The era of star fund managers in the public fund industry single-handedly managing massive portfolios is rapidly coming to an end.
A recent announcement from E Fund Blue Chip Select has revealed that top-tier fund manager Zhang Kun will now have assistance managing the fund. This "super flagship" product, which he has managed alone for nearly eight years, has welcomed two co-managers for the first time. Prior to this, other billion-dollar star managers like Liu Yanchun of Invesco Great Wall Fund and Ge Lan of China Europe Fund have also added deputies or lightened their workloads. The industry is accelerating its shift from reliance on "individual IP" to a "platform-based operation" model.
However, this trend is not limited to top performers. According to Wind data, over 2,200 fund products have seen manager changes this year, a 10% increase year-over-year. Concurrently, the number of fund managers leaving their positions and the number of newly hired managers have both risen by more than 20% compared to last year, indicating a continued acceleration in the talent reshuffling within the public fund sector.
Behind this personnel shake-up lies a distinct regulatory imprint. Against the backdrop of new industry regulations taking effect, multiple rigid constraints—such as the implementation of long-term performance assessments and adjustments to performance benchmarks—are reshaping both the personnel and products in the public fund industry. The sector is transitioning from an arena dominated by individual stars to a battlefield governed by institutional systems.
**Zhang Kun's Billion-Dollar Fund Ends Solo Management**
On May 23rd, an announcement from E Fund once again focused market attention on Zhang Kun. It revealed that E Fund Blue Chip Select has officially appointed He Yicheng and Yang Siliang as co-managers to manage the fund alongside him. As the largest active equity fund by size in the market, every move concerning either E Fund Blue Chip Select or Zhang Kun himself attracts significant attention.
Why were additional managers suddenly appointed? According to sources, this "workload reduction" move does not indicate Zhang Kun's intention to leave. Instead, for a large-scale fund like Blue Chip Select, introducing managers with different expertise can leverage complementary perspectives from multiple angles, thereby optimizing the investment experience for fund holders.
Wind data shows that E Fund Blue Chip Select was established in September 2018. For nearly eight years since its inception, it has been managed solely by Zhang Kun, becoming a super flagship product whose scale once approached 90 billion yuan at its peak. Even though its size has "shrunk" in recent years due to market rotations and performance, it still maintained an asset size of 26.793 billion yuan as of the end of the first quarter this year.
Zhang Kun, with nearly 17 years of deep experience in value investing, is a core figure in E Fund's active equity investment research. His personal assets under management once soared to nearly 134.5 billion yuan in mid-2021, making him a benchmark fund manager in the industry. However, in recent years, with accelerated market rotations and intensified industry differentiation, his heavy concentration in consumer and internet blue-chip styles has faced headwinds. As of May 22nd, E Fund Blue Chip Select has declined by over 45% in the past five years.
The two newly appointed co-managers are not newcomers to the industry. He Yicheng specializes in the TMT sector with a bias towards technology and growth styles and is a fund manager cultivated internally within E Fund's investment research system. Yang Siliang has over seven years of experience in public fund management, with deep expertise in the consumer and value styles, adept at identifying investment opportunities in high-quality companies from a long-term cyclical perspective.
"It is quite common for fund managers to step down from managing some products. For managers with large-scale funds, stepping down from some products can alleviate pressure, allowing them to focus more on investment research and providing more opportunities for younger managers," said an industry insider. The industry's trend towards "de-emphasizing star power" is also a significant influencing factor. The core logic behind adding co-managers is actually the dynamic optimization of team capabilities.
Another fund company representative who recently experienced a similar situation also stated that personnel change arrangements are normal adjustments made by the company based on the long-term planning of the overall investment research team, efficient optimization of resource allocation, and practical needs of product management. The primary goal is to optimize the fund management framework, enhance the professionalism and competitiveness of fund operations, to better adapt to the complex and ever-changing market environment.
"Adding personnel is more about considering complementary strengths. For example, for growth-style funds, there is a greater need to supplement with newer, more agile fund managers who can better adapt to rapid industry changes," added a head of equity investment at a leading institution, detailing the practical aspects. Initially, the allocation ratio and management boundaries for new managers will be limited. After their performance is validated over a period, their authority will be gradually expanded.
"Some new fund managers may naturally have a greater preference for new technologies and directions, and their understanding of new industries may be more profound and forward-looking, but their risk appetite might also be higher," he further explained. After磨合 (磨合), different fund managers can form differentiated divisions of labor within their areas of expertise. For instance, one may excel in value investing, while another focuses on挖掘 (挖掘) growth stocks, together forming a "value + growth" combined management model.
**Intense Industry Personnel Adjustments**
Taking a broader view, Zhang Kun's move is actually the latest step on a path already well-trodden. In recent years, several leading companies have seen their billion-scale fund managers either add deputies, adjust分工 (分工), or switch from a single-manager system to a collaborative investment research team system. Moreover, the list includes names of some of the most prominent star fund managers around 2021.
On May 9th, Invesco Great Wall Fund issued three consecutive announcements stating that Liu Yanchun's managed products, including Invesco Great Wall Dingyi, Invesco Great Wall Domestic Demand Growth, and Invesco Great Wall Domestic Demand Growth II, would simultaneously add co-managers. Liu Yanchun currently manages total assets exceeding 26.5 billion yuan, with four of his six products already transitioning to co-management models.
Ge Lan's situation is similar. In July last year, China Europe Medical and Health added Zhao Lei as a co-manager; at the end of April this year, she announced her departure from China Europe Mingrui New Starting Point. Currently, her managed products are只剩下 (只剩下) China Europe Medical Innovation and China Europe Medical and Health, with only one being solely managed by her, reducing her规模 (规模) once again to 32.197 billion yuan.
