In a surprising move, another fund manager at the global asset management giant BlackRock has chosen to leave during a period of impressive performance. Questions have arisen in the investment community: "What does it mean to change fund managers at such a high point? Is the market at risk, prompting an exit?" This speculation was voiced by investors in the discussion area for the BlackRock Advanced Manufacturing One-Year Holding Mixed A (016117) on the TianTian Fund website.
The star product of BlackRock, the Advanced Manufacturing One-Year Holding Mixed fund, recently saw a remarkable surge of 70.39% over the past six months, with year-to-date returns exceeding 63%. Yet, its fund manager, Zou Jiangyu, has unexpectedly announced his resignation. Concerns about his successor, Shan Xiuli, are mounting, especially given her track record; several of her managed products have seen substantial losses, including the BlackRock China New Horizons fund, which has lost about 33%.
This personnel change has not only sparked speculation regarding the motives behind such a “high-level replacement” but also raised investor concerns: Why would a high-performing fund be handed over to a manager with a history of unremarkable performance?
On October 11, BlackRock Fund announced that Zou Jiangyu would step down as manager of the Advanced Manufacturing One-Year Holding Mixed fund and that he has no other funds under management. He was replaced by Shan Xiuli, a prominent female fund manager at BlackRock. Zou has served as the fund manager since August 31, 2022, and during his tenure until October 10, 2025 (a period of three years and 41 days), he achieved nearly a 50% (48.96%) investment return, with a three-year return of 47.77%. This outperformed the average gains of comparable products, which was 14.57% during the same period, and the CSI 300 index, which had a growth of 19.88%. Records show that Zou managed to increase the fund's net asset value from 0.93 yuan to about 1.5 yuan earlier this June. Given this backdrop, one must wonder why he opted for an abrupt exit.
On October 13, an inquiry was sent to BlackRock Fund’s media liaison regarding Zou's departure, but there has been no response to the questions raised about whether he remains involved in media relations. Public information indicates that Zou is a graduate of Fudan University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and technology, and he also holds a master's degree in management from the University of Cambridge. He previously worked as an onshore private equity investment manager for BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co., a global markets analyst for Citigroup, and a global markets analyst at Barclays Capital, as well as a stock investment manager at Pacific Asset Management. He began managing funds in BlackRock’s equity investment department in 2022.
“The departure or transition of fund managers is typically due to personal career planning needs, and it could be linked to internal management restructure or team reassignments,” commented Zhang Bixuan, a researcher at JI An Jin Xin Fund Evaluation Center. She noted that talent mobility is becoming normalized within the asset management industry, facilitating improved resource allocation at the industry level. Nevertheless, changes in fund management may trigger a degree of trust crisis for both the fund companies and investors. Fund firms should establish integrated investment research platforms to reduce reliance on individual managers, while investors must rationally assess the specific impacts of managerial changes.
A “poor performer” now oversees core products? In the comment section for BlackRock Fund on TianTian Fund, numerous investors expressed dissatisfaction with Shan Xiuli's management of the products. From a performance perspective, since September 7, 2021, the BlackRock China New Horizons fund under Shan has recorded a loss exceeding 30%, with A shares down by 32.57% and C shares down by 33.93%. Additionally, her management of the BlackRock Hong Kong Stock Connect Vision Mixed A/C shares yielded negative returns of -8.63% and -10.34%, respectively.
Shan Xiuli, an overseas returnee, joined BlackRock Fund in November 2020 and began managing the firm’s first fund in January 2021. Despite her less-than-stellar performance, she has been tasked with managing several additional products, including some high-performing ones. For instance, the BlackRock Industry Selection Mixed A/C fund was handed over to her from Shen Yufei, who managed the product alone from March 28, 2023, to August 31, 2025. After a brief period of joint management, Shan took control alone starting September 18, 2025, but within just 28 days of her management, the fund recorded a return of -1.26%. In another fund she has managed since March 28, 2023, her two-year management period has seen a return of -3.29%.
The BlackRock Outstanding Voyage Mixed A/C fund is recognized as one of BlackRock Fund's top-performing products, initially managed by fund manager Bi Kai, who achieved a notable return of 34.28% over one year and 102 days. Since September 1, 2025, the fund has been co-managed by Bi and Shan. The choice to assign a core product to someone with a less favorable historical performance raises questions about whether BlackRock Fund is facing a leadership gap in its investment research team.
Underlying these uncertainties may be the issue of talent attrition at BlackRock Fund. Since its establishment, BlackRock has seen a high frequency of personnel changes. In August 2023, Chairman Tang Xiaodong departed suddenly after only two years in the company. In January 2024, fund manager Tang Hua left for personal reasons, having presided over the BlackRock China New Horizons fund during a period of substantial losses (up to 45%), primarily due to high valuations in lithium battery and liquor sectors in 2022. In February 2024, longtime executive and general manager Zhang Chi also resigned. Zhang joined the firm with its inception in 2020 and had previously held executive roles at Taikang Asset Management. In July 2024, the company’s deputy general manager and chief investment officer, Lu Wenjie, departed due to job adjustments. More recently, vice president Hong Xia left for personal reasons in February 2025, followed by the general manager Chen Jian transitioning to another role in March 2025, replaced by Yu Beihua, formerly of Puyin Ansheng. In September 2025, Shen Yufei stepped down abruptly from all products he managed, having served as the Chief Equity Investment Officer at BlackRock.
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