The "Era of Performance-Driven Returns" has arrived, with major reforms to public fund compensation after three years! Nearly a thousand fund managers face potential "pay cuts."
Recently, the "Guidelines for Performance Assessment Management of Fund Management Companies (Draft for Comments)" (referred to as the "Guidelines") solicited industry feedback. The guidelines impose restrictions on fund companies' dividend distributions to shareholders, sparking heated discussions.
The Guidelines require fund companies to prudently determine dividend frequency and payout ratios based on long-term fund performance and investor returns, while prioritizing capital accumulation, research investment, risk management, IT infrastructure, investor education, and social responsibility. For companies with poor fund performance or significant investor losses over the past three years, dividend frequency and ratios should be appropriately reduced.
According to Huatai Securities Co., Ltd.'s 2024 annual report, Southern Fund reported revenue of 7.523 billion yuan and net profit of 2.352 billion yuan. Huatai Securities holds a 41.16% stake in Southern Fund, which did not distribute dividends to shareholders in 2024.
Over the past decade (2015–2024), Southern Fund's cumulative net profit reached 14.116 billion yuan, with total shareholder dividends of 6.599 billion yuan. During this period, Huatai Securities received 2.777 billion yuan in dividends from Southern Fund.
Notably, in 2022, Southern Fund's dividend payout ratio to shareholders peaked at 84.35%, the highest in ten years.
**Employee Stock Ownership Platform Receives 428M Yuan in Dividends** In July 2019, Southern Fund implemented an employee equity incentive plan, with staff holding shares through four limited partnerships: Xiamen Hezeyi Enterprise Management, Xiamen Hezeying Enterprise Management, Xiamen Hezeji Enterprise Management, and Xiamen Hezexiang Enterprise Management. These entities hold 2.11%, 2.2%, 2.1%, and 2.12% stakes, respectively, totaling 8.53% ownership in Southern Fund.
Proportionally, the employee stock ownership platform has received cumulative dividends of 428 million yuan. Assuming no changes in employee ownership ratios over the past six years (due to limited disclosure of individual equity changes and personnel shifts), the incentive-based dividend distribution can be estimated.
Data shows that Yang Xiaosong holds a 26.10% stake in Hezexiang, which owns 2.12% of Southern Fund. Thus, Yang indirectly holds 0.5533% of Southern Fund, translating to approximately 27.76 million yuan in dividends over six years.
**34% of Fund Products Underperform Benchmarks in Three Years** Performance-wise, Wind data reveals that from 2022 to 2024, 141 out of 259 Southern Fund products (primary codes only) posted losses, accounting for 54%. Among them, 129 underperformed their benchmarks (49.81%), with 74 lagging by over 10% (28%). Cumulatively, these products resulted in 1 billion yuan in losses for investors.
From December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2025, 15 out of 294 Southern Fund products delivered negative returns (5%), while 101 underperformed benchmarks (34%), including 20 by more than 10% (6.8%).
Market analysts highlight concerns about fund companies' dividend distributions to shareholders: 1. Excessively high payout ratios undermine capital accumulation and risk resilience, weakening innovation, expansion, and crisis management capabilities. 2. Shareholders fail to fulfill their role as long-term, patient capital providers. 3. High dividend payouts during market downturns or poor investor returns negatively impact fund investors' experience.
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