Since the beginning of 2025, a significant wave of departures has hit China Merchants Fund Management, with a total of 32 employees leaving the company. The exits include key figures such as fund managers, investment managers, and research staff, raising questions about the firm's talent retention strategy.

The departures began in early January and have continued steadily throughout the year. On January 5, an individual identified as Xiao left the firm, followed by five more departures on January 29, including Chen, Cui, Ling, Huang, and Xu. On April 3, fund manager Liu Di departed after managing the China Merchants Fund Medical Consumption Equity Fund for just over a year, during which the fund posted a return of -11%. His departure was officially announced on December 23, 2025, citing work arrangements as the reason.

April saw additional losses with investment manager Chen Zewei leaving on April 20 and another employee named Zhu departing on April 26. The month of May brought two more exits on May 31, with employees Yang and Dong leaving the firm. June continued the trend with several departures on June 2, June 11, and June 21, affecting employees including Chen, Xu, Di, Wu, Wang Yan, Zhou Zhimin, Qi, and Wang.

One of the most notable departures was that of Qi X, who was considered a key figure at the company. His information disappeared from the fund practitioner system on June 21. Similarly, Dong X left on June 30, and Liu X Feng departed on July 8 after joining the firm just three months earlier on April 10. Kang X Ge followed on July 22, and another Wang X left on August 5.

The most recent wave of departures occurred in mid-August. On August 14, four employees including Xie X, Li X, and Song X Kang all left the company. Xie X, who held a master's degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Graduate School, had a distinguished career path that included roles at China International Futures, Beijing Guangda Youyou Investment Management, Everbright Futures, Postal Savings Bank of China, and China Post Financial Management before joining China Merchants Fund Management in April 2024 as head of the fixed income hybrid asset investment department.

Additionally, the company experienced a leadership change when Chairman Qian Longhai retired on July 25, 2026. Qingmei Pingcuo was announced as his successor in an official bulletin regarding the Beijing State-owned Assets Company closed-end commercial real estate securities investment fund. This leadership transition adds another layer of uncertainty to the firm's ongoing restructuring efforts.

Beyond the individual departures, the company has lost several long-tenured professionals. Wang Yan, who joined in August 2014 with a doctorate in economics from Jilin University, left on June 11 after nearly a decade of service. Zhou Zhimin, who also left on June 11, had been with the firm since 2014 after earning his doctorate from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Graduate School. The cumulative impact of these departures across research, investment, and management roles suggests a period of significant organizational change for the firm.