Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management changes leadership, handing over the reins to a 30-year veteran of the securities industry.

On September 24, Zhejiang Zheshang Securities Asset Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zheshang Asset Management") issued an "Announcement on Changes in Senior Management Personnel". Lou Xiaoping was appointed as the new chairman and general manager, while Sheng Jianlong resigned on the same day due to work adjustments and will not be transferred to other positions within the company.

The above matters have been reviewed and approved by the 46th meeting of the third board of directors of the company, and filed with the regulatory authorities in accordance with regulations.

On the one hand, Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management continues the arrangement of "the chairman and general manager holding the same position" . On the other hand, the person " taking the reins " has changed from Sheng Jianlong, who came from a finance background, to Lou Xiaoping, who came from an asset management background.

A 30-year veteran of the securities industry

According to available information, Lou Xiaoping was born in 1968 and holds a bachelor's degree . He is a veteran securities professional who has been in the industry since 1994.

Lou Xiaoping's career can be traced back to at least 1994. From 1994 to 2002, he worked at Shenyin Wanguo Securities, serving as the head of the branches in Jiaxing, Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, and as the assistant general manager of the Zhejiang branch .

From 2002 to 2007, he served as General Manager of the Hangzhou Branch of Zhongfu Securities, General Manager of the Zhejiang Branch, and Assistant President. From 2007 to 2008, he served as General Manager of the Hangzhou Wensan Road Branch of Shanghai Securities Co., Ltd. After 2008 , Lou Xiaoping joined Zheshang Securities and has remained there ever since.

"Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management" coming and going

Lou Xiaoping has been in charge of multiple business units at Zheshang Securities.

He first served as the deputy general manager of the brokerage business headquarters, the general manager of the business management innovation department, and the general manager of the brokerage business operation and maintenance center , focusing on the wealth management line.

Starting in 2013, he joined the newly established Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management, serving as a director, board secretary, and executive vice president . In July 2018 , he temporarily served as the general manager of Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management .

On December 12, 2022, Lou Xiaoping resigned as executive vice president of Zheshang Asset Management for personal reasons; in the same month, he became chairman of Zheshang Capital (chairman and general manager of Zhejiang Zheshang Capital Management Co., Ltd.).

He then returned to the company headquarters, serving as the legal director of Zheshang Securities and chairman of Zhejiang Zheshang Innovation Capital Management Co., Ltd. In February 2024, he was appointed as vice president of Zheshang Securities. In September 2026, he returned to Zheshang Asset Management to become the company's top executive.

Looking at Lou Xiaoping 's career trajectory , two characteristics stand out: first, he has accumulated a great deal of experience in brokerage (wealth) business, which is almost the most distinctive feature of his career;

Secondly, his business scope covers multiple front-office and middle-office positions within a securities firm , making him a rare all-rounder . Perhaps it was for this reason that, after several relocations, he began...

The first batch of securities asset management institutions to obtain public offering qualifications

Zheshang Asset Management was established on April 18, 2013, based on the former asset management headquarters of Zheshang Securities. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zheshang Securities, with a registered capital of 1.2 billion yuan and approximately 150 employees. It was one of the first securities firm asset management subsidiaries established in China, and also among the first batch to obtain public fund management qualifications—obtaining its license in August 2014, becoming the fourth such subsidiary nationwide.

Within the landscape of securities asset management, this company had a high starting point. At the end of December 2014, it launched its first public fund, Zhejiang Merchants Huijin Transformation and Growth Fund, raising 1.568 billion yuan in its initial offering, becoming the second securities asset management company in China to issue equity public funds (the first being Dongzheng Asset Management).

Earlier, in October 2012, it obtained approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to launch a special asset management plan for "securities financing"; in March 2013, it pioneered the stock-pledged repurchase special asset management business in China. In August 2014, it partnered with China Securities Index Co., Ltd. to launch the CSI Transformation and Growth Index, becoming the first asset management company in China to independently develop a Smart Beta index and put it into product practice.

This company has another label. Zheshang Securities obtained its asset management business license in June 2009 and achieved profitability that same year. The following year, its first full fiscal year, its net revenue ranked fourth in the entire industry. Two of its collective asset management products achieved the highest returns among similar products nationwide in 2010, earning it the reputation of "a rising star in Zheshang Asset Management" from the market and media. Subsequently, the Phoenix 50 ETF became its flagship product: the first equity ETF in China issued and listed by a securities firm's asset management division. From its inception in August 2019 to the end of the first quarter of 2026, its performance has consistently ranked among the top 5 of similar products for nearly seven years.

