China Merchants Fund, a public fund manager overseeing nearly one trillion yuan in assets, has welcomed a new leader. On the evening of November 26, the company announced another senior management change: Wang Ying officially assumed the roles of Chairman and Legal Representative on November 27, 2025, while President Zhong Wenyue stepped down as acting chairman on the same day.
The leadership transition traces back to May this year, when former President Xu Yong left for personal reasons, succeeded by Zhong Wenyue. On September 24, after appointing a new president and three vice presidents, the fund faced another shift as former Chairman Wang Xiaoqing departed due to work arrangements, with Zhong Wenyue temporarily taking over. Wang Ying’s arrival now completes the new leadership team.
A veteran of China Merchants Bank (CM BANK) since January 1997, Wang Ying brings extensive management experience, having served as Assistant President and Vice President of the Beijing Branch, President of the Tianjin and Shenzhen Branches, and Assistant President of CM BANK. Her appointment is expected to bolster the fund’s bank-channel advantages while spearheading its new three-year strategic plan.
However, despite its nearly trillion-yuan scale, China Merchants Fund faces challenges. First, declining profitability: net profits fell for two and a half consecutive years, dropping 3.29%, 5.87%, and 6.81% year-on-year in 2023, 2024, and H1 2025, respectively, to RMB 17.53 billion, RMB 16.5 billion, and RMB 7.89 billion. Even amid this year’s market recovery, growth remains elusive.
Second, sluggish scale expansion: Wind data shows the fund’s AUM first surpassed RMB 900 billion in Q1 2025 (RMB 931.327 billion), ranking 9th in the industry. By Q3, AUM edged up to RMB 950.141 billion, but its ranking slid to 12th.
Third, structural imbalances persist. As of Q2 2025, money-market and bond funds dominated 78.68% of AUM, while equity products (mixed and stock funds) accounted for less than 20% (RMB 50.144 billion and RMB 124.016 billion, respectively). This reflects a fixed-income-heavy strategy under former Chairman Wang Xiaoqing and President Xu Yong, raising concerns about diversification. Whether Wang Ying will recalibrate this approach remains a focal point.
Compounding these issues is a talent drain. Since 2025, key investment figures like Zhai Xiangdong, Ma Long, and Wang Yan have departed. Ma Long, a fixed-income star, managed 21.6% of the fund’s bond AUM before leaving, while Zhai Xiangdong transformed a RMB 40 million mixed fund into a RMB 10 billion product in under three years.
To counter this, the fund has hired over 20 new managers in the past year. Yet, replacements bring challenges: divergent strategies may disrupt performance, and star departures risk investor confidence, triggering redemptions that destabilize AUM and brand reputation.
New managers also face steep learning curves and pressure. Recently, quantitative fund manager Cai Zhen publicly criticized the fund’s aggressive product launches, urging fewer new offerings and reduced management burdens—a plea highlighting tensions between scale-driven demands and sustainable research focus.
This reflects deeper industry growing pains. Without reorienting toward research-centric practices and refining talent incentives, China Merchants Fund risks further brain drain.
Looking ahead, the fund reaffirmed commitment to its three-year plan with shareholder support, aiming for a strong start under Wang Ying’s leadership. Whether she can address these hurdles remains to be seen.
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