Two public fund companies change presidents, securities firms and banking institutions have different considerations

How Will Regulatory Backgrounds of AI and Blessing Letters Affect Great Wall Fund’s Equity Investments?

Yiqu君

“The two upcoming new leaders, Blessing Letter and Sun Jiankun, are both ‘young and strong,’ but their respective public fund companies—one affiliated with securities firms and the other with banks—are facing very different ‘beginnings.’”

Recently, two public funds, Great Wall Fund and Agricultural Bank of China HuiLi Fund, have respectively appointed new leaders, attracting widespread market attention.

Both Blessing Letter and Sun Jiankun are ‘young and strong,’ but their respective firms—one a securities firm-based public fund, which grew from 140 billion to 370 billion over five years but repeatedly hit bumps in equity investments; the other a bank-controlled public fund with over 220 billion in assets under management, yet struggling with a structural dilemma of ‘strong fixed income, weak equities.’

‘Securities Firm’ Great Wall Fund Welcomes Compliance Veteran Blessing Letter

Blessing Letter, born in 1979, holds a master’s degree in Financial Law from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. From 2005 to 2015, he worked in Shenzhen Securities Regulatory Bureau, overseeing market regulation, handling cases involving false statements, insider trading, market manipulation, and ‘mouse farms’ at fund companies, earning a second-class collective merit from the CSRC. In 2015, he transitioned to the market, serving as Vice General Manager, Chief Risk Officer, and Supervisor at Zhongtian Guofu Securities, and Vice General Manager at Century Securities. In September 2023, he was appointed Inspector General of Great Wall Fund.

This ‘regulatory background’ is uncommon among public fund general managers. Previously, Li Yunliang, Compliance and Risk Control Head at Quanguo Fund, also transitioned to General Manager, indicating increasing importance of compliance talent in fund management leadership. Blessing Letter’s appointment is expected to further strengthen the company’s compliance and risk control system, especially under tightening regulatory scrutiny.

The outgoing Qiu Chunyang took office as General Manager of Great Wall Fund in July 2020. With a doctorate in Economics, he joined the securities industry in 2001, working at Southern Securities Asset Management, and later held key roles at GF Fund, including Head of Financial Engineering Department and Deputy General Manager.

During his five-year tenure, the fund’s total management scale grew from 159.289 billion at the end of Q3 2020 to 374.362 billion at the end of 2025, ranking from 32nd to 29th among peers. Non-money market assets increased from 57.993 billion to 151.821 billion. In the first half of 2025, the company achieved operating income of 541 million yuan and net profit of 135 million yuan, demonstrating steady operational resilience.

‘Bank-Controlled’ Agricultural Bank of China HuiLi Fund Welcomes ‘Post-80s’ Investment Veteran

Sun Jiankun, born in April 1982, holds a doctoral degree and is a senior economist. He previously served as Director of Strategy and Portfolio Management at the Asset Management Department of Agricultural Bank of China, and since July 2019, has been Vice President of HuiLi Wealth Management. He is also a special member of the Second Committee of the China Insurance Asset Management Industry Association for Public Market Investment.

Sun Jiankun’s appointment marks the sixth general manager in HuiLi Fund’s 18-year history. Founded in March 2008, this bank-controlled fund is jointly owned by Agricultural Bank of China (51.67%), Oriental HuiLi (33.33%), and China Aluminum Capital (15%).

At the 2025 Asset Management Conference, Sun pointed out: “Some fund companies laid out index-based strategies ten years ago and have reaped huge gains in the past two years. This shows that forward-looking product planning is crucial for asset management firms.” From new product launches in 2025, HuiLi has shifted significantly toward passive index funds—out of eight new products, five are passive index funds—aligning closely with Sun’s philosophy.

The departing Cheng Kun took office as HuiLi’s General Manager in September 2021. An ‘old farmer’ of the bank, he joined Agricultural Bank in 1997 and has extensive experience in the financial markets department, including roles in foreign exchange investment, proprietary risk management, and market operations, giving him deep insight into banking operations. During his tenure, the firm’s scale grew modestly from about 200 billion to 226 billion yuan, maintaining a stable base.

Market Performance and Deep-seated Challenges of the Two Public Funds

In terms of scale, Great Wall Fund’s 374.36 billion yuan far exceeds HuiLi’s 226 billion yuan. However, their growth trajectories differ: under Qiu Chunyang, Great Wall’s scale doubled and steadily increased; HuiLi, on the other hand, has fallen from its peak and faced stagnation, ranking at the bottom among the five major bank-controlled public funds.

