The continued surge in silver prices has propelled UBS SDIC Silver Futures LOF, the only domestic public fund tracking silver futures, to a gain of over 120% in the past year. Despite multiple risk warnings, its popularity has continued to climb recently.
Conversely, UBS SDIC Fund Management Co. and its star fund manager Shi Cheng, who manages billions in assets, are being sued by an investor.
According to trial information disclosed on the Shanghai High People's Court website, an investor named Li has sued both UBS SDIC Fund and fund manager Shi Cheng at the Hongkou District People's Court in Shanghai, citing "financial entrusted wealth management contract disputes" as the reason. The case is scheduled to be heard on January 13th at 9:00 AM.
While it is not uncommon for public fund companies to be sued by investors, it is relatively rare for an individual fund manager to be named as a co-defendant.
The last star fund manager facing a lawsuit was Cai Songsong from Noah Fund. However, Cai's case involved criminal charges of non-state staff bribery and offering bribes to non-state staff. Shi Cheng's case is a civil dispute, and further details have not yet been disclosed.
It is understood that the focal points of disputes in financial entrusted wealth management contracts typically involve the validity of capital protection clauses, responsibility for information disclosure, determination of losses and liability allocation, and the fulfillment of suitability obligations. Suitability obligations include knowing the client, understanding the product, risk matching, and risk disclosure.
Public information shows that UBS SDIC Fund was established in 2002. In 2005, SDIC Trust and UBS Group AG acquired stakes in the company, holding 51% and 49% respectively. According to data from Tian Tian Fund, as of now, UBS SDIC has an asset under management (AUM) of 240.531 billion yuan, with 218 funds and 32 fund managers.
Shi Cheng is no unknown figure; he is the leading equity fund manager at UBS SDIC, a star manager overseeing a portfolio worth tens of billions.
However, regarding Shi Cheng's personal performance, although the six funds under his management have generally remained profitable, their scale has significantly shrunk in recent years.
Information shows that Shi Cheng holds a master's degree in engineering from Tsinghua University and has 15 years of experience in the securities industry. He previously held research positions at CCB Investment Securities, China Merchants Fund, and a private institution before joining UBS SDIC Fund in 2017. He became a fund manager in 2019 and took over several products.
From 2020 to 2021, the new energy sector became a market hotspot. Shi Cheng, who heavily bet on new energy, rose to fame during this period, achieving growth in both performance and fund scale.
In the third quarter of 2021, all funds managed by Shi Cheng achieved returns exceeding 40%. The newly established UBS SDIC Industry Trend fund, launched on June 9th of the same year, recorded a remarkable quarterly return of 49.74%.
His AUM subsequently experienced explosive growth. In the second quarter of 2021, the total AUM of the four funds managed by Shi Cheng was approximately 3.852 billion yuan. By the end of the third quarter, this figure had surged to 21.287 billion yuan, an increase of 17.435 billion yuan. It reached a historical peak of 24.716 billion yuan by mid-2022.
But what goes up must come down. Following the adjustment in the new energy sector, the severe shortcomings of Shi Cheng's strategy of heavy concentration in new energy were exposed. The net asset value of his funds experienced significant drawdowns, and their scale began to shrink.
Taking UBS SDIC Advanced Manufacturing Mixed Fund as an example, it lost 27.7% in 2022, another 34.52% in 2023, and despite a market rebound in 2024, it still lost 17.18%. This resulted in three consecutive years of losses, underperforming both the category average and the CSI 300 Index, ranking at the bottom among its peers.
Data shows that from 2021 to the first half of 2025, his six funds collectively incurred losses amounting to 16.472 billion yuan, with a maximum drawdown exceeding 70%. A large number of investors were left deeply trapped in their positions.
His management scale has also plummeted from the peak of over 20 billion yuan to 10.736 billion yuan, barely clinging to the edge of the "billion-dollar manager" status.
Despite the funds performing abysmally, management fees were collected in full. From 2022 to the first half of 2025, these six funds collected a total of 1.1 billion yuan in management fees alone.
The most criticized aspect of Shi Cheng's strategy is his "gambler-like concentration" approach. He not only favors betting heavily on a single sector but also maintains highly overlapping top holdings across his multiple funds. As mentioned, many of his previously managed funds were heavily concentrated in new energy. While this "all eggs in one basket" strategy can lead to massive gains if the bet pays off, it also entails high risks, as evidenced by the continuous losses following the decline in the new energy hype.
Secondly, there is the issue of style drift. After the new energy fervor subsided, Shi Cheng's investment strategy began to shift in 2025. He started large-scale selling of stocks within the new energy industry chain, turning instead to heavily invest in the booming AI and robotics sectors.
In his quarterly reports, Shi Cheng explained: "For the TMT sector, we are optimistic about the continued investment in AI." He specifically mentioned the energy challenges faced by AI adoption, suggesting they present investment opportunities.
The outcome, in this case, appeared positive. In 2025, several funds managed by Shi Cheng, including UBS SDIC Advanced Manufacturing Mixed, UBS SDIC New Energy Mixed, UBS SDIC Jinbao Flexible Allocation Mixed, and UBS SDIC Industry Trend Mixed, all achieved returns exceeding 70%. The other two funds also posted returns above 30% and 50%, respectively.
However, the fund contract for UBS SDIC New Energy Mixed explicitly states the intention to invest in carefully selected listed companies related to the new energy theme. According to Wind data, by the end of the third quarter of 2025, its holdings in new energy stocks accounted for only 5.95% of the portfolio.
This deviation from the fund's mandate could potentially become a key point for investors seeking compensation for losses, based on alleged contractual violations.
From an industry perspective, there have been numerous recent cases of fund companies being sued by investors. For instance, Allianz Fund and its partner, Qiniu Academy's parent company Feier Laiyin, were sued over disputes concerning unjust enrichment. Combined with the UBS SDIC case, it appears investor维权 efforts are attempting to "pierce through" the surface-level institutions and are beginning to directly pursue the legal liability of the individual investment decision-makers.
In the future, more fund managers may potentially face direct accountability from investors.
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