A potential career move is underway for Deng Jiongpeng, a seasoned fund of funds (FOF) manager. Reports suggest he may be departing his current roles at Orient Securities Asset Management to join Tianhong Fund.
Orient Securities Asset Management and Tianhong Fund represent two distinct development paths within the public fund industry, having charted contrasting trajectories in recent years amidst market changes. The former has been a benchmark among securities-affiliated asset managers, building its reputation on active equity value investing. The latter leveraged internet traffic advantages to become the largest by assets under management and is now navigating a challenging transition to reduce its reliance on money market funds.
Deng Jiongpeng currently serves as Managing Director, Head of the Fund Portfolio Investment Department, and Fund Manager at Shanghai Orient Securities Asset Management. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Guangdong University of Finance. His previous experience includes roles as a product manager in the retail banking department at China Merchants Bank's Guangzhou branch, and later as a product manager and head of investment product development at the bank's wealth management division.
Investment and research talent is a core asset for public fund companies. Recent personnel movements between these two firms reflect shifts in their respective development strategies and significantly impact the evolution of their competitive standing in the industry.
As of the end of 2025, Orient Securities Asset Management's total public fund assets under management reached 216.268 billion yuan, a 30.05% increase from the end of 2024, maintaining its leading position among securities-backed asset managers in the public fund space. During the same period, Tianhong Fund's total public fund assets were approximately 1.25 trillion yuan, ranking sixth in the industry, with its business structure characterized by a reduced dependence on money market funds but a need to strengthen core competencies.
Regarding talent flow, Tianhong Fund has recently initiated large-scale external recruitment focused on three strategic transformation areas: upgrading its fixed-income capabilities, addressing weaknesses in equity investments, and expanding its ETF business. This makes it one of the few major firms actively expanding its investment and research team against the broader trend.
Orient Securities Asset Management launched its first public FOF product in 2021. Leveraging its extensive experience in active equity research, a mature fund manager evaluation system, and expertise in asset allocation, the firm has established a development focus centered on actively managed FOFs and pension-target FOFs. Wind data shows that by the end of 2025, Orient Securities managed 11 public FOF products with total assets of approximately 10.637 billion yuan, ranking within the industry's top 10. Pension-target FOFs accounted for 62% of this total, forming the core of its FOF business. The company also offers equity-biased hybrid and bond-biased hybrid FOFs to meet asset allocation needs across different risk-return profiles.
In terms of scale and product layout, Tianhong Fund had 9 public FOF products by the end of 2025, with total managed assets of about 1.76 billion yuan, placing it outside the industry's top 20. Utilizing its internet channel advantages, individual investors account for over 95% of the holdings in some of Tianhong's single FOF products, with most products seeing individual ownership exceeding 80%, highlighting a strong focus on accessibility. This contrasts sharply with Orient Securities' client base, which primarily consists of institutional and high-net-worth individual clients.
The addition of Deng Jiongpeng, an industry veteran and FOF allocation expert, would significantly bolster Tianhong Fund's efforts to strengthen its non-money market fund business. Currently, the core competitiveness of the public fund industry is shifting from reliance on "individual star managers" towards building "systematic capabilities." The transformations at both Orient Securities and Tianhong Fund underscore an industry trend: a development model solely dependent on star fund managers is no longer sustainable for long-term growth. Only by establishing replicable, inheritable, systematic investment and research capabilities that do not depend on individuals can stable development be achieved.
At the business level, a balanced structure is fundamental for the long-term development of any institution. Achieving an equilibrium across equity, fixed income, index, and other business lines is essential to hedge against market cyclical fluctuations and ensure steady asset growth.