Q1 Active Equity “Dark Horse Profile”: 29 stocks with returns exceeding 20%, and seven publicly offered funds demonstrate a “group army” breakout

Ask AI · How do small and medium fund companies achieve performance breakthroughs through team collaboration?

Cailian Press, April 2nd (Reporter Yan Jun) The first quarter, characterized by initial gains followed by declines and numerous hotspots, has ended. Satellite launches, HALO relay, power sector rises, US-Iran conflicts disrupt rhythm, ending with a return to innovative drugs. Overall market profit experience is average, as evidenced by indices. Besides the cyclical-focused CSI 500 and the micro-cap CSI 2000, the Shanghai Composite, STAR Market 50, CSI 300 all closed the quarter in negative territory.

How did public funds perform? Although regulators discourage short-term rankings like quarterly ones, the first quarter each year is a window to observe annual style. Aside from pure performance, this year’s active equity products are quite noteworthy.

This year, among all active equity funds in the market, 29 funds returned over 20%. Interestingly, among the top 30 funds in market ranking, seven fund companies—China Life Anbao, Yinhua, Huashang, Hongtu Innovation, Western Lide, Ping An, Huatai Bairui—are “grouped” on the list.

At least two products from each of these seven companies are simultaneously shortlisted, demonstrating strong “group army” combat capability. This is even more evident among small and medium fund companies. Collective breakthrough to some extent reflects fund managers’ precise bets on specific sectors, showcasing the overall strength of the fund company’s research and investment team.

In terms of overall characteristics: first, high-performing fund managers are mostly young, but veterans are also energetic, such as Tang Xiaobin from GF Fund; second, the effectiveness of industry research and investment integration is becoming apparent, especially when different fund managers within the same company lead the front, indicating team decision-making; third, small and medium-sized fund companies are leading at the company level, with Huatai Bairui, a large ETF firm, pushing into active equity, and traditional sector-focused companies also making efforts.

China Life Anbao and Yinhua Funds each have 4 shortlisted products

China Life Anbao Fund performed remarkably in this first quarter, with fund managers Yan Kun, Meng Yijia, and Qi Shanbin managing four products that entered the top ten in quarterly performance rankings.

Yan Kun’s China Life Anbao Digital Economy and China Life Anbao Strategy Select ranked second and third respectively for the quarter, while Meng Yijia’s China Life Anbao Industry Upgrade followed closely at fourth; Meng Yijia and Qi Shanbin jointly manage China Life Anbao Core Industry, ranking 14th.

As an insurance asset-backed fund company, China Life Anbao’s strength lies in fixed income. How to break through in equity products? The company states in public materials that after Yú Yǒng took over as chairman, they continued to leverage the company’s advantages, optimized structure, and promoted business transformation and innovation, including increasing equity positions in existing products, launching new ETFs, and implementing quantitative strategies.

Take Yan Kun’s management of China Life Anbao Digital Economy as an example. It holds many technology stocks, especially in the AI industry chain. The fund manager is relatively young, previously a researcher at Golden Eagle Fund, joined China Life Anbao in 2018, progressing from researcher and assistant to fund manager. His management tenure is only 2.26 years, making him a cultivated fund manager of China Life Anbao.

Veteran large fund Yinhua Fund also had a good first quarter. Yinhua Tongli Selected (5th), Yinhua Domestic Demand Selected (12th), Yinhua Growth Pioneer (15th), and Yinhua Growth Intelligent Manufacturing (25th) all made the top thirty, all managed solely by Wang Ligang.

Wang Ligang is a mid-generation fund manager. Based on his holdings at the end of 2025, his capability circle covers gold, innovative drugs, military trade, aerospace, and other fields, with strong sector grasp.

Notably, Yinhua Tongli Selected was originally co-managed with Liu Hui. After Liu Hui’s unfortunate passing in January, Wang Ligang took over management alone. In the recently released annual report, he also stated that he would continue to inherit Liu Hui’s investment philosophy, focusing on industry and value, with a long-term perspective, selecting industries based on industry trends, and making contrarian trades when buying and selling.

Western Lide, Huashang, Hongtu Innovation each have 3 products in the top ranks

Western Lide, Huashang, and Hongtu Innovation each have three products on the list. The difference is that all three products from Western Lide and Hongtu Innovation are managed by a single fund manager.

All funds shortlisted from Western Lide are managed by He Qi, including Western Lide New Power (6th), Western Lide Strategy Select (9th), and Western Lide Industry Theme Select (11th).

He Qi previously worked at Everbright Prudence. Since joining Western Lide in 2020, he is now Deputy General Manager, Chief Investment Officer of Equity, and General Manager of the Equity Investment Department, also serving as General Manager of the Research Department. He has a macro perspective, with unique insights into resource commodities, and continuously updates his research framework. He integrates macro outlook, industry depth, quantitative breadth, and stock-level precision into investment decisions, actively applying AI and quantitative tools to improve research efficiency.

As a manager, He Qi emphasizes team development, establishing a consensus asset collaboration mechanism, adopting a “collective discussion + individual decision” model.

Hongtu Innovation, with a distinctive tech style, has three products managed by Ge Junlong: Hongtu Innovation New Technology (7th), Hongtu Innovation Tech Innovation (22nd), and Hongtu Innovation Prosperity Returns (23rd).

This is not Ge Junlong’s first appearance. He has nearly 20 years of securities experience and 11 years in investment management. He has worked with Yang Kai, Peng Gan, and Zhang Xiaoren, known as the “Bao Ying Four Little Dragons.”

