Seven funds that doubled in value, a hidden battle in the tech world: Public fund rankings for the first eight months revealed.

In the first eight months of this year, mutual funds experienced a rapid shift from frenzy to calm. The first half of the year saw a surge in tech stocks, with numerous funds doubling in value. However, a market correction in July caused a sudden cooling of the AI sector's fervor. In just two months, the entire performance rankings were subtly altered.

As of August 31, only 7 actively managed equity funds in the entire market had more than doubled their returns. The average net asset value return of actively managed equity funds was only 6.01%. Although this outperformed the Shanghai Composite Index and the CSI 300 Index, it was a far cry from the booming performance in the first half of the year.

But the leaders are still there. E Fund Supply-Side Reform, managed by Yang Zongchang, topped the list with a year-to-date return of 130.85%, while another fund he manages, E Fund Industrial Opportunities, secured second place. In addition, fund managers such as Yan Kai of Orient, Zuo Shaoyi of Nuoan, Fang Jian of Yinhua, and Jin Zicai of Caitong also have funds ranking highly. During the July market correction, they preserved their returns and maintained their positions.

But questions arise: After such dramatic fluctuations in the tech sector, can there still be a market rally? What exactly did these products that doubled in value do right? Was it the sector's beta, or the fund manager's alpha, that contributed more?

Only through careful analysis and dissection can the answers be found.

Fund performance has been completely reshuffled.

This year's market performance can be divided into two phases, both equally dramatic. In the first six months, the outstanding performance of technology and AI caught managers of other styles and sectors off guard. However, the rally came to an abrupt halt in July, causing many fund managers to quietly "fall".

In the first eight months of the year, the market leaders were completely reshuffled. The performance rankings also saw a change in personnel.

According to Wind statistics, excluding new funds launched this year, the average net asset value return of all equity funds in the market (including index funds, mixed funds, and stock funds, excluding FOFs, and counting the main share) was 6.01% in the first eight months, and the average return of actively managed equity funds was 7.67%, significantly outperforming the Shanghai Composite Index and the CSI 300.

Specifically, as of August 31, the adjusted net asset value growth rates of E Fund Supply Reform and E Fund Industrial Opportunities A, managed by Yang Zongchang, reached 130.85% and 126.95% respectively in the first eight months. The other five funds that more than doubled in value—Dongfang Artificial Intelligence Theme managed by Yan Kai, Huian Trend Power managed by Chen Siyu, Nuoan Innovation Driven managed by Zuo Shaoyi, Guotai Semiconductor Manufacturing Selection managed by Peng Lingzhi, and Yinhua Integrated Circuit managed by Fang Jian—have year-to-date returns between 105% and 112%.

Following closely behind, Jin Zicai's Caitong Multi-Strategy and Caitong Craftsmanship, Bu Zhonglin's Shenwan Lingxin Intelligent Drive, Zheng Xiaoxi's Southern Information Innovation, Wang Xianwei's Chuangjin Hexin Specialized and Innovative, Wang Yue's Minsheng Jiayin Juyou, and Zhang Yan's Hongli Leading Small and Medium Cap also achieved a return of 90%, entering the top 20 of all actively managed funds in the market.

Attached chart: Top-performing actively managed equity funds from January to August 2026

Which is more crucial: product direction or fund manager?

Looking at the aforementioned funds, most are technology growth-oriented or focused on AI semiconductors, which once again confirms the conclusion this year that "whoever masters AI will win the world . "

However, the contributions of fund managers are also crucial.

On the one hand, the rankings in August this year have undergone many significant changes compared to the mid-year rankings. Products that led the pack in the early stages may lose momentum in the third quarter. On the other hand, some products have caught up by virtue of their sustained performance.

On the other hand, the leading companies in the industry are not all industry-themed products. Whether it is Zuo Shaoyi's Nuoan Innovation, Yang Zongchang's E Fund Industrial Opportunities, Jin Zicai's Caitong Craftsmanship, or Zhang Yan's Hongli Leading Small and Medium Cap, they are all broad-based products.

These funds offer a wider range of investment opportunities, which will also put the fund managers' judgment and research capabilities to a greater test.

Looking at the consistency of performance, fund managers like Jin Zicai and Fang Jian are not experiencing short-term bursts with a single product, but rather multiple products that have consistently ranked among the top in the industry over the past two to three years. The existence of such a group of fund managers also validates that active equity investment still has great potential in the domestic market.

Ordinary funds: The leading performers are clearly "diverse".

In contrast to the fact that almost all products in the market are growth-style products, actively managed equity funds are relatively more diverse in style.

Chen Siyu's Huian Trend Power Fund ranked first among such products with a year-to-date return of 111.77%, followed closely by Bu Zhonglin's Shenwan Lingxin Intelligent Drive A Fund with a return of 98.45%.