Both show a ‘strong fixed income, weak equities’ characteristic, but to different degrees. By the end of 2025, bonds accounted for 71.89% of Great Wall’s total assets, while stocks only made up 7.54%. The combined equity and hybrid funds totaled about 31 billion yuan. HuiLi’s fixed income (bonds + money market) funds totaled 190.768 billion yuan (84.37%), with equity funds only 34.64 billion yuan (15.32%).

Asset allocation shows that Great Wall maintains over 70% in bonds and about 7% in stocks, providing stability in volatile markets but resulting in relatively weak equity investment capabilities.

In 2025, Great Wall has notable highlights. Its healthcare industry selection fund achieved nearly 90% return, ranking second in annual performance, with assets soaring nearly 30 times in Q2—from 3.6 million to 110.8 million yuan. The value-oriented hybrid fund also doubled its returns over a one-year holding period.

HuiLi’s equity products underperform. After Zhao Yi, the ‘Four Crown King,’ left in 2022, the firm seemed to face a talent vacuum. The four funds managed by Vice General Manager Gu Chao all posted losses; HuiLi Innovation Growth’s return was -25.76%, ranking at the bottom among peers. Fixed income products performed relatively steadily, ranking 56th out of 126 in absolute return over five years, placing it in the industry mid-tier.

Profitability-wise, HuiLi’s net profit declined from 346 million yuan in 2022 to 248 million in 2024—a 28.3% drop. Compared to other bank-controlled public funds like ICBC Credit Suisse (2024 net profit: 2.11 billion yuan) and CCB Fund (assets over 970 billion yuan), HuiLi’s scale and profits are significantly lower.

Great Wall remains profitable, but from 2022 to 2024, all its funds suffered a total loss of about 1.4 billion yuan, while management fees collected over three years reached about 3 billion yuan. This ‘investors losing money while the company profits’ phenomenon has caused dissatisfaction among retail investors. In December 2025, fund manager Weng Yuping resigned due to ‘business adjustments’ and was reassigned as an industry researcher—seen as a ‘retraining’ move.

Notably, fund manager Han Lin’s experience links the two firms. He managed four funds at HuiLi from 2013 to 2021, all with positive returns, including HuiLi Top Technology’s 160.8% return. After joining Great Wall in August 2021, his management of the six-month holding period hybrid fund saw a 26.51% decline by the end of 2022, far exceeding industry averages. This stark contrast may reflect differences in research support and talent utilization between bank and securities firm-based funds.

Different Challenges in Leadership Transition

Blessing Letter faces the challenge of how ‘securities firm’ public funds can balance scale and quality. First, balancing ‘compliance mindset’ with ‘business mindset.’ Long-term regulatory and compliance work fosters a cautious, meticulous style, but public funds, as market-oriented entities, must also pursue performance and growth.

Second, Blessing’s core strength lies in compliance and risk control. Compared to long-time managers like Qiu Chunyang, he has room to improve in investment research, product innovation, and market expansion. Currently, Great Wall’s most pressing issue is insufficient research capability, testing Blessing’s strategic planning and team management skills.

Additionally, although Great Wall ranks among the top 30 industry players, there is still a significant gap with leading firms. How to find a clear positioning, develop differentiated advantages, and avoid stagnation in ‘slow growth and mediocre performance’ will challenge the new management team’s strategic vision.

Sun Jiankun faces the typical dilemma of ‘bank-controlled’ public funds. Relying on channel resources and fixed income strengths, these funds grew rapidly, but their equity share remains low. The explosive growth of index funds in recent years favors securities firms, which have an advantage in this area.

Sun’s core experience in banking wealth management contrasts with HuiLi’s need for core equity products and market-oriented incentive mechanisms. Bank wealth management emphasizes absolute returns and stable allocation, which conflicts with the public fund’s pursuit of relative returns and high flexibility in equity investments. Whether a seasoned ‘fixed income+’ veteran can truly understand and motivate equity fund managers to actively compete in the market remains a big question.

Furthermore, the company must also face the reality of weakened channel advantages. With the rise of securities firms and third-party distributors, the bank’s dominance in equity fund sales is diminishing.

Overall, the public fund industry is increasingly concentrated at the top. Leading fund companies leverage channels, branding, and talent to continuously expand market share, while small and medium-sized funds are squeezed out. Although they constitute the majority in number, their scale share is low—over 60% of institutions hold less than 10% of the market, making survival highly competitive.

For Great Wall and HuiLi, the succession of new leaders is not only a routine iteration but also a good opportunity to enter a new development phase. Can Sun Jiankun, under the pressure of transformation faced by bank-controlled funds, proactively address equity shortfalls through forward-looking strategies? Can Blessing Letter, on the basis of scale growth, improve the stability of equity investments and rebuild investor trust? The answers will be revealed in the future—let’s wait and see.

Source: Institutional Research