Time to "carefully select" individual stocks again! In the Year of the Horse, how to find a "different" fund manager to lead your race?

The volatile market since the beginning of the A-share market is sending a clear signal to investors:

The main investment theme for the Year of the Horse is very different from previous years.

Currently, the market is more focused on stability at the index level, while external disturbances are increasing. This means that the previous “rising water lifts all boats” broad rally is unlikely to continue, and the market has truly entered a structural era that tests fund managers’ ability to “carefully select” individual stocks.

At this critical moment, companies with long-term excellent performance in equities and strong research teams, such as ICBC Credit Suisse, may be more worth paying attention to.

Because such platforms often have long-term talent pools, deeply covered industry research systems, and scientifically effective organizational processes. Within such teams, it is easier to find “insiders” with outstanding stock-picking abilities.

In the past two years, ICBC Credit Suisse fund manager Marina Ma has stood out with excellent performance. Looking at her resume and holdings, you will find that this fund manager is “not quite the same” as our traditional impression of growth-oriented players — she is more focused, more forward-looking, and also more steady and prudent.

Such candidates may be the “riders” in public funds that investors can entrust during the volatile market of the Year of the Horse. What kind of “thoroughbred” is needed on the investment track of the Year of the Horse to launch a charge? Perhaps this is the answer.

Refining engineering “skills” through Peking University experience

Marina Ma’s student days seem to have quietly laid the “foundation” for her current research work.

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Peking University’s Department of Microelectronics, and a master’s degree from Peking University’s Department of Computer Science — the booming AI hardware, semiconductors, etc., are precisely her specialized fields during her student years.

After entering the public fund industry, Marina Ma’s expertise was further “sharpened.” At ICBC Credit Suisse, she has long been engaged in TMT industry research, starting as a grassroots TMT researcher, gradually rising to TMT team leader, research deputy director, and eventually fund manager.

Looking back on her research journey, “specialized” and “deep” are appropriate descriptions. Over the past decade, she has been rooted in the technology sector, refusing to blindly expand her capability circle. Instead, she has accumulated very solid industry cognition and information resources in hard tech fields such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), which have laid a solid foundation for her current work in investment roles.

Her background in engineering and science gives Marina Ma rigorous logical thinking, while the academic influence of Peking University has honed her good temperament. Continuous research accumulation on the ICBC Credit Suisse platform enables Marina Ma to efficiently penetrate market noise and focus on the core logic of technological evolution when facing the bizarre topics of the capital market.

Cutting through falsehoods to find truth has been the greatest test for technology sector investments in recent years.

“Big picture of technology” and forward-looking industry cycles

Whether a fund manager has excellent stock-picking ability depends firstly on whether they have a forward-looking industry macro perspective, and secondly on whether they can accurately translate major trends into outstanding individual stocks. Both of these key abilities are fully reflected in Marina Ma.

Perhaps due to her long-term tracking and research of the tech industry, Marina Ma has her own unique judgment on the major trends in the tech industry, especially the development trend of AI artificial intelligence.

By deducing the development direction of computing power and the speed of application landing, she proactively assesses the huge potential of the large model industry, which also provides a solid basis for her personal investment in key semiconductor companies.

Looking at her management of ICBC New Emerging Manufacturing Hybrid Fund, you can clearly see this forward-looking perspective. Since she took over, the fund’s portfolio has quickly and decisively shifted from a composition mainly of utility stocks to a structure focused on AI and chips, and has maintained this direction to this day.

In hindsight, this was not just a simple “chasing hot spots.” Behind it is Marina Ma’s precise judgment accumulated through in-depth industry chain research.

In the third quarter of 2024, Marina Ma explicitly wrote:

“In the future, actively seek investment opportunities in the technology growth industry, mainly including semiconductors and other directions. After the inventory digestion in 2023, global semiconductor demand is expected to return to growth. China’s semiconductor domestic substitution has entered a deep water zone, with many participants in the low-end segment, while high-end substitution is ongoing. We are long-term optimistic about the development of China’s semiconductor industry, striving to select companies that can continuously evolve towards high-end R&D from the bottom up and have a good competitive landscape.”

This seemingly plain summary is precisely the “opening” and “footnote” of her excellent investment performance over the following year, accurately predicting the recovery of the semiconductor cycle and the wave of domestic substitution, and revealing her core logic for continuously allocating artificial intelligence.

Accurate stock selection must be “precise” and “practical”

After determining the industry direction, only through in-depth research and systematic tracking, from bottom to top, can truly good companies be selected to achieve solid performance. Marina Ma demonstrates strong “implementation” ability in this regard.

