physical supply chains.

Uranium and nuclear energy: a potential source of dependable power

The second theme is uranium and nuclear energy. The fund’s rationale links the energy transition and the substantial electricity requirements of AI data centers with renewed policy interest in nuclear power. Nuclear generation is presented as an efficient and stable source of electricity that could provide dependable baseload power for systems requiring continuous operation, including data centers supporting AI computing.

This thesis reflects the importance of matching electricity supply with growing demand. The expansion of computing infrastructure can increase pressure on power systems, while broader electrification adds demand from other sectors. Nuclear energy is one of several possible components of a reliable electricity mix. Its role depends on national policies, project economics, safety standards, construction schedules, and the management of nuclear materials and waste. These considerations make the sector strategically relevant while also leaving it exposed to regulatory and operational uncertainties.

Smart grids and energy storage: addressing delivery constraints

The third theme focuses on smart grids and energy-storage equipment. Its purpose is to address the problem of having electricity available but being unable to deliver it where it is needed. Aging grid infrastructure can limit the movement of power, even when generation capacity exists. The fund identifies transformers, switchgear, energy-storage systems, and fuel cells as examples of defensive power infrastructure investments.

Grid upgrades can support the integration of new generation sources and help manage fluctuations in supply and demand. Storage systems may help balance electricity over time, while transformers and switching equipment are essential to transmitting and distributing power. These infrastructure needs can be linked to long-term investment plans and utility requirements, which the fund characterizes as comparatively stable demand. Including this theme is intended to reduce reliance on more cyclical commodity exposures and help limit portfolio fluctuations.

The overall portfolio concept combines these three areas rather than relying on a single resource or industry. The source article states that historical data show a favorable risk-return profile over the past 5 years for a three-dimensional allocation across critical minerals, uranium energy, and power infrastructure. It says this combination may pursue long-term capital appreciation while diversifying some of the volatility associated with a single industry, creating what it calls a “growth plus defense” multiplier effect.

Historical performance, however, is not a guarantee of future results. Diversification may help spread exposure across different parts of the strategic-resource chain, but it cannot eliminate market risk. Mineral producers, uranium-related businesses, and grid-equipment companies can respond differently to interest rates, commodity prices, policy decisions, and project cycles. The strategy’s central proposition is therefore not that the three themes move in unison, but that their distinct roles may complement one another within a portfolio.

For security selection, SinoPac Securities Investment Trust is working with international index provider Solactive. According to the source, the initial screening draws from a global universe of equities and considers market capitalization, liquidity, and ESG principles. The process seeks companies with leading positions in their industries, including businesses that may be less prominent in popular AI discussions but provide important inputs or infrastructure.

Examples of named holdings or investment targets include Freeport-McMoRan (麥克莫蘭銅金公司), described as the world’s largest copper producer; Cameco (卡麥科), described as a leading publicly listed uranium company; and GE Vernova. These examples illustrate the strategy’s intended breadth across minerals, nuclear fuel, and power-related infrastructure. They should be understood as examples cited in the source article, not as a guarantee of future fund holdings or performance.

More broadly, the fund presents an alternative way to examine the AI supply chain. Investors often focus on chip designers, computing hardware, and software platforms. A resource-focused approach instead considers the materials and energy systems required to build and operate that technology. The central insight is that AI growth depends not only on computing capability, but also on secure supplies of minerals and reliable electricity infrastructure.

SinoPac Securities Investment Trust argues that concentrating on a single technology theme may carry significant risk amid market volatility and geopolitical change. The fund is presented as a tool for gaining global exposure to strategic assets while considering the energy and electricity dimensions of AI. Its stated objective is to participate in long-term technological growth while also taking portfolio efficiency and resilience into account. As with any investment strategy, investors would need to consider their own risk tolerance, time horizon, and the fund’s official documentation.

Key Insights Table

Afterwards...

The strategic-resource perspective points to several areas that merit further attention as AI and electrification develop. Better tools for mapping mineral supply chains could help companies and policymakers identify concentration risks, production bottlenecks, and opportunities for recycling. Research into mineral substitution and material efficiency may also reduce the pressure placed on scarce resources without slowing the deployment of essential technologies.

Energy systems deserve equally careful examination. Advances in grid monitoring, high-voltage transmission, storage, and demand management could help deliver electricity more effectively as data centers and other users expand. Further work on nuclear technologies, safety, financing, and waste management may clarify where nuclear power can contribute to dependable low-carbon electricity. Comparing these options across different regional conditions will be important; there is no single infrastructure pathway that fits every market.

Finally, investors and researchers can benefit from more transparent analysis of the links between technology demand, commodity supply, and infrastructure investment. A resilient AI economy will depend on understanding how digital innovation connects to physical resources, energy reliability, and responsible environmental and social practices. Exploring these connections can help decision-makers assess both opportunities and constraints, while keeping uncertainty and investment risk in view.