The first eight months of trading on mainland markets have concluded, bringing notable shifts in the public fund performance rankings. As of the latest 2026 year-to-date figures, seven actively managed equity funds have achieved returns exceeding 100%, including 易方达供给改革, 易方达产业机遇, 东方人工智能主题, 诺安创新驱动, 国泰半导体制造精选, 银华集成电路, and 汇安趋势动力. The top two positions are held by funds managed by Yang Zongchang, a prominent manager at 易方达基金.
According to data from 天天基金网, Yang, who holds a PhD in chemistry, has nearly seven and a half years of cumulative management experience and currently serves as both a fund manager and industry researcher at 易方达基金. He has managed three products throughout his career, with two currently under his oversight: 易方达供给改革 and 易方达产业机遇.
Beyond Yang, the remaining five fund managers display a wide range of tenure lengths. Peng Lingzhi from 国泰基金 stands out with over a decade of experience, having first gained recognition during the internet-plus era of 2017 and now delivering standout performance once again. Fang Jian from 银华基金, with more than eight years at his firm, also belongs to the seasoned veteran category. Meanwhile, Yan Kai from 东方基金 represents a mid-career manager with six years of experience, while Zuo Shaoyi from 诺安基金 (over three years) and Chen Siyu from 汇安基金 (under three years) are true newcomers to the field.
In written responses, Zuo Shaoyi attributed his fund's recent three-month gains to relatively effective drawdown control, noting that profit-taking was implemented on select tech stocks as valuations became increasingly frothy. He explained that his adjustment strategy during choppy tech market conditions involves locking in gains on overvalued stocks while adding positions in companies with solid fundamentals that have not yet reached bubble-like valuations. He acknowledged the inherent limitations of individual judgment in stock selection.
"In terms of target screening and investment cycle planning, we remain committed to a framework centered on large industrial cycles, focusing on high-value segments within the supply chain. This approach is not easy to execute in practice, but looking back through history, what truly enables navigating significant market volatility is unwavering conviction in industry trends and long-term persistence," he emphasized.
Active equity rankings diverge sharply, with Yang's two funds holding clear leads. As of August 31, 2026, the active equity fund rankings have shifted dramatically. Products previously leading the pack, managed by managers such as Jin Zicai and Zhang Mingxin, have gradually slipped down the ladder, replaced by seasoned veterans from top-tier fund companies like Yang Zongchang and Peng Lingzhi. Their common thread: they successfully weathered the tech sector correction in July.
易方达供给改革 has posted a year-to-date net value growth rate of 130.85% for the aforementioned period. As the fourth fund manager of this product, Yang's personal cumulative return of 830.99% far exceeds those of his predecessors. His outstanding performance has pushed the fund's latest annualized return to approximately 25%, ranking sixth among 1,172 comparable funds. The fund's performance benchmark is set as "CSI 800 Index Return × 85% + ChinaBond New Composite Wealth (Total) Index Return × 15%," positioning it as a broadly defined thematic fund.
Comparing the fund's first and second quarter reports reveals Yang's effective portfolio adjustments. For instance, he removed 中际旭创, an AI infrastructure leader that experienced a roughly 25% pullback over the past three months, from the second quarter's top holdings. Looking at the full 10-stock portfolio as of mid-year, all positions delivered positive returns year-to-date, with four stocks — 华峰测控, 中科飞测, 富创精密, and 申菱环境 — more than doubling in value.
In his second quarter commentary, Yang noted: "As market expectations for the AI industry escalated rapidly, we grew more attentive to the pace of large model commercialization and risks of AI capital expenditure fluctuations. After valuations of our holdings surged significantly, we gradually trimmed certain positions by the end of the second quarter. Additionally, we maintained attention to quality companies in traditional industries. While short-term style or fundamentals face headwinds, from a value perspective, the medium-to-long-term investment appeal of certain companies is improving, leading us to gradually incorporate some of these names into the portfolio."
In the latest semi-annual report released this week, Yang added: "Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the Chinese market spans a wide range of industries with abundant investable targets. Among these numerous stocks, many still offer highly attractive valuations. As our industry coverage expands and the stock pool grows, we are increasingly discovering more investment leads and hope to gradually convert them into portfolio positions at opportune times."
The semi-annual report also reveals hidden heavyweight holdings exceeding 2% of the portfolio, including 药明康德, 长川科技, and 正帆科技. Among these, CXO leader 药明康德 has performed best, gaining over 20% in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Yang's other fund, 易方达产业机遇, follows a nearly identical portfolio blueprint. Comparing the hidden heavyweight holdings of both funds, positions exceeding 2% of the portfolio also include 吉利汽车 and 英杰电气 in the 产业机遇 fund, though both have shown relatively lackluster performance in the second half.
An industry insider who declined to be named commented: "Yang advocates a bottom-up approach that incorporates cyclical factors, seeking investment opportunities that can transcend economic cycles. He emphasizes supply-side changes rather than mere demand-side fluctuations. Initially heavily weighted in the chemical industry, he later expanded into coal, non-ferrous metals, and auto parts based on industry prosperity, and pivoted fully into semiconductor and electronics sectors starting in 2025."
"In terms of position management, he operates with considerable flexibility, executing swing trades based on valuations and macroeconomic cycles. For example, he moderately reduced tech positions after valuations rose at the end of the second quarter of 2026 while incorporating some traditional industry stocks as a hedge. On risk control, despite being a high-volatility offensive investor, he demonstrated strong resilience during the July 2026 market downturn through dynamic adjustments to individual stock weights and sector allocation," the insider added.
Peng Lingzhi, the veteran manager at 国泰基金, has iterated his capability circle into semiconductor manufacturing, achieving doubled returns year-to-date against market headwinds. Peng's tenure exceeds 10 years, longer than Yang's. According to 天天基金网, he currently manages five funds with combined assets under management of approximately RMB 5.128 billion as of mid-year, and his best tenured fund return has reached 361.17%.
All of Peng's funds have delivered positive returns in 2026, with every fund rising more than 60% year-to-date. Interestingly, his best performer is 国泰半导体主题制造, the fund with the shortest management tenure. Established on October 14, 2025, this is its first full year of operation, and doubling returns in the first eight months marks a strong debut. According to the fund contract, its investment objective is "to focus on investing in quality listed companies related to semiconductor manufacturing, pursuing investment returns that exceed the performance benchmark while effectively controlling risk." Its benchmark combines the CSI Semiconductor Materials and Equipment Thematic Index Return (70%), ChinaBond New Composite All Price (Total) Index Return (20%), bank demand deposit rates after tax (5%), and the CSI Hong Kong Stock Connect Composite Index Return after FX adjustment (5%). In essence, it functions as a thematic fund focused on semiconductor upstream materials.
Since inception, the fund has published three quarterly reports. According to Wind data, seven companies appeared in all three reporting periods: 中科飞测, 拓荆科技, 北方华创, 中微公司, 华海清科, 华虹宏力, and 芯源微, indicating Peng has made only minor adjustments quarter over quarter. Among these persistent holdings, 中科飞测, 华海清科, 华虹宏力, and 芯源微 have all doubled in value year-to-date. Additionally, 富创精密 (held for two consecutive quarters) and 华峰测控 and 长川科技 (new additions in the second quarter) have also achieved doubled gains this year.
Notably, the latest semi-annual report shows Peng held only 15 stocks as of June 30, with positions ranked 11th through 15th being 安集科技, 精测电子, 江