Analyzing her fund portfolio reveals that she not only holds leading stocks steadily but also performs well in waves. For those leading stocks with long-term or even most quarterly strong performance, she dares to hold large positions and maintain them for the long term.

For example, a leading domestic chip company entered her top ten holdings during her major rebalancing in the third quarter of 2024, and has remained a stable “core holding” in the portfolio ever since.

Meanwhile, some simulated chip companies or chip accessory companies are staged allocations in her portfolio, which precisely shows her own system and “value view” in asset allocation:

Long-term industry leaders are worth holding continuously, while marginal stocks are operated in waves based on their aggressiveness and cost-effectiveness, contributing to the portfolio’s returns.

Indirectly, Marina Ma’s unique stock-picking ability in the tech field mainly revolves around three core elements:

1. High performance growth: Seeking companies benefiting from industry trends with rapid growth potential;

2. Valuation elasticity: During industry upswings, capturing targets that the market is willing to pay a higher premium for due to growth;

3. Competitive barriers: Ensuring companies can maintain profitability amid cyclical fluctuations and possess a moat.

Combining the above framework and historical quarterly reports, it can be seen that Marina Ma’s tech investments are not simply “buying the track,” but involve deep value discovery, uncovering alpha excess returns in different stages of the tech industry’s development.

Data also confirms this. The quarterly reports show that the ICBC New Emerging Manufacturing Hybrid (A:009707) achieved a 65.78% return in 2025, and ICBC Innovation Select One-Year Open Hybrid (A:009867) achieved a 65.57% return, both standing out. Meanwhile, according to Galaxy Securities, the ICBC New Emerging Manufacturing Hybrid ranked in the top five (5/1465 and 4/709) in the mixed fund - partial stock fund - stock fund categories over the past three and five years, respectively, and received five-star ratings for three- and five-year periods, with strong mid- and long-term performance.

Not only must one pick the right track, but also ensure that the “thoroughbred” runs in an orderly manner — Marina Ma demonstrates strong management ability in portfolio control.

ICBC Credit Suisse’s “team battle” advantage

Marina Ma’s outstanding performance is not isolated; it is supported by ICBC Credit Suisse’s strong platform-based research system.

This aligns with our long-term observation that truly consistently excellent fund managers usually have a powerful research platform behind them.

The TMT team at ICBC Credit Suisse is a perfect example of this platform advantage. The team consists of professionals with deep expertise and rich investment experience, most of whom graduated from well-known domestic and international universities, covering fields such as electronics, computer science, and communications, with a solid foundation of technological knowledge. Their professional expertise allows them to deeply understand the technical features and development trends of tech companies, providing strong support for investment decisions.

As a long-term team-oriented investment institution, ICBC Credit Suisse continuously improves its “platform-based, team-based, integrated, multi-strategy” research system, with strong internal training capabilities. Data shows that by the end of 2025, the firm had over 220 research staff with an average of more than 12 years of experience, and over 70% of fund managers were internally trained. Marina Ma is one of the representatives who grew within this system.

Additionally, in daily operations, ICBC Credit Suisse has established a comprehensive “mentoring” mechanism and high-frequency research interactions, ensuring effective transmission of investment ideas across tiers and continuous flow of investment cognition within the team. This effectively supports fund managers and researchers in transforming individual capabilities into shareable, iterative organizational assets, ultimately impacting the team’s long-term performance. Especially in the TMT sector, team members conduct thematic seminars and other formats to connect industry chain research perspectives, providing multi-dimensional, comprehensive intellectual support for fund managers.

The platform strength has been validated in long-term performance. According to Guotai Haitong Securities data, as of December 31, 2025, ICBC Credit Suisse ranked first among 13 large equity fund companies in both absolute and excess returns over the past seven years (1/13), and also ranked highly over the past five years. The company has also won the “Golden Bull Fund Management Company” award for three consecutive sessions, demonstrating its strong comprehensive research and management strength.

Iterate forward, the future is already here

In the face of the ups and downs of the A-share market with underlying waves, how should ordinary investors respond?

One approach is to find a trustworthy, knowledgeable, and focused fund manager to make arrangements. When trend opportunities become scarce, professional ability and platform support become crucial for seizing opportunities.

As the technology field increasingly moves toward specialization and segmentation, with rapid technological iteration and more focused research talent, “letting professionals do professional things” is becoming an increasingly reasonable direction.