In addition, companies such as Huashang Reform and Innovation (managed by Liu Li), Harvest Green Theme (managed by Cai Chengfeng ), Guoshou Anbao Digital Economy (managed by Wu Jian), Jianxin Technology Smart Selection (managed by Huang Ziling), and Hongtu Innovation New Technology (managed by Gai Junlong) have also emerged and made their mark in this category.

Furthermore, the performance gap among the top performers of ordinary equity funds is significant, with a difference of 52.54 percentage points between the highest and lowest returns. This fully demonstrates the performance divergence among equity funds with higher equity allocations.

Attached chart: Top-performing ordinary equity funds from January to August 2026

Mixed funds: Small and medium-sized companies dominate.

The competition among mixed funds is extremely fierce, with more than half of the top performers in the equity fund rankings coming from mixed funds.

Besides the aforementioned individuals, other leading mixed-asset funds include those managed by Zhou Mi and Liang Shaowen (Oriental Alpha Technology Selection), as well as several other products managed by Yan Kai, Fang Jian, and Jin Zicai.

Furthermore, the top 20 mixed funds largely overlap with the top 20 in the overall market. The top mixed fund remains the E Fund Supply-Side Reform Fund managed by Yang Zongchang, followed by the E Fund Industrial Opportunities A fund managed by him.

Another interesting observation is that small and medium-sized funds occupy an important position in the ranking of mixed-asset products. Just by counting, there are ten products managed by companies such as Dongfang Fund, Huian Fund, Shenwan Lingxin, Caitong Fund, Chuangjin Hexin, Dongfang Alpha, and Huashang.

However, if we consider the top ten leading companies in the industry, only E Fund Management and Southern Asset Management hold a significant position. Fund managers from smaller companies have shown significantly better performance.

Some believe this may be related to the fact that small and medium-sized companies are more willing to invest in certain niche sectors. Others argue that by focusing resources on a single area, they create a differentiated competitive advantage. Both views are somewhat controversial.

Attached chart: Top-performing mixed funds from January to August 2026

Index funds: Semiconductor themes account for half of the portfolio.

Among index funds, the top-performing products are relatively singular, almost all of them are semiconductor-related products, and more than half of them are related to the semiconductor materials and equipment theme index.

The returns for everyone were also quite similar, ranging from 101% to 72%.

The overly uniform and consistent performance has actually raised concerns about the trend of the relevant indices in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

Attached chart: Top-performing index funds from January to August 2026

QDII Products: Differentiation Leads to Individual Breakthroughs

Looking at overseas investment opportunities, the returns of QDII funds show a significant divergence.

Semiconductor-related products from China and South Korea stood out slightly. The Huatai-PineBridge CSI Korea Exchange Semiconductor ETF Linked Fund, managed by Li Muyang, has achieved a year-to-date return of 77.57%. The same series of exchange-traded ETFs jointly managed by Liu Jun and Li Muyang are also relatively leading.

Besides South Korean semiconductors, a number of high-yield products have also emerged in crude oil commodities, overseas internet, emerging markets, and global technology chips, with the main market trend revolving around the technology industry and energy cycle.

Crude oil products constitute a large category, with funds such as E Fund Crude Oil, Southern Crude Oil, Harvest Crude Oil, and Bosera S&P Oil & Gas performing well.

In addition, broad-based stock selection products such as Guofu Asia Opportunities and Guofu Global Technology Interconnection managed by Xu Cheng, Harvest Global Industrial Upgrading managed by Chen Junjie, Tianhong Global High-end Manufacturing managed by Liu Dong, Invesco Great Wall Global Semiconductor managed by Wang Yang et al., and E Fund Global Growth Selection managed by Zheng hope also performed well.

Attached chart: Top-performing QDII funds from January to August 2026

Bond funds: Equity investment capability remains key

Specifically, looking at bond funds, their performance remains stable. Zhang Yongzhi's Huashang Convertible Bond A Fund ranks first with a year-to-date return of 28.76%. Another fund he manages, Huashang Ruixin, ranks second. The Guotai Convertible Bond Fund, managed by Mao Liwei and Qin Peidong, ranks third.

In addition, Caitong Income Enhancement managed by Luo Xiaoqian and Kuang Heng, Southern Guangli Return managed by Liu Wenliang and Wang Rundong, ICBC Credit Suisse Tianhui managed by Chen Han, and E Fund Fenghe managed by Zhang Qinghua, have also entered the top ten in the industry.

These products belong to either the convertible bond team of the aforementioned institutions, or the multi-asset/absolute return team, and some are managed by fund managers within the bond team who oversee secondary bond funds (also investing in stocks). This highlights the comprehensive and diversified investment characteristics of these fund managers.

These fund managers and their products are also quite noteworthy this season.

Attached chart: Top-performing bond funds from January to August 2026

Risk warning and disclaimerInvesting involves risk; please exercise caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Any investment decisions made based on this information are at your own risk.