Also in April, GF Fund密集披露 (密集披露) "workload reduction" adjustments, with several billion-scale fund managers like Tang Xiaobin and Zheng Chengran successively optimizing their managed products. Among them, Zheng Chengran, after stepping down from GF Growth Power Three-Year Holding in March,卸任 (卸任) GF New Energy Select, reducing his personal assets under management to below 10 billion yuan. Tang Xiaobin successively卸任 (卸任) products like GF Multi-Factor, GF Value Leading One-Year Holding, and GF Ruiyu One-Year Holding.
Wind data shows that as of May 24th, since the beginning of the year, over 2,200 products have experienced fund manager changes, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year. Concurrently, talent mobility between firms has also significantly intensified. The number of fund managers leaving their positions and the number of newly hired managers this year have reached 185 and 282, respectively, with both figures showing year-over-year increases of over 20%.
The密集 (密集)节奏 (节奏) of these changes, coupled with their involvement with the "star招牌 (招牌)" of multiple institutions, highlights the magnitude of the adjustment actions. "The dependence of fund products on individual fund managers is far less than their need for a platform. Such adjustments are necessary to fully and effectively achieve high-quality development," said the aforementioned华南 (华南) source. Essentially, it shifts reliance from "individual IP" back to "platform投研 (投研) capability."
Based on his observations, investors today are also more mature and rational when facing fund manager departures or adjustments. An increasing number of investors recognize that, over the long term, "individual英雄主义 (英雄主义)" is becoming ineffective. No single fund manager can be a perpetual winner; each has their own area of expertise and "strengths," as well as market styles they are less适应 (适应) to and "weaknesses."
**Multiple Factors Behind "Deconstructing Star Power"**
In recent years, the trend of "de-emphasizing star power" in the public fund industry has gradually taken shape,叠加 (叠加) with the加速 (加速)交替 (交替) of old and new talent within the industry. The multi-fund manager co-management model is becoming normalized. However, behind this trend also lies policy guidance. With the出台 (出台) of documents related to performance assessment, compensation management, and performance benchmarks, industry rules are being comprehensively reshaped. Fund companies are密集梳理 (密集梳理) their product lines and personnel配置 (配置).
Among these, the "Guidelines for Performance Comparison Benchmarks of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds" took effect in March. It is understood from the industry that the entire industry is原则上 (原则上) divided into four batches to orderly complete the adjustment of performance benchmarks for existing products and the modification of legal documents. Each batch is间隔 (间隔) by approximately two months, with principle timelines set for late April, mid-June, mid-August, and mid-October, respectively.
Furthermore, if a single company plans to adjust more than 100 products,原则上 (原则上) it should be done in 3 to 4 batches. If the number of products to be adjusted is fewer than 20,原则上 (原则上) it should be completed in one batch. Each batch should原则上 (原则上) encompass different types of products, such as active equity, active bond, and Fund of Funds (FOF).
By the end of April this year, the first batch of 12 fund companies had already率先宣布 (率先宣布) adjustments to the performance benchmarks of some of their existing products. A relevant company disclosed that a dedicated working group had been established, including senior management in charge, heads and key personnel from departments such as Product Management, Multi-Strategy and Investment Innovation, Risk Management, and Legal Compliance.
"One of the key tasks this year is adjusting the performance benchmarks of existing products. The目的是 (目的是) to achieve适配统一 (适配统一) between product names, investment strategies, risk-return characteristics, performance benchmarks, the individual investment frameworks of fund managers, and investment styles," a华南 (华南) fund industry professional stated. Against this background, some products require adjustments to managers who are more适配 (适配).
Analyzing from the perspective of expertise circles: "During the industry's rapid development phase in the past, constrained by the矛盾 (矛盾) between the shortage of fund managers and the爆发 (爆发) of products, many fund managers likely承受 (承受) significant规模压力 (规模压力). However, at this stage, there is greater emphasis on investor returns and获得感 (获得感), also requiring fund managers to be more focused and specialized, defining their management半径 (半径) according to their own expertise circles, striving to improve performance."
On the other hand,考核 (考核) management such as compensation is also a significant reason. The "Guidelines for Performance Assessment Management of Fund Management Companies" also took effect in April. The new regulations, through a series of institutional arrangements—including setting an 80% weight for medium-to-long-term performance, differentiated rigid assessments by position, strict control of total compensation and分配级差 (分配级差), increased mandatory co-investment for executives and fund managers,阶梯式 (阶梯式)奖惩 (奖惩), and终身追责 (终身追责) upon departure or retirement—comprehensively延长 (延长) the assessment cycle and deepen利益绑定 (利益绑定), making it no longer possible for "fund holders to lose money while managers still receive high salaries."
"Fund managers with outstanding performance will receive reasonable returns, while those with长期业绩 (长期业绩) failing to meet targets face clear risks of salary reductions and may even be淘汰 (淘汰) by the market," in the view of the aforementioned华南 (华南) source. This mechanism may subject fund managers to more realistic "survival of the fittest," and the increased co-investment ratios and performance追溯 (追溯) may also increase income波动性 (波动性) for practitioners.
A Shanghai-based fund professional who wished to remain anonymous revealed that the new assessment policies have also influenced the investment behavior of some fund managers. According to his observations, under the new assessment rules,新生代 (新生代) fund managers may be more willing to "prove themselves," tending to be more进攻 (进攻)-oriented in performance. In contrast, some资深 (资深) fund managers might consider从 "性价比 (性价比)"角度 (角度), with behavior更趋于 (更趋于) controlling risk.
The MACD golden cross signal has formed, and these stocks are performing well!
Vast information, precise interpretation, all on the Sina Finance App.