A fund manager's move from research into hands-on portfolio management brings a completely different experience.

Jiang Yanze, deputy head of the research department at Jianxin Fund, has drawn considerable investor attention recently. Since becoming a fund manager in 2022, all four of his products have posted negative returns during his tenure.

Among them, the veteran fund Jianxin Hengjiu Value Mixed has fallen more than 16% this year, and Jiang Yanze has recorded a loss of 22.8% since taking over nearly four years ago. This value-oriented fund, which once generated impressive returns, saw its performance drop straight to the bottom of its category after he took the helm. A review of its holdings shows that the sharp drawdown stems from continuous frequent position adjustments and chasing high-flying sectors, switching repeatedly from solar and lithium batteries, liquor and real estate, to AI computing power and gold.

Repeated high-chasing moves leave veteran star fund at the bottom

Jianxin Hengjiu Value Mixed was established in December 2005, and as of the end of June this year, its fund size was 801 million yuan, with a return of 604.22% since inception. However, its returns over the past one year, six months, three months, and one month were -7.23%, -19.44%, -16.40%, and -4.14%, respectively.

The fund has had several fund managers since its inception, with the first being Wu Jianfei, who achieved a tenure return of 201.17% over nearly four years. After multiple changes, Jiang Yanze joined in October 2022 and co-managed it with Tao Can, before beginning to manage it alone in February 2024.

Jianxin Hengjiu Value Mixed ranks at the bottom among similar funds. As a veteran value fund, its current holdings are far removed from the "long-term value holding" implied by its name, with its sector exposure shifting drastically from cyclical sectors such as non-ferrous metals and coal to AI computing power, semiconductors, and power batteries. As of the end of the second quarter, its top ten holdings were Penghui Energy, Zhongji Innolight, Binglun Environment, CATL, Changchuan Technology, VeriSilicon, Tianhua New Energy, Tianqi Lithium, SMIC, and Jinchengxin, with the top ten accounting for 40.34% in total. All top ten holdings in the second quarter were newly added positions, amounting to almost a complete overhaul. In the first quarter, the fund was still heavily invested in finance, non-ferrous metals, and mining, while in the second quarter it shifted aggressively into AI computing power and semiconductors.

Jiang Yanze acknowledged in the interim report that the portfolio achieved positive returns in the first half but lagged its benchmark. In the first quarter, the portfolio gained somewhat from resources and value but failed to capture the gold trend, while oil, gas, and chemicals were highly volatile. In the second quarter, the portfolio shifted toward technology growth, but large drawdowns in earlier cyclical and value positions caused its single-quarter net value growth rate to significantly underperform the benchmark. Jiang Yanze reflected that amid extreme market moves, allocation priorities still need to revolve around long-term value judgments. As the technology rally broadened, metals, materials, and equipment in cyclical industries tied to AI demand could gain growth pricing, but due to the limitations of a traditional cyclical thinking framework, the fund was not timely enough in seizing related thematic trades.

During Jiang Yanze's tenure, the fund frequently adjusted positions to chase highs. In mid-2022, he focused on solar and lithium batteries; by the end of 2022, he quickly cut new energy and pivoted to liquor and real estate; in mid-2023, he aggressively added AI computing power; in mid-2024, he put large positions into banks and cyclical non-ferrous metals; in mid-2025, he switched again to public transport, power, home appliances, and environmental protection; and just half a year later, at the end of 2025, he again cleared most holdings and repositioned into energy and cyclical non-ferrous metals.

Current research deputy head sees all four funds lose money

Jiang Yanze is a fund manager in Jianxin Fund's equity investment department and deputy head of its research department. He graduated in June 2014 with a degree in financial engineering from the University of Southern California, joined Jianxin Fund's research department in January 2015, and held roles including assistant researcher, junior researcher, researcher, head of strategy research, assistant to the general manager, and deputy general manager and assistant fund manager. Starting October 14, 2022, Jiang Yanze became a fund manager, with nearly four years of cumulative tenure. He currently manages four funds with total assets of 1.014 billion yuan, and his best tenure return on a managed fund is -1.63%.

Besides Jianxin Hengjiu Value Mixed, another fund he manages, Jianxin Huili Flexible Allocation Mixed, also ranks at the bottom of its category. Established in April 2016, the fund has a size of only 56 million yuan and a return of 41.76% since inception, with returns over the past one year, six months, three months, and one month of -4.58%, -17.15%, -15.57%, and -4.08%, respectively.

The playbook is identical, and this fund also suffers from style drift. In the second quarter of this year, it reduced cyclical resource stocks and began betting on AI computing power and semiconductors. Its top ten holdings were Zhongji Innolight, Hygon Information, SMIC, VeriSilicon, Binglun Environment, CATL, Penghui Energy, Cambricon, Changchuan Technology, and Piotech, with the top ten accounting for 43.32% in total.

"In the first half of 2026, major asset classes generally showed strong equities and weak bonds, with gold leading and commodities diverging sharply internally," Jiang Yanze said in the interim report. The equity market rose overall, but returns were highly concentrated in the technology growth style mapped to AI and a very small number of prosperous industries.

Jiang Yanze noted that looking back at the first half, the portfolio's shortcomings included, first, insufficient allocation to gold at the start of the year, failing to fully reflect alpha in cyclical sub-sectors during the non-ferrous rally; second, before the switch to technology, cyclical and value positions suffered large drawdowns, including insurance and lithium carbonate, and stop-losses were not decisive enough; third, metals, materials, and equipment in cyclical industries tied to AI demand could gain growth pricing, with related sub-sectors focused on AI minor metals, electronic cloth, and the AI inflation chain, which inherently overlap heavily with traditional cyclicals, but due to the limitations of a traditional cyclical thinking framework, the fund was not timely enough in seizing related thematic trades.

Jiang Yanze's two funds, Jianxin Resources Strict Selection Stock Initiative and Jianxin Dividend Strict Selection Mixed Initiative, posted returns of more than -18% and -4% over the past six months, and -9% and -1% over the past three months, respectively.

As one of China's first bank-affiliated fund companies, Jianxin Fund was officially established in 2005. It was jointly initiated by China Construction Bank Corporation (65% stake), Principal Financial Services (25% stake), and China Huadian Group Industrial Finance Holdings (10% stake). Its total assets under management exceed 1.53 trillion yuan, and it has provided comprehensive asset management services to more than 105 million clients. In terms of market performance, it is strong in fixed income but relatively lackluster in equities. MACD golden cross signals have formed, and these stocks are rising well!