In 2025, Yan Siqian, a fund manager at Peng Hua Fund, was in the spotlight due to the strong performance of the robotics industry chain. However, entering 2026, the same highly concentrated sector strategy began to reveal a different side.
According to Peng Hua Fund's first-quarter 2026 report, as of the end of March, the total net asset value of the seven public funds managed by Yan Siqian stood at approximately 13.464 billion yuan. Compared to the management scale of about 21.398 billion yuan at the end of 2025, her assets under management decreased by roughly 7.934 billion yuan in a single quarter. By the second quarter, the scale slightly recovered to 15.473 billion yuan, but the pace of recovery was far slower than the previous shrinkage.
Alongside the decline in scale, the net value of several products under Yan Siqian experienced significant pullbacks. More controversially, the fund named Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme Hybrid had its top ten heavyweight holdings heavily concentrated in the robotics, auto parts, and intelligent manufacturing industry chains, leading to market doubts about Yan Siqian's "style drift."
From 'New Energy Goddess' to the Robotics Track
Yan Siqian has many years of securities experience, having previously worked at Huachuang Securities, BOC International Securities, and ICBC Credit Suisse Fund. She truly entered the public's view in connection with the new energy vehicle boom. From November 2018 to January 2022, Yan Siqian managed the ICBC New Energy Vehicle Hybrid Fund A, achieving a return of over 300% during her tenure. By heavily concentrating on new energy industry chain companies like CATL and BYD, she quickly became a star fund manager and was dubbed the "New Energy Goddess" by the market.
In January 2022, Yan Siqian joined Peng Hua Fund, subsequently serving as Managing Director, General Manager of the Equity Investment Department III, Investment Director, and Fund Manager. On May 5, 2023, the Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme Hybrid Fund was established, with Yan Siqian serving as its manager from the start. This product truly gained market attention after the robotics market heated up. As its holdings shifted towards embodied intelligence, robot components, and the high-end manufacturing chain, the fund's net value and scale rose in tandem.
In 2025, Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme Fund A achieved an annual return of 108.61%, becoming a "doubling fund" in the market. Driven by this stellar performance, the fund's scale quickly exceeded 10 billion yuan, and Yan Siqian once again became a market-focused star fund manager.
However, while track concentration can amplify gains during an uptrend, it can also magnify losses when the trend reverses. Entering 2026, the tech and growth sectors came under pressure, with many stocks in the robotics industry chain adjusting. Consequently, several funds managed by Yan Siqian also experienced pullbacks. Specifically, Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme Fund A fell by 35.50% year-to-date, significantly lagging behind its performance benchmark for the period. As of the end of the second quarter, the combined net asset value of Class A and C shares of the fund was about 3.648 billion yuan. During the reporting period, total subscriptions for both share classes were approximately 2.304 billion units, while total redemptions were roughly 3.428 billion units, resulting in net redemptions exceeding 1.124 billion units.
Thus, the sharp decline in Yan Siqian's management scale is attributed both to the fund's net value pullback and investor redemptions. The funds that had flowed in due to the doubling performance and star effect began to loosen as the sector weakened.
High Concentration in Top Ten Heavyweight Holdings
The controversy surrounding Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme is not solely due to its performance decline, but also because its holdings exhibit a distinct robotics style. The second-quarter 2026 report shows that the fund's top ten heavyweight holdings are Zhenyu Precision, Wuzhou Xinchun, Silin Intelligent Drive, Beite Technology, Zhongjian Technology, Hengshuai Co., Meihu Co., Zhejiang Rongtai, Greenharmonic Harmonic Drive, and Silake. Most of these companies are categorized by the market as part of the robotics components, auto parts, precision manufacturing, or intelligent manufacturing chains. The top ten holdings account for approximately 63.06% of the fund's net asset value. In terms of industry distribution, about 99.36% of the fund's net assets were allocated to the manufacturing sector at the end of the second quarter.
This highly concentrated holding structure makes the fund's net value highly correlated with the performance of the robotics and high-end manufacturing sectors. When the track rises, the fund can achieve strong return elasticity; when the sector corrects, the portfolio lacks diversification from other industries to spread risk, potentially amplifying the pullback. Furthermore, Yan Siqian's various products show significant overlap in holdings of some robotics and manufacturing companies. Investors, thinking they have bought funds with different names and positioning, may actually end up with similar sector exposure. Once the relevant industry cools down, multiple funds can experience simultaneous pullbacks.
Does a 'Carbon Neutrality' Fund Heavily Holding Robotics Constitute Style Drift?
Fund "style drift" typically refers to a fund's actual operations gradually deviating from the investment direction defined in its contract, prospectus, or product name. For example, a consumption-themed fund heavily holding new energy stocks for a long time, a value-oriented fund chasing high-valuation growth stocks, or an industry-themed fund heavily allocating to popular stocks weakly related to its stated theme. Normal portfolio adjustments do not equal style drift. Active equity funds inherently have some stock-picking flexibility, and managers need to dynamically manage portfolios based on industry trends, corporate fundamentals, and valuation levels. The key issue is whether such adjustments breach the thematic boundaries set in the contract and whether the fund's true risk aligns with investor expectations at the time of purchase.
