China Merchants Fund's performance has been disclosed alongside the release of China Merchants Bank's 2025 annual report. According to the financial data, as of the end of 2025, China Merchants Fund reported total assets of 154.02 billion yuan and net assets of 111.55 billion yuan. The fund achieved a net profit of 14.38 billion yuan in 2025.
Comparing the performance over the past five full years, the net profits for China Merchants Fund in 2023, 2024, and 2025 were 17.53 billion yuan, 16.50 billion yuan, and 14.38 billion yuan, respectively. These figures represent year-on-year growth rates of -3.29%, -5.90%, and -12.84%, marking three consecutive years of negative growth.
As of the end of 2025, China Merchants Fund's asset management business scale reached 1.59 trillion yuan. Within this, the public fund management scale was 961.469 billion yuan, an increase of 9.29% compared to the end of the previous year. However, according to Wind data, China Merchants Fund's management scale at the end of 2025 was 961.944 billion yuan, ranking 12th in the public fund industry.
China Merchants Bank's annual report describes China Merchants Fund as adhering to a dual-drive strategy of "active management business" and "passive index business." The fund's product structure shows that bond funds and money market funds account for over 70% of its product portfolio, serving as the mainstay. In contrast, actively managed equity funds and hybrid funds have a relatively smaller share. Wind data indicates that as of April 16, 2026, bond funds and money market funds each constituted over 35% of China Merchants Fund's scale, while equity funds and ETF funds accounted for 14.63% and 7.59%, respectively.
In the bond fund segment, Ma Long, formerly known as the "bond fund leader" at China Merchants Fund, officially stepped down from managing all funds on April 1, 2025, though he retained his position as Chief Fixed Income Investment Officer. At his peak, Ma Long managed bond funds with a scale exceeding 80 billion yuan at China Merchants Fund. Starting from the second half of 2024, he began relinquishing his fund products, and within less than a year, he had completely exited all his managed funds. A month after his departure, Ma Long officially joined Tianhong Fund, a major fixed-income management firm. In November 2025, after the mandatory post-resignation waiting period, he resumed his role as a fund manager, taking charge of two initiated bond funds at Tianhong. By January 2026, Ma Long appeared at related strategy meetings as the Assistant General Manager and Head of the Fixed Income Department at Tianhong Fund.
Succeeding Ma Long, Liu Wanfeng has become the key figure for bond funds at China Merchants Fund. As of the end of 2025, Liu Wanfeng's management scale was 46.92 billion yuan. He currently manages three funds each with a scale exceeding 10 billion yuan: China Merchants Industrial Bond A, China Merchants Tianyue Pure Bond A, and China Merchants Cash Enhancement Money Market Fund A. Among these, China Merchants Industrial Bond A is the largest bond fund Liu Wanfeng took over from Ma Long. Under Liu's management, the fund primarily held financial bonds from China Minsheng Bank, The Export-Import Bank of China, and China Development Bank. In 2025, the fund achieved a return of 1.26%, which is relatively modest.
Although the overall scale has fallen out of the top ten, China Merchants Fund remains within the top ten in actively managed equity products. Data shows that as of the end of 2025, the scale of China Merchants Fund's active equity-related products was 184.8 billion yuan, ranking 9th in the industry. However, the growth in active equity products in 2025 was the lowest among the top ten public fund companies, indicating weak future momentum.
Currently, China Merchants Fund is facing a talent drain, with several seasoned equity investment professionals having left, leading to a gap in the equity talent pipeline. In July 2025, China Merchants Fund announced the appointment of Lu Wenkai as a co-manager for the China Merchants Advantage Enterprise Mixed Fund, the only product managed by star fund manager Zhai Xiangdong. This move, following industry practices, sparked market speculation about Zhai Xiangdong's impending departure. Reports suggested that Zhai Xiangdong might join Hillhouse to become one of the core investment managers for Hillhouse's renewed focus on the secondary market, alongside former Invesco Great Wall Fund star fund manager Bao Wuke.
Compared to Zhai Xiangdong, Lu Wenkai's management scale is smaller, with only 5.076 billion yuan under management as of the end of 2025. His representative product, China Merchants Advantage Enterprise Mixed Fund A, achieved an annualized return of 15.48% in 2025, with a maximum drawdown as high as -40.83%. As of the end of 2025, the top three holdings in China Merchants Advantage Enterprise Mixed Fund A, each with a position exceeding 5%, were Greentown China, Focus Media, and Runfeng Shares, spanning real estate, media, and agriculture sectors, showing diversified industry exposure.
As the successor to Zhai Xiangdong, Lu Wenkai also manages several "mini-funds" within his portfolio. To maintain scale in 2026, Lu Wenkai will need to exert significant effort. It can be said that as a leading bank-affiliated public fund company, China Merchants Fund is currently experiencing noticeable talent outflow, making it increasingly challenging to achieve strong performance.