And fund managers like Marina Ma of the ICBC Credit Suisse TMT team, with solid academic backgrounds, a keen sense of the industry macro, strong execution, and backed by top-tier research platforms, may also be one of the “treasure” choices worth investors’ key attention in the Year of the Horse.

Data notes:

1. The ranking of excess returns and absolute returns of large fund companies in equity funds is sourced from Guotai Haitong Securities, data as of December 31, 2025.

2. ICBC Credit Suisse received the “Golden Bull Fund Management Company” award in 2022, 2023, and 2025, respectively, for the 19th, 20th, and 22nd sessions of “China Securities Journal”; no award was given in 2024.

3. Fund product ratings are from Galaxy Securities, as of December 31, 2025.

4. Performance data of various funds are from their periodic reports, as of December 31, 2025.

ICBC Emerging Manufacturing Hybrid was established on August 20, 2020. Marina Ma has been managing it since July 8, 2024. The annual net value growth rates for this fund’s Class A units in 2021-2025 are 34.30%, -25.69%, -7.01%, 50.28%, and 65.78%, respectively, with benchmark returns of 15.23%, -17.65%, -2.00%, 11.30%, and 31.57%.

ICBC Innovation Select One-Year Open Hybrid was established on September 10, 2020. Marina Ma has been managing it since March 7, 2022. The annual net value growth rates for this fund’s Class A units in 2021-2025 are 10.07%, -26.62%, -8.85%, 16.88%, and 65.57%, respectively, with benchmark returns of 1.96%, -21.93%, -14.62%, 17.97%, and 34.52%.

Fee notes:

ICBC Emerging Manufacturing Hybrid (A:009707.OF / C:009708.OF) management fee: 1.2% annually; custody fee: 0.2% annually. Subscription fee for Class A units: for M less than 1 million yuan, 1.2%; M between 1 million and 3 million yuan, 0.8%; M between 3 million and 5 million yuan, 0.6%; M over 5 million yuan, 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase fee for Class A units: for M less than 1 million yuan, 1.5%; M between 1 million and 3 million yuan, 1%; M between 3 million and 5 million yuan, 0.8%; M over 5 million yuan, 1,000 yuan per transaction. Redemption fee for Class A units: holding period less than 7 days, 1.5%; 7 to 30 days, 0.75%; 30 days to 1 year, 0.5%; 1 to 2 years, 0.3%; over 2 years, 0%. Subscription fee for Class C units: 0%; redemption fee: same as above, with the same tiered structure. Sales service fee for Class C units: 0.4% annually.

ICBC Innovation Select One-Year Open Hybrid (A:009867.OF / C:009868.OF) management fee: 1.2% annually; custody fee: 0.2% annually. Subscription fee for Class A units: for M less than 1 million yuan, 1.2%; M between 1 million and 3 million yuan, 0.8%; M between 3 million and 5 million yuan, 0.6%; M over 5 million yuan, 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase fee for Class A units: for M less than 1 million yuan, 1.5%; M between 1 million and 3 million yuan, 1%; M between 3 million and 5 million yuan, 0.8%; M over 5 million yuan, 1,000 yuan per transaction. Redemption fee for Class A units: holding period less than 7 days, 1.5%; 7 to 30 days, 0.75%; over 365 days, 0%. Subscription fee for Class C units: 0%; redemption fee: same tiered structure as above. Sales service fee for Class C units: 0.8% annually.

Risk reminder:

Fund managers manage and operate the fund assets in accordance with principles of diligent duty, honesty, and prudence, but do not guarantee profits or minimum returns. Past performance does not predict future results, and the performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not guarantee the performance of this fund. The above funds are hybrid funds, with expected returns and risk levels lower than stock funds but higher than bond funds and money market funds. If investing in Hong Kong Stock Connect stocks, investors also bear the specific risks associated with the Hong Kong Stock Connect mechanism, such as differences in investment environment, target stocks, market system, and trading rules. Investing in equity assets involves significant volatility risk. ICBC Innovation Select One-Year Open Hybrid operates in a periodic open manner, and investors cannot subscribe or redeem at net asset value during the closed period. Therefore, investors face the risk of being unable to redeem during the closed period. All investments involve risks; please invest cautiously. Before investing, investors should carefully read the “Fund Contract,” “Prospectus,” “Fund Product Summary,” and other legal documents, fully understand the product details, fee structure, charges across sales channels, and listen to the suitability opinions of sales institutions, to choose investment products suitable for their risk tolerance.