New changes in the billion-level fund manager camp: emerging players rise with momentum, driven by performance, leading to a strong increase in scale

Fund managers’ changes in management scale reflect industry shifts and mirror economic development.
In the transition from factor-driven to innovation-driven economic growth, the growth elasticity and imagination space of traditional industries are being reassessed, while the technology growth sector, representing new quality productivity, carries greater expectations.

In the industry, it is believed that the essence of investment is “investing in the future,” and keeping pace with the times is never a multiple-choice question but a necessary answer.
The profound changes brought about by AI development are driving asset value revaluation; only by looking into the future can one have a future.
Short-term market disagreements have never changed the long-term trend; the reconstruction of production relations and business models by AI is the real core opportunity.

In recent structural market trends, the camp of billion-level fund managers is also changing:
The former trillion-level “top-tier” fund managers, due to sticking to traditional tracks, have seen their scales continuously shrink;
New emerging fund managers embracing the AI technology wave are rising rapidly and entering the billion-level ranks.

The ebb and flow of fund managers’ management scales reflect industry transformation trends and mirror economic development.
For fund managers, keeping pace with the times is the way to the future.

Newcomers Rise with Performance-Driven Scale Growth

In the AI-driven tech stock market, some emerging fund managers have achieved scale leaps relying on eye-catching short-term performance.

Choice data shows that by the end of Q1 this year, Zhang Lu of Yongying Fund managed active equity funds totaling 34.63B yuan, an increase of over 5 billion yuan from the end of 2025.
Specifically, Zhang Lu manages the Yongying Advanced Manufacturing Intelligent Selection Hybrid Fund and the Yongying High-End Equipment Intelligent Selection Hybrid Fund, both exceeding 15 billion yuan in scale.

Over the past two years, Zhang Lu’s managed funds have rapidly grown in scale.
By the end of March 2024, the combined scale of the Yongying Advanced Manufacturing Intelligent Selection Hybrid Fund and the Yongying High-End Equipment Intelligent Selection Hybrid Fund was less than 500 million yuan.
In terms of holdings, the Yongying Advanced Manufacturing Hybrid Fund heavily invests in the robotics sector, while the Yongying High-End Equipment Hybrid Fund focuses on the commercial aerospace industry chain.
With such concentrated holdings and riding the market wave, these two funds have seen their scales increase significantly.

Similarly, Zhang Mingxin of Huashang Fund has also seen rapid scale growth.
By the end of Q1 2026, his managed fund scale increased from 23.35B yuan at the end of 2025 to 2.87B yuan.
Among them, the Huashang Advantage Industry Hybrid Fund surpassed 10 billion yuan.
Data shows that impressive performance has attracted large inflows; as of May 8, the Huashang Advantage Industry Hybrid Fund’s return over the past year exceeded 210%.
Public information indicates that although Zhang Mingxin has extensive industry experience, he only entered the public fund industry in January 2025, and has not been a fund manager for long.

Meanwhile, the camp of billion-level fund managers has also welcomed new faces.
Compared to the end of 2025, by the end of Q1 this year, fund scales managed by managers such as Chen Wenkai of Huatai Bairui Fund, Wu Guoqing of Qianhai Kaiyuan Fund, and Fang Jian of Yinhua Fund have all grown significantly, elevating them to billion-level fund managers.
Looking at these managers with rapidly increasing scales, they generally have grasped the main investment theme of AI, and their fund performance is relatively outstanding.

Take Chen Wenkai of Huatai Bairui Fund as an example: he was promoted to fund manager in August 2023.
By the end of 2025, his managed scale was 11.31B yuan, and by the end of Q1 this year, it increased to 23.06B yuan.
His managed Huatai Bairui Quality Growth Hybrid Fund’s return exceeded 300% as of May 8.

It is worth noting that some fund managers skilled in equity investments also manage “Fixed Income +” products, and their management scale has surged thanks to the explosive growth of “Fixed Income +” products.
Specifically, Gao Nan of Yongying Fund manages active equity funds totaling 13.62B yuan; including “Fixed Income +” products, his total managed fund scale is even larger.
Similarly, Hu Zhongyuan of Huashang Fund, as of Q1 this year, managed active equity funds totaling 41.67B yuan; including “Fixed Income +” products, his total managed fund scale exceeds 25 billion yuan.

Veteran Managers’ Scale Continues to Shrink

While emerging managers soar, many veteran fund managers adhere to traditional approaches, with their management scales continuously declining.

Since 2019, the market has experienced a core asset rally, led by core consumer stocks and new energy sectors, boosting some fund managers’ fame.
Efund’s Zhang Kun, Invesco Great Wall’s Liu Yanchun, and China Europe Fund’s Ge Lan all once managed over 6B yuan.
Now, the management scales of these managers have been halved.
As of the end of Q1 this year, Zhang Kun’s management scale was 34.06B yuan, down more than 60 billion yuan from the end of 2025.
Similarly, Ge Lan’s scale dropped from 31.48B yuan at the end of 2025 to 26.55B yuan, and Liu Yanchun’s from 314.75 billion yuan to 265.5 billion yuan.

The holdings of these managers have not changed much over the years.
According to fund periodic reports, Zhang Kun has maintained a focus on liquor stocks.
For example, as of Q1 this year, the top three holdings of the Efund Blue Chip Selection Hybrid Fund managed by Zhang Kun were Kweichow Moutai, Wuliangye, and Luzhou Laojiao.
However, the fund’s performance still remains roughly half of its peak value in early 2021.

Similarly, Liu Yanchun missed the tech stock rally.
As of May 8 this year, the Invesco Great Wall Emerging Growth Hybrid Fund he manages has lost over 48% in net value over the past five years.
This fund, with “Emerging Growth” in its name, has been heavily invested in liquor, consumer, and pharmaceutical stocks in recent years.

Industry insiders believe that veteran fund managers generally have a more complete investment framework.
Their heavy holdings in lagging assets may still generate some returns over time, but for long-term investors, it is a significant test.
Even for well-recognized quality assets, if the price is too high, the costs are extraordinary.

In response to market changes, many funds have begun to optimize and adjust.
On May 9, Invesco Great Wall announced that it had added fund managers to three of its funds managed by Liu Yanchun: the Invesco Great Wall Dingyi Hybrid Fund, the Invesco Great Wall Domestic Demand Growth Hybrid Fund, and the Invesco Great Wall Domestic Demand Growth No. 2 Hybrid Fund.

Similarly, in July 2025, Ge Lan’s China Europe Medical & Healthcare Hybrid Fund appointed Zhao Lei as a new fund manager.
At the end of April this year, China Europe Fund announced that the fund manager of China Europe Mingrui New Starting Point Hybrid Fund had changed from Ge Lan to Dai Yunfeng.
Currently, Ge Lan manages two pharmaceutical-themed funds and no longer manages funds that invest across the entire market.

Scale Fluctuations and Keeping Up with the Times Are Crucial

The rise and fall of fund management scales reflect industry changes and economic development.
“Drinking and taking medicine” used to be the key to stable excess returns for funds, with stocks like Kweichow Moutai consistently ranking among the top holdings.
As AI moves from concept to core industry, becoming a new engine for economic growth, the source of excess returns has changed significantly.

Public funds’ top holdings have also shifted.
By the end of 2025, only 9 of the top 50 holdings in public funds were in consumer goods and services.
This year, public funds have reduced their holdings in consumer stocks again.
As of Q1 this year, only 5 consumer stocks were among the top holdings, including Kweichow Moutai, Shanxi Fenjiu, Wuliangye, and Luzhou Laojiao; the home appliance sector was represented only by Midea Group.
In stark contrast, many “AI newcomers” have become favorites among fund managers.
As of Q1 this year, 18 of the top 50 holdings in public funds belonged to the information technology sector, with leading optical module manufacturer Zhongji Xuchuang ranking as the top holding.

In the transition from factor-driven to innovation-driven growth, the growth elasticity and imagination space of traditional industries are being reassessed, while the technology growth sector, representing new quality productivity, carries greater expectations.

It should be noted that some veteran investors actively seek change and embrace transformation, with their managed funds’ net values rising along the trend.

Take the Ruiyuan Growth and Value Hybrid Fund managed by Fu Pengbo as an example: the fund lost over 30% in 2022, and again over 20% in 2023, facing market skepticism.
In 2024, the fund barely gained 2%, still underwhelming.
By 2025, the fund actively bought into AI concept stocks like PCBs and chips.
As of May 8 this year, the fund’s one-year return exceeded 110%.

Industry insiders believe that the essence of investment is “investing in the future,” and keeping pace with the times is never a multiple-choice question but a necessary answer.
“The profound changes driven by AI development are revaluing assets; only by looking into the future can we have a future.
Short-term market disagreements have never changed the long-term trend; the reconstruction of production relations and business models by AI is the real core opportunity,” said Lin Qingyuan, manager of Ping An Dingyue Hybrid Fund.

Liu Qingxiang, manager of China Merchants Schroder Rongxin Hybrid Fund, stated that currently, the challenge of balancing risk control and returns in portfolios is increasing.
The “dividend value vs. growth” hedging strategy remains worth referencing, but the market ecosystem and the connotations of dividends and growth are also continuously evolving.
It is essential to update understanding of style, industry, and stock matching in a timely manner, and to put more effort into tracking industry changes and in-depth stock research.

Several top-performing fund managers interviewed also said that the core competitiveness of fund managers has shifted from simple timing and stock selection to deep insight into industry trends and continuous learning ability.
Their vision must go beyond static financial statement analysis, delving into technological evolution, industry policy guidance, and even changes in the global competitive landscape.
The key is to identify those companies and ecosystems capable of defining and creating the future to win the future.