After its scale surged 19-fold, Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond Fund, which had previously cut fees citing the need to "meet investor demand," now plans to raise its management fee. On November 5, Dongfang Fund announced its intention to convene a communication-based meeting of the fund's unitholders to review a proposal to increase the management fee rate from 0.25% to 0.30%. Based on the current scale, this would add more than 9.3 million yuan in annual management fee revenue.
Behind the controversy lies a distinct style at this hundred-billion-yuan public fund company: on one hand, it places heavy bets on a single AI-themed fund in its equity portfolio, with Dongfang AI Theme Mixed Fund propping up 60% of its equity scale; on the other hand, Dongfang Minfeng Return Ying'an stages extreme position adjustments. These dramatic swings in sector bets reveal the company's unmistakable character.
After 19-Fold Scale Growth, Management Fee Hike Proposed
On November 5, Dongfang Fund announced a plan to raise the management fee rate of Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond Fund from 0.25% to 0.30%. Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond is a fixed-income product under Dongfang Fund, established in August 2018 and managed by fund manager Wu Pingping.
When Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond was first established, its initial management fee rate was 0.30%, and in April 2025 it was lowered to 0.25% on the grounds of "meeting investor demand." According to data from Tian Tian Fund Network, the fund's net asset scale then climbed steadily. By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the fund's total scale was only 950 million yuan, but by the end of the third quarter of this year, it had reached 18.652 billion yuan. In just a year and a half, the fund's scale grew 19-fold.
Based on the current scale of 18.652 billion yuan, after the fee increase, Dongfang Fund's pure bond product would generate more than 9.3 million yuan in additional annual management fee income. As of November 6, Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond A's returns since inception, over the past year, over the past six months, and over the past month were 57.21%, 3.49%, 2.07%, and 0.47%, respectively.
In the third quarter of this year, Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond A's net value growth rate was 0.85%, compared with the benchmark's 0.76%, outperforming by 0.09 percentage points; Dongfang Zhenxuan Pure Bond C's net value growth rate was 0.82%, also above the benchmark's 0.76%, by 0.06 percentage points.
"In the third quarter, the domestic economy continued to show structural differentiation and steady improvement, and the bond market declined moderately under easing expectations," fund manager Wu Pingping said in the third-quarter report. In terms of specific investment strategy, the fund focused on medium- and high-grade credit bonds, seeking varieties and maturities with relative advantages while controlling credit risk. At the same time, it dynamically adjusted portfolio positions based on subscription and redemption conditions, maintained a duration level close to the benchmark, appropriately used leverage, and engaged in opportunistic interest rate bond trading to enhance product returns while ensuring sound liquidity management.
According to public information, Wu Pingping is an assistant to the general manager of Dongfang Fund, director of fixed-income investment, and deputy chairman of the public fund investment decision committee. She holds a master's degree in applied economics from Renmin University of China and has 15 years of securities industry experience. She previously served as a capital trader in the investment team at Essence Securities and as a segregated account investment manager at Minsheng Royal Fund Management Co., Ltd. She joined Dongfang Fund in November 2015 and previously served as deputy general manager and deputy director of fixed-income investment.
One Fund Supports 60% of Equity, Betting on AI While Making Extreme Position Changes
Dongfang Fund Management Co., Ltd. was restructured in August 2020 from Dongfang Fund Management Co., Ltd. The company was established in June 2004, registered in Beijing, with registered capital of 333 million yuan. Its controlling shareholder is Northeast Securities with a 57.6% stake, while non-major shareholders include Hebei Guokong Capital with 24.3% and Bohai International Trust with 8.1%, among others.
By the end of the third quarter of 2026, Dongfang Fund's management scale reached 183.788 billion yuan, with equity scale of 47.529 billion yuan (stock-type plus mixed-type). Behind its hundred-billion-yuan halo, 60% of Dongfang Fund's equity scale is supported by a single AI-themed fund, namely Dongfang AI Theme Mixed Fund managed by Yan Kai.
Yan Kai holds a master's degree in microelectronics and solid-state electronics from Peking University and currently serves as deputy general manager of Dongfang Fund's equity investment department and a member of the public fund investment decision committee. He previously worked as an industry and strategy researcher at AVIC Securities Co., Ltd. and Guodu Securities Co., Ltd. He joined Dongfang Fund in August 2015 and previously served as a researcher in the equity research department and as assistant fund manager of Dongfang AI Theme Mixed Securities Investment Fund.
According to Tian Tian Fund Network, as of the end of the third quarter, Dongfang AI Theme Mixed Fund's scale expanded from 4.847 billion yuan at the end of last year to 31.253 billion yuan, with this single fund accounting for about 65% of the company's equity scale. However, affected by the market pullback, the fund's returns surged in the first half of the year before suffering a sharp drawdown in the second half.
As of November 6, Dongfang AI Theme Mixed A's return since inception was 142.07%, its three-year return was 133.93%, its one-year return was 58.14%, its six-month return was 10.03%, and its three-month return was -26.95%.
This year, another fund under Dongfang Fund also attracted much attention — Dongfang Minfeng Return Ying'an, which at one point ranked at the bottom among its peers. In the first quarter, Dongfang Minfeng Return Ying'an heavily invested in auto parts; in the second quarter, it underwent a complete overhaul, betting on semiconductors and AI computing hardware through equities while simultaneously positioning in the technology growth sector through convertible bonds. After August, the fund's net value barely moved for consecutive days, suggesting it may have nearly liquidated its equity assets by the end of July. As of the end of the third quarter, the fund's top ten stock holdings together accounted for only 6.77%.
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