Four "leaders" in thirteen years

However, thirteen years later, after its rapid development in its early stages, Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management has tended to "maintain its current status" in recent years. As of the end of June 2026, Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management's assets under management amounted to RMB 95.46 billion, an increase of 5.71% from the beginning of the year; among which, equity products amounted to RMB 10.975 billion, an increase of 48.54% from the beginning of the year.

Since its establishment in 2013, Zheshang Asset Management has had four different leaders. For a long time, the position has been held concurrently by the vice president or chief financial officer of its parent company, Zheshang Securities.

The founding general manager of Zheshang Asset Management is Li Xuefeng , a well-known senior executive in the securities industry. Li Xuefeng previously served as a senior analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities Research Institute, director of Bohai Securities Research Institute, general manager of Guodu Securities Research and Development Center, and general manager of Wealth Management Center. During his time at Zheshang Securities, he served as vice president and board secretary, and twice took charge of the research institute. During his tenure as board secretary, he participated in promoting the listing of Zheshang Securities.

After Zheshang Asset Management was established in 2013, Li Xuefeng served as its general manager, leading the company "from scratch." In June 2018, Li Xuefeng resigned from his positions as vice president and board secretary of Zheshang Securities; in July of the same year, he resigned as general manager of Zheshang Asset Management. He then went to Shenwan Hongyuan to take up a senior management position.

After Li Xuefeng left office, the position of general manager was temporarily filled by Lou Xiaoping, the then executive vice general manager, until the new general manager took office —this interim period lasted from July 2018 to February 2019.

On February 13, 2019, Sheng Jianlong took over as general manager. He had previously served as chairman of Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management (since May 2018).

Sheng Jianlong's career path has focused on finance: From August 1994 to February 2000, he worked in financial management at the Hangzhou Civil Defense Bureau; from March 2000 to June 2006, he served successively as Assistant Manager of the Planning and Finance Department, Deputy Director and Director of the Internal Audit Department at Zhejiang Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway Co., Ltd.; in July 2006, he joined Zheshang Securities, serving successively as Assistant President and General Manager of the Planning and Finance Department, and from January 2009, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Zheshang Securities; from December 6, 2014 to November 7, 2017, he served as Chief Compliance and Risk Control Officer of Zheshang Asset Management. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (non-practicing) and a Senior Accountant in China. On January 27, 2025, he was transferred from Chief Financial Officer of Zheshang Securities to Vice President, with the position of Chief Financial Officer being temporarily filled by then-President Qian Wenhai.

During his tenure at Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management, Sheng Jianlong made a frequently quoted statement : "Securities asset management should focus on 'public offering, specialization, and high-quality products'." However, on September 22, 2026, he simultaneously stepped down as chairman and general manager, with the announcement clarifying that he "did not transfer to other positions within the company," while his position as vice president of the parent company remained unchanged.

The New Leader's Four Tests

As a veteran in the securities industry, Lou Xiaoping will face at least four important "tests" after taking office:

The first challenge is how to expand and strengthen the existing securities firm's public fund management license business . This is especially crucial when the benefits of securities firm asset management licenses are waning , and when many securities firm asset management institutions are withdrawing their license applications . Finding ways to increase the volume of securities firm asset management business and discover new directions for product line development is extremely important.

The second issue is how to improve the quality of equity products . Zheshang Asset Management has a glorious history of equity investment, especially during the tenure of its first general manager, Li Xuefeng. However, the industry's influence on Zheshang Asset Management's equity investments is weakening. Although its equity product scale of over 10 billion yuan this year is not low among securities firms , the lack of market-recognized star investment managers and star products is a current weakness of Zheshang Asset Management.

The third challenge is how to translate the company's business from scale to revenue . Zheshang Asset Management's existing assets of 95.46 billion yuan ultimately only correspond to 162 million yuan in net revenue from entrusted asset management business under the parent company's consolidated financial statements. Given the backdrop of declining fees, how to bridge the gap between scale and revenue is a crucial question that the current management team of Zheshang Asset Management must answer.

The fourth challenge is how to achieve deep synergy with the parent company . In the first half of the year, Zheshang Securities held 68 billion yuan in financial products and served clients with assets totaling 1.2 trillion yuan, accumulating a substantial client base in wealth management. In investment banking, it completed 239 equity and bond underwriting projects in the first half of the year, with a total financing scale of 94.72 billion yuan. How Zheshang Asset Management can fully leverage client resources and integrate business development with company growth is a requirement for the next stage.

From 2013 to 2026, Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management has gone through thirteen years. It once "emerged as a dark horse" and also underwent a scale reconstruction after the industry eliminated channeling and reduced non-standard assets . For Lou Xiaoping — a veteran who served as the head of Zhejiang Merchants Asset Management for ten months —how to further break through the current situation is a question of the times and also a responsibility of his position.

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