The fund documents for Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme Hybrid stipulate that stocks and depositary receipts must account for 60% to 95% of the fund's assets, with investments in stocks related to the fund's defined carbon neutrality theme not less than 80% of non-cash fund assets. According to the prospectus, the fund's defined carbon neutrality investment opportunities cover five major areas: power, transportation, industry, agriculture, and construction. This includes not only photovoltaics, wind power, energy storage, hydrogen energy, and smart grids but also new energy vehicles, industrial energy conservation, advanced equipment, and technologies that help the manufacturing sector reduce energy consumption. From this definition, the fund is not restricted to investing only in traditional new energy companies. Some automation equipment and smart manufacturing technologies, if they can improve production efficiency and reduce material waste and energy consumption, could theoretically be included in the broader low-carbon industry chain.
However, the controversy lies in the fact that the top ten heavyweight holdings of Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme almost entirely point to robotics and precision manufacturing, with the portfolio's returns and risks highly tied to the robotics sector. If all technologies that improve production efficiency and promote manufacturing upgrades could be interpreted as carbon neutrality assets, then robotics, AI, industrial software, semiconductors, and a host of manufacturing companies could all be explained away as such. In this case, the thematic constraints in the fund contract could gradually lose their binding effect. For ordinary investors, buying a fund with "Carbon Neutrality" in its name typically leads to the reasonable expectation of gaining exposure to sectors like new energy power generation, energy storage, energy conservation and environmental protection, and low-carbon materials, not a product that primarily fluctuates with the robotics market. When the information conveyed by the fund's name significantly diverges from its actual holdings, it is not surprising for investors to question whether style drift exists, even if the fund manager can offer explanations from a manufacturing upgrade perspective.
In response to doubts about the low correlation between robotics holdings and the carbon neutrality theme, Yan Siqian outlined her investment logic in the fund's periodic reports. She argues that China's industrial sector accounts for a high proportion of carbon emissions, and manufacturing upgrading is key to high-quality development. She views smart manufacturing and technological innovation upgrades as crucial paths to achieving low-carbon development. AI and embodied intelligence can improve production efficiency and drive production process automation. Therefore, she considers the robotics industry chain not only a direction for tech growth but also part of the industrial low-carbon transition. In the first-quarter 2026 report, Yan Siqian continued to be bullish on AI, robotics, new energy, energy storage, power equipment, and autonomous driving, stating that embodied intelligence could become an important application of AI in manufacturing.
However, having an "indirect link" to the low-carbon transition does not necessarily mean related companies are suitable as core holdings for a carbon neutrality-themed fund. Judging whether a company truly belongs to the carbon neutrality theme should consider not only whether its products represent advanced manufacturing but also the proportion of low-carbon business in the company's revenue, profit, and long-term strategy, as well as whether the relevant technology can produce clear and identifiable energy-saving and emission-reduction effects. If a company's primary market logic stems from humanoid robots rather than low-carbon operations, the appropriateness of its large allocation in a carbon neutrality portfolio remains debatable. If a fund only held a small number of robotics companies, it could be interpreted as an extension of the industrial energy-saving industry chain. But with the top ten holdings almost entirely concentrated in one direction, the controversy escalates from how to classify individual stocks to the overall investment style of the fund.
Regulatory Tightening on Style Constraints
On January 23, 2026, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the "Guidelines on Performance Benchmarks for Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds," effective March 1. The guidelines clearly state that a fund's performance benchmark should match the core elements defined in the fund contract and the product's investment style. They also require fund management companies to continuously strengthen the management of stability in fund managers' and fund products' investment styles. A performance benchmark should not just be a reference number in reports but should play a role in identifying product style, constraining investment behavior, and measuring fund performance.
The performance benchmark for Peng Hua Carbon Neutrality Theme is composed of the CSI Mainland Low-Carbon Economy Theme Index, the Hang Seng Index, and the ChinaBond Composite Wealth Index. Yet, the actual portfolio is highly concentrated in robotics components and smart manufacturing companies. When the robotics market trend diverges from the low-carbon index's performance, the difference in returns and volatility between the fund and its benchmark could widen further.
Success from the Track, Challenges from the Track
From new energy vehicles to robotics, Yan Siqian's past success demonstrates her offensive ability to capture industry trends. However, the difficulty of track investing lies not only in spotting opportunities but also in controlling concentration, managing valuation changes, and maintaining strategy effectiveness after rapid scale growth. For investors, evaluating active equity funds should not rely solely on a single year's performance ranking. Whether a fund manager's returns stem from consistent stock-picking ability or primarily from high exposure to a single sector requires a comprehensive assessment combining long-term drawdowns, holding concentration, sector rotation, and risk-adjusted returns.
A fund's name also cannot replace holding analysis. Before purchasing thematic products like "Carbon Neutrality," "Tech-Driven," or "Manufacturing Upgrade," investors should examine the top ten holdings, industry distribution, and overlap across different products to judge whether the fund's true risk aligns with their expectations.
From the doubling performance in 2025 to the net value pullback, scale decline, and style drift controversy in the first quarter of 2026, Yan Siqian's experience is not simply a case of a star fund manager 'slipping up.' It serves more as a mirror for the track-oriented investment style in public funds: concentrated holdings can create dazzling short-term rankings, but they can also cause cracks in product positioning, performance benchmarks, investor expectations, and true risk. When a hot theme fades, the ultimate test for the market is not how many opportunities a fund manager has captured, but whether their investment framework can withstand the test of a full cycle.