The transition from a research role to hands-on fund management has proven challenging for Jiang Yanze, Deputy General Manager of the Research Department at CCB Fund, who has recently drawn significant attention from investors. Since taking on the role of fund manager in 2022, all four products under his management have posted negative returns during his tenure. Among them, the veteran fund CCB Hengjiu Value Mixed has fallen more than 16% this year, with Jiang Yanze's cumulative return since taking over nearly four years ago down 22.8%. This value-oriented fund, which once generated impressive returns in its early years, has slipped to the bottom of its peer group under his stewardship.

A review of the fund's holdings reveals that the significant performance decline stems from persistent frequent trading and chasing sector momentum — shifting from photovoltaic and lithium battery sectors to baijiu and real estate, and then to AI computing power and gold, with constant rotation across themes.

Frequent Momentum Chasing Leaves Veteran Fund at the Bottom of Rankings

Established in December 2005, CCB Hengjiu Value Mixed had a fund size of 801 million yuan as of the end of June this year, with a cumulative return of 604.22% since inception. However, its returns over the past one year, six months, three months, and one month stand at -7.23%, -19.44%, -16.40%, and -4.14%, respectively. The fund has seen multiple fund managers throughout its history, with its first manager, Wu Jianfei, delivering an impressive 201.17% return during his nearly four-year tenure. After several changes, Jiang Yanze joined in October 2022, co-managing with Tao Can, before taking sole charge in February 2024.

CCB Hengjiu Value Mixed now ranks at the bottom among its peers. As a veteran value-oriented fund, its current holdings have drifted far from the "long-term value holding" philosophy implied by its name, with the portfolio undergoing dramatic sector rotation — from cyclical sectors like non-ferrous metals and coal to AI computing power, semiconductors, and power battery sectors. As of the end of the second quarter, the fund's top ten holdings included Pylon Technologies, Zhongji Innolight, Yantai Moon, CATL, Changchuan Technology, VeriSilicon, Tianhua New Energy, Tianqi Lithium, SMIC, and Jincheng Mining, with the top ten accounting for 40.34% of the portfolio. All ten holdings were new positions in the second quarter, representing a near-complete overhaul of the portfolio. In the first quarter, the fund had heavily weighted financials, non-ferrous metals, and mining, but by the second quarter it had pivoted sharply into AI computing power and semiconductors.

In the interim report, Jiang Yanze acknowledged that the portfolio achieved positive returns in the first half but lagged the performance benchmark. In the first quarter, the portfolio gained some returns from resources and value directions but missed the gold rally, with oil, gas, and chemicals experiencing significant volatility. In the second quarter, the portfolio shifted toward technology and growth, but the earlier cyclical and value positions suffered substantial drawdowns, causing the single-quarter net value growth rate to significantly underperform the benchmark. Jiang Yanze reflected that during extreme market conditions, allocation focus should still center on long-term value judgments. As the technology rally expanded, metals, materials, and equipment related to AI demand within cyclical industries may receive growth-based valuations, but due to the limitations of traditional cyclical thinking frameworks, the fund's timing on related thematic trades was insufficiently prompt.

During Jiang Yanze's management period, the fund has engaged in frequent rotation and momentum chasing. In mid-2022, he focused on photovoltaic and lithium battery sectors; by the end of 2022, he rapidly reduced new energy positions and pivoted into baijiu and real estate; in mid-2023, he heavily increased AI computing power holdings; and by mid-2024, he allocated significant weight to banking and non-ferrous cyclical sectors. By mid-2025, Jiang Yanze again switched to public transportation, power, home appliances, and environmental protection sectors. Just six months later, at the end of 2025, he once again liquidated most positions to rebuild exposure in energy and non-ferrous cyclical sectors.

Current Research Deputy Head Sees All Four Funds Post Losses

Jiang Yanze serves as Fund Manager in the Equity Investment Department and Deputy General Manager of the Research Department at CCB Fund. He graduated from the University of Southern California in June 2014 with a degree in Financial Engineering and joined CCB Fund's research department in January 2015, progressing through roles including Assistant Researcher, Junior Researcher, Researcher, Strategy Research Supervisor, General Manager Assistant, and Deputy General Manager alongside Fund Manager Assistant. Since October 14, 2022, Jiang Yanze has served as a fund manager with nearly four years of cumulative experience, currently managing four funds with total assets of 1.014 billion yuan and a best tenure return of -1.63%.

Beyond CCB Hengjiu Value Mixed, another fund under Jiang Yanze's management, CCB Huili Flexible Allocation Mixed, also ranks at the bottom of its peer group. Established in April 2016 with a scale of just 56 million yuan, the fund has a cumulative return of 41.76% since inception, with one-year, six-month, three-month, and one-month returns of -4.58%, -17.15%, -15.57%, and -4.08%, respectively. The management approach mirrors the same pattern, with the fund exhibiting style drift. In the second quarter, it reduced cyclical resource positions and began betting on AI computing power and semiconductors, with top ten holdings of Zhongji Innolight, Hygon Information, SMIC, VeriSilicon, Yantai Moon, CATL, Pylon Technologies, Cambricon, Changchuan Technology, and Piotech, comprising 43.32% of the portfolio.

"In the first half of 2026, the overall asset class landscape showed strength in equities and weakness in bonds, with gold leading and sharp divergence within commodities," Jiang Yanze stated in the interim report. He noted that the equity market broadly rose, but returns were highly concentrated in AI-driven technology growth styles and a few booming industries. Jiang Yanze acknowledged shortcomings in portfolio management: first, insufficient gold allocation at the start of the year, failing to fully capture alpha in cyclical sub-sectors within the non-ferrous metals rally; second, the cyclical and value positions experienced significant drawdowns before the technology switch, including insurance and lithium carbonate, with insufficiently decisive stop-losses; and third, metals, materials, and equipment related to AI demand within cyclical industries may receive growth pricing, with related sub-sectors focused on AI small metals, electronic cloth, and the AI inflation chain overlapping heavily with traditional cyclical products — but due to the limitations of traditional cyclical thinking frameworks, the fund's timing on related thematic trades was not prompt enough.

Jiang Yanze's other two funds, CCB Resources Precision Selection Stock Launch and CCB Dividend Precision Selection Mixed Launch, have posted six-month returns exceeding -18% and -4%, respectively, with three-month returns of -9% and -1%.

As one of China's first bank-backed fund companies, CCB Fund was formally established in 2005. The company is jointly founded by China Construction Bank Corporation (65% stake), Principal Financial Services (25% stake), and China Huadian Group Industry and Finance Holding Co., Ltd. (10% stake). With total assets under management exceeding 1.53 trillion yuan, the firm has provided comprehensive asset management services to over 105 million clients. In terms of market performance, the company is known for its strength in fixed income, while equity performance has been relatively subdued.