The end of May and beginning of June saw the mainland stock market, amidst a rotation of hot themes, still dominated by a technology trend, with the soaring popularity of domestic semiconductors becoming a key focus. This has made semiconductor-themed public funds a favorite among thematic products, such as Debang Fund's flagship product, the Debang Semiconductor Industry Fund, whose impressive performance owes much to star fund manager Lei Tao.
However, on May 30th, Debang Fund issued four consecutive announcements stating that its well-known fund manager, Lei Tao, had stepped down from managing all his public fund products due to "personal reasons." Following the adjustment, Lei Tao no longer manages any products. Having once served as an assistant to Wu Hao, Lei Tao achieved a return of 209.13% during his roughly four and a half years managing the fund.
Why Did the Key Equity Manager Leave at the Peak?
Yet, why did this former star manager with billions under management, the de facto top equity figure at Debang, choose to step down at the peak of the hard tech boom? What impact does this have on the company? Debang Fund's equity business relies heavily on its core fund managers. Wind data shows that as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the company's three equity funds had assets of 1.92 billion yuan, and its 16 mixed funds had assets of 20.924 billion yuan, totaling 22.844 billion yuan in active equity assets. The 18.131 billion yuan managed by Lei Tao accounted for approximately 80% of this total.
Star Fund Debang Semiconductor Faces a Choice
To some extent, following Cai Songsong's departure from Noah Fund, the Debang Semiconductor Industry Fund, established at the end of December 2021, became the hottest representative among semiconductor-themed public funds. Looking at its annual performance from 2022 to the present in 2026, the fund's net value growth rates were -24.43%, 22.21%, 16.68%, 80.195%, and 47.57% respectively. Particularly, consecutive years of positive returns have given the fund a current annualized return of 26.82%, ranking 16th out of 2,480 similar funds. In fact, after Wu Hao's departure, Lei Tao excelled in taking sole responsibility for the product, helping it become a flagship brand for Debang.
Examining the fund's top holdings across multiple quarters, as many core chip and semiconductor targets are listed on the STAR Market, and the fund's performance benchmark is set to "CSI All Share Semiconductor Products & Equipment Index Return * 70% + CSI Aggregate Bond Index Return * 20% + CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Comprehensive Index Return * 10%", the performance of semiconductor leaders is crucial to the fund's results. From Lei Tao's practical management across quarters, he essentially captured quality targets in this sector from both the mainland and Hong Kong.
As of March 31st this year, six of his top holdings were STAR Market-listed companies: Hygon Information Technology Co.,Ltd., Focuslight Technologies Inc., Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited, Shanghai V-Test Semiconductor Tech.Co.,Ltd., Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China, and Piotech Inc.. Among these, Focuslight Technologies Inc., Shanghai V-Test Semiconductor Tech.Co.,Ltd., and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China were new additions this year. Notably, Focuslight Technologies Inc. has gained over 150% year-to-date, a masterstroke in Lei Tao's stock selection, while the other stocks have also risen this year.
The other four holdings were Victory Giant Technology(Huizhou) Co.,Ltd. from the ChiNext board, Gigadevice Semiconductor Inc. from the main board, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Their year-to-date performance shows a polarized trend: on one hand, Gigadevice Semiconductor Inc. has doubled, and Hua Hong Grace's gains are close to doubling; on the other hand, last year's top performer Victory Giant Technology(Huizhou) Co.,Ltd. has gained less than 20% this year, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's roughly 6% gain is the weakest link.
In the fund's first-quarter report, Lei Tao stated at the time that for the semiconductor industry direction, he could still see enough positive signals supporting improving sentiment. The industry trend centered on AI continues to amplify, coupled with the deepening process of domestic substitution in China, which will ultimately lead to continuous opportunities in the semiconductor industry. Of course, attention must also be paid to the potential short-term impact on risk appetite for the entire technology sector from the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Against this complex backdrop of international macro conditions, there is an even greater need to focus on industrial development, maintaining sufficient patience and determination. From an industrial perspective, the goal is to select better sub-sectors for allocation, striving to achieve the product's objective: "outperforming the CSI Semiconductor Index over the medium to long term."
Potential Link to Regulatory Breach and Succession Concerns
According to the announcement from Debang Fund, star manager Lei Tao, with billions under management, has officially stepped down from managing all his public fund products due to personal reasons and will not transfer to other positions within the company after leaving. The relevant adjustments have been completed following internal approval procedures. On the day of the announcement, Lei Tao simultaneously released "Gratitude for Your Company, Until We Meet Again – A Letter to Fund Holders," formally concluding his nearly five-year career as a public fund manager at Debang Fund.
However, market speculation suggests his departure may be related to a regulatory breach incident involving him earlier this year. On January 12th this year, Debang Fund's Debang Stable Growth Fund (co-managed by Lei Tao and Lu Yang) caused a market stir due to engaging in improper marketing cooperation with an internet influencer lacking fund sales qualifications. The influencer publicly showcased buying 3.08 million yuan of the fund on social media and previewed a "large position adjustment," encouraging followers to subscribe, with market rumors suggesting single-day subscriptions exceeded 12 billion yuan. The influencer was identified as the online personality "Little Sheep Who Loves Finance."
On January 29th, according to the "Institutional Supervision Status Report," the regulatory authorities took administrative measures against Debang Fund, including ordering the company to rectify and suspending acceptance of public fund product registrations, as well as holding the general manager, chief compliance officer, and head of the internet business department accountable.
Looking at the fund caught in the controversy: the first-quarter 2026 report disclosed that the total subscriptions for Debang Stable Growth Fund's Class A and C shares in the first quarter were as high as 22.518 billion shares, with total redemptions of 18.293 billion shares. The fund's size surged from 1.011 billion yuan at the end of 2025 to 5.042 billion yuan by the end of the first quarter, a single-quarter increase of 4.031 billion yuan. However, the explosive growth in size did not bring profits; the fund's combined losses for Class A and C shares in the first quarter amounted to a staggering 2.157 billion yuan, with Class C shares accounting for 2.056 billion yuan or 95.3% of the total loss.
Inadequate Succession Plan?
Regarding the post-departure fund manager arrangements, his four funds have been handed over to three managers. The Debang Semiconductor Industry Mixed Fund will be jointly managed by Yuan Zhiwei and Jiang Yanglei. Yuan Zhiwei holds a PhD from East China University of Science and Technology, formerly a researcher at WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd. and a senior researcher at Debang Securities' Industrial Research Center, joining Debang Fund in November 2021. Jiang Yanglei previously worked at Nielsen, Eaton, Fosun RZ Capital, and Debang Securities, joining Debang Fund in March 2023, responsible for technology sector research.
However, according to data from a fund information website, Yuan Zhiwei's cumulative tenure is approximately 1 year and 73 days, while Jiang Yanglei's cumulative tenure is merely about 270 days; both are considered strictly novice fund managers. Additionally, the Debang Stable Growth Fund and Debang Xingxing Value Fund will continue to be managed by Lu Yang, Lei Tao's former co-manager.
Although he previously performed well alongside Lei Tao on the Xingxing Value Fund, his cumulative tenure has just passed two and a half years, and the long-term performance quality of the products he manages still requires a longer period to verify. Overall, however, many believe Lu Yang may be groomed as the key successor to take over Lei Tao's role as the top equity manager at Debang.
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