China Tightens Co-Investment Rules for Fund Managers and Executives

Jiemian News reported that in the second quarter, the ranks of active equity fund managers with more than 30 billion yuan in assets under management were reshuffled, with growth-style managers rising and some long-time leaders seeing their scale fall. It said there were 19 such managers overseeing 143 public funds, with managers themselves holding 57 funds and company executives, including senior managers and heads of investment and research departments, holding 70. Among the 19 managers, Zhang Kun was the only one to buy into all four funds he manages, with each purchase exceeding 1 million units. Chen Wenkai and Ge Lan each managed four funds and bought into three, a 75% self-purchase ratio. Liu Jianwei, Zheng Xi, Fang Jian and Ma Lei each had self-purchase ratios above 50%, while Wu Yang, Zhang Haixiao, Ren Jie and Luo Qing were at 50%. Zhang Mingxin, Yan Kai and Chen Yunzhong had no self-purchases, and Jin Zicai, who manages 13 funds, bought into only two. Jiemian News also noted that company executives often held the same funds as the managers, and in some cases increased holdings while the managers reduced theirs. The article said China's securities regulator issued a plan in May 2025 to strengthen mandatory co-investment ratios and lock-up requirements for fund companies, executives and fund managers. In April, the Asset Management Association of China released performance assessment guidelines requiring senior executives, heads of major business departments and fund managers to use a certain proportion of performance pay to buy public funds managed by their own firms or themselves, with a holding period of at least one year.