His investment strategy combines industry cycle research with bottom-up stock selection, with a broad investment horizon. He rotates stocks and sectors based on valuation changes, and adjusts flexibly across industries according to market conditions. He joined Hongtu Innovation in 2018, managing the longest-running fund, Hongtu Innovation Transformation Select, with a total return of 373.14%.

In 2025, Ge Junlong has already performed well. In the first three months of this year, his products, along with those managed by Zhang Mingxin of Huashang Fund and Chen Wenkai of Huatai Bairui Fund, doubled within a year.

Huashang Fund’s Zhang Mingxin manages Huashang Balanced Growth (8th) and Huashang Zhi Yuan Return (10th), both in the top ten, showing very steady performance. Additionally, Chen Xiaqiong and Peng Wu jointly manage Huashang High-End Equipment Manufacturing A (27th).

Huashang is a good case study: after the departure of the chief fund manager Zhou Haidong, how does the fund company respond? Clearly, the company’s equity performance has held up. The rise of the billion-yuan star Zhang Mingxin, who excels at alpha generation in industry trends, deepening AI and tech tracks, demonstrates the company’s strategic focus.

Huatai Bairui and Ping An Fund each have two products on the list

Huatai Bairui Fund, a large ETF firm, has two products managed by the same fund manager, Chen Wenkai: Huatai Bairui Quality Growth (21st) and Huatai Bairui Quality Select (30th).

Amid the bustling ETF scene, Huatai Bairui’s active equity performance has improved. Recently, the company’s Deputy General Manager of Investment, Dong Chen, was promoted to Vice President.

Compared to the trend of vice presidents stepping down to focus solely on research and investment, the market has not seen “top talent promoted to official” for a long time, indicating the company’s emphasis on active equity.

By 2025, Huatai Asset Management’s Chairman Cui Chun joined Huatai Bairui Fund as General Manager. Although rarely seen in public, the company’s strategic points are noteworthy: first, rebranding ETFs, starting with the CSI 300 ETF, to build brand recognition; second, promoting Dong Chen to develop active equity and strengthen internal talent cultivation. Coupled with the already strong quantitative team, Huatai Bairui’s future business is worth watching.

Returning to Chen Wenkai, he is a typical sell-side to buy-side career path. Like Dong Chen, he was cultivated internally at Huatai Bairui. Since managing products in 2023, with over two years of management experience, his focus is on AI computing power, with assets under management also surpassing 10 billion.

The last company with two products on the list is Ping An Fund, managed by Yu Yao and Yao Wenqiang: Ping An Technology Innovation (20th) and Ping An Xin’an (26th).

Strictly speaking, Ping An Fund is also an insurance asset-backed fund, traditionally strong in fixed income. Recently, they have also boldly promoted new managers, from last year’s Zhou Sicong and Zhai Sen to this year’s Lin Qingyuan, Yu Yao, Yao Wenqiang, Mo Jiao, and others, with top products in various sectors.

At the company’s strategy meeting earlier this year, Ping An Fund’s Equity Investment Director Shen Aiqian introduced the research platform system, which, through a “multi-team, multi-style, multi-strategy” framework, has formed eight professional research teams covering growth, value, and balanced styles, and laid out nine sectors and over 30 sub-strategies based on in-depth industry research. In short, the layout combines breadth and sharpness.

Over the past year, Ping An Fund has accelerated its fund deployment pace, with clearer directions. They reported 66 products in 2025, issued 40, and have continued to launch new funds this year at a rapid pace.

Tang Xiaobin, Qin Xuan, Dong Xuan each have their own characteristics

There are also several other fund managers with single products on the list worth noting.

First, Tang Xiaobin, managing GF Yuanjian Zhixuan, topped the list in the first quarter with a 58.03% return, mainly allocating to storage and related semiconductor equipment, as well as some leading companies in niche sectors.

He has over 11 years of product management experience, is a veteran at GF, deeply engaged in the tech sector. He believes that in 2026, the A-share tech sector will undergo a profound structural change. He states that if 2023-2025 is the “Cambrian explosion” of AI technology, with some noise and disorderly competition, then 2026 will enter the “Darwinian moment.” His heavy holdings last year included double stocks like Baiwei Storage and Puran Shares, which doubled.

Qin Xuan from Qianhai Open Source also warrants attention. He manages the Qianhai Open Source Value Strategy, which is notable for being a veteran sector-focused firm with multiple top products. He is one of the few industry insiders who transitioned from an FOF fund manager to active equity. Previously, he managed Qianhai Open Source Yu Yuan, which ranked second in the same category. In 2023, he stepped down from FOF to become the manager of the Qianhai Open Source Value Strategy Fund.

In terms of style, he is relatively conservative, pursuing absolute returns. When market styles are favorable, he employs a barbell strategy, participating in high-growth sectors like computing power and resources with certain positions. For 2026, he expects overall market volatility to increase significantly compared to last year, emphasizing the importance of phase-based drawdown control.

Dong Xuan from Cinda AoYa, also a young fund manager cultivated by the company, joined in May 2021 and began managing products in September 2024. His expertise covers consumer, industrial, and power sectors. His style emphasizes stock investment as buying company assets and liabilities, strictly avoiding companies with poor balance sheets. His management experience is short, but with only a year and a half, he has already gained market recognition. The future looks promising.