"Off-target" leading fund
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This year's "champion" was hard to pick at the beginning of the year.
But what if you bought last year's "champion" at the start of this year?
Unexpectedly, the results were pretty good.
2025 seems to be a year without the "champion's curse". The winner, runner-up, and second runner-up of 2024 have all performed quite well in 2025, which perhaps is related to the ongoing tech stock boom.
However, among the top ten, there was a "surprise." In 2024, it had the "Yi Zhongtian," but this year the growth is only 2%. What's going on?
A “surprise” showed up in the top ten
Wind data shows that the funds leading in 2024 mostly performed well this year.
For example, last year’s champion among A-share funds, Morgan Stanley Digital Economy, still has a 61% growth this year (net value performance as of November 26, same below).
Similarly, the runner-up, Caitong Prosperity Select Fund, saw a yearly increase of over 63%. The second runner-up, ICBC New Manufacturing Fund, posted nearly 54% growth.
Even Debon Xinxing, managed by Lei Tao and others, doubled its net value this year after being among the top ten gainers in 2024.
Amid all this, Guorong Rongsheng Leading Selected Fund, managed by Zhou Desheng, has only single-digit growth, standing out conspicuously.
This fund’s performance in 2025 left investors "shocked."
In 2024, this fund gained nearly 48.96% and was one of the industry’s top ten funds that year.
But in 2025, as of November 26, its growth is only 2.17%, ranking in the bottom 5% of the industry.
“Yi Zhongtian” last year, only up 2% this year
The underwhelming performance of Guorong Rongsheng Leading Selected Fund this year is most likely not due to market style changes, but rather some unexpected moves in the fund manager’s holdings.
Some investors have harshly criticized this performance, saying if it were a consumer-focused fund, it would be understandable, but as a tech fund, it's unacceptable.
Looking at the fund’s top ten holdings over the last few quarters, the interesting thing is, from the beginning to the end of 2024, the “Yi Zhongtian”—Zhongji Xuchuang, New Easy Smart, and Tianfu Communications—all successively appeared among the fund's major holdings.
Their performance last year is well known. But in 2025, none of these stocks are present anymore. So, what did the fund buy instead?
Actually, the fund manager indeed remains focused on technology, just with some adjustments.
In 2024, the fund allocated heavily to the computing power sector over multiple quarters. But in the first and second quarterly reports of 2025, the manager emphasized increasing the allocation to AI application areas. Although the third quarter continued the emphasis on AI application stocks and gradually increased allocation to semiconductors and storage, there was a sense of “making up for lost time.”
Additionally, some of the fund’s stock picks may also have issues, such as picking stocks in the computer sector that have fallen since the start of the year.
Some “leading” funds actually “lagged”
Looking further, some 2024 leading funds posted negative returns this year.
For example, the Western Profit New Momentum Fund, managed by He Qi, ranked in the top 30 among A-share active equity funds in 2024, but since 2025, its net value has dropped about 5.88%.
What’s more, among the funds he manages, Western Profit Strategy Select Fund’s net value declined nearly 9% since the start of the year (choice data, all types counted as A share, as of November 26).
However, Western Profit Digital Industry Fund might have the “most unfair” result. As a digital industry-themed stock fund, normally regarded as tech-leaning, it also ranked in the top 15 of active equity funds in 2024, but its growth in 2025 is not even in double digits.
Take the Western Profit New Momentum Fund as an example; in 2024, the fund focused on steady growth and boosting domestic demand, allocating to gold, silver, and other precious metals, resources, and tech growth sectors. Resources contributed significantly to net value.
But in the first quarter, the fund took profits from resources and real estate-related sectors, trying to capture a recovery in consumer industries. In the third quarter, it continued to focus on domestic demand and increased its tech stock allocation, while later considering tech stock valuations to be high and raised exposure to transportation, agriculture, and non-bank sectors.
After all these aggressive moves, the result was worse than simply holding the first quarter’s main stocks. If we calculate based on the first quarter’s heavy holdings and held to today, the annual growth would’ve exceeded 23%.
For fund managers, when to adjust and whether their judgment is consistent clearly has a major impact on performance. With just one month left till the end of the year, the leaders now seem established, but new tests are still ahead.
Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market has risks, investments should be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it consider the individual investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of any particular user. Users should assess whether any views or conclusions in the article fit their personal circumstances. Investment decisions are at your own risk. ```