Old Funds "Shrinking," Self-Purchase of Tens of Millions to "Add Vitality," How Can Anxin Fund Escape the Mini Fund Dilemma?

China Trust Fund Launches New Investment, Binds Interests with Investors

Beijing—Chinatimes.net.cn reporter Zhang Mei

Recently, Anxin Fund announced that it will invest no less than 8 million yuan, with the fund manager planning to contribute at least 2 million yuan, totaling no less than 10 million yuan to subscribe to the new fund Anxin Balanced Zhi Yuan Hybrid, with a commitment to hold for at least one year. This move is interpreted as a sign of strong confidence in the market and aligning interests with investors.

However, just half a month earlier, the company’s Vice President Chen Zhenyu stepped down from managing its flagship product, Anxin Value Growth Hybrid, which he had overseen for over six years. Earlier, former Vice General Manager and manager of nearly 30 billion yuan in assets, Zhang Yifei, also announced his departure.

What does a 10 million yuan self-investment mean? “This is a common industry practice,” said senior fund researcher Wang Tieniu to Huaxia Times. In the past, fund companies often increased their own investments during market downturns to boost investor confidence and better align the interests of fund managers and investors. Fund managers’ investment behavior would become more cautious and responsible. Now, according to relevant policies, senior management and fund managers are required to invest a certain proportion of their own funds into their company’s products.

The Strategy Behind Self-Investment

The Anxin Balanced Zhi Yuan Hybrid fund officially entered the subscription period on March 16, with the fundraising deadline set for March 27. It is a mixed equity fund managed by Zhang Jing.

Who is Zhang Jing? How are his performances? Public information shows that Zhang Jing holds a master’s degree in finance from Nankai University and has extensive securities industry experience. He previously worked as a researcher at Huatai Securities Research Institute and as an investment manager assistant at Anxin Securities Investment Department. He joined Anxin Fund from its inception, serving as a researcher, deputy general manager, and general manager of the Asset Management Department, and is now the General Manager of Equity Investment.

Since 2017, Zhang Jing has managed public funds, currently overseeing multiple hybrid funds including Anxin Core Competitiveness, Anxin Comparative Advantage, and Anxin Visionary Growth.

In terms of performance, his representative fund, Anxin Flexible Allocation Hybrid A, has been managed for over 8 years since late 2017, with a return of 192.54%, far exceeding the 87.91% average return of similar funds during the same period, ranking in the top 10% (185/2076).

Similarly, the Anxin Comparative Advantage Hybrid A and Anxin Core Competitiveness Hybrid A, both managed for over five years, achieved returns of 54.34% and 131.17%, respectively, significantly outperforming their peers.

Additionally, since March 2022, the Anxin Visionary Growth Hybrid A has performed well, with a return of 42.98%, and its C share returned 40.12%, both surpassing the average for similar funds.

However, the hybrid bond product Anxin Haoying 6-Month Holding Hybrid C, which Zhang Jing took over on August 14, 2023, has not performed as well, with a return of only 10.54% over more than two years, below the peer average of 26.26%, ranking in the lower middle among similar products.

The Loss of Top Managers

In recent years, Anxin Fund has seen significant changes in its core investment research personnel. Since the second half of 2025, several top performers have left or stepped down from managing products.

In July 2025, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Hybrid Assets, Zhang Yifei, suddenly resigned for personal reasons, liquidating all nine of his managed funds. As a top performer managing over 30 billion yuan, Zhang’s departure led to a sharp shrinkage in the fund scale. Data shows that before his departure, the total scale of his managed funds was nearly 30 billion yuan at the end of Q2 2025; by the next quarter, these nine funds shrank to 21.177 billion yuan—a 29.33% decrease.

Moreover, on February 26, 2026, another Vice President, Chen Zhenyu, resigned due to “work needs,” after managing the flagship Anxin Value Growth Hybrid for over six years (he continues to manage other products). Public data indicates that during his tenure, this fund achieved an annualized return of over 13%, ranking in the top quarter among peers, with his personal return doubling.

Meanwhile, another senior figure, Assistant General Manager and Research Director Chen Yifeng, resigned from managing the Anxin New Growth Hybrid Fund in January this year (he still manages other products), with the fund’s scale dropping sharply from a peak of over 10 billion yuan to about 3.6 billion yuan.

Regarding these issues, Huaxia Times sent an interview request to Anxin Fund on March 17. As of press time, no response has been received.

The Challenge of “Maintaining Shells”

In the face of many mini funds nearing liquidation, why does the company choose to launch new funds instead of “saving” old ones?

Some public fund industry insiders told us that maintaining a mini fund requires paying various costs for ongoing marketing, which becomes uneconomical when the fund’s scale is too small to cover management fees and expenses. Additionally, small funds dilute research and distribution resources, affecting overall operational efficiency. Instead of continuously investing in unmarketable old products, it’s better to focus resources on launching new funds aligned with current market trends.

However, a strategy of “relaunch and light management” may not be sustainable and could lead to a vicious cycle of launching new funds, shrinking, becoming mini, and eventually liquidating.

As of March 18, Wind data shows that 95 funds under Anxin Fund have scales below 50 million yuan (not including different share classes).

Meanwhile, some of the older products launched years ago are also facing scale reduction.

Generally, initiating a fund has lower thresholds, typically requiring a minimum of 5 million yuan in fundraising, with the founder subscribing at least 1 million yuan and holding for at least three years to capture early market opportunities. However, many of these funds, due to lack of market appeal, failed to grow and were forced to liquidate.

For example, in July 2025, the Anxin New Energy Theme Stock Initiated Fund, after three years, had a scale of less than 200 million yuan and was forced into liquidation.

Beyond liquidation, some funds that barely passed the three-year mark also face poor prospects. Data shows that as of March 18, several initiated funds have shrunk below 200 million yuan.

Among them, the Anxin Innovation Pioneer A/C shares total about 190 million yuan, barely crossing the liquidation threshold, but after more than five years, it has not grown significantly. The Anxin Value Drive fund, after three years, has a scale of less than 7 million yuan, and has been around for over six years, remaining a mini fund. Notably, the Anxin Steady Growth A/C combined scale is about 51.11 million yuan, approaching the 50 million yuan liquidation red line. This fund’s A shares have been around for over 13 years, making it a “legacy product.”

For most mini funds, liquidation is almost inevitable, and each liquidation often forces retail investors to accept losses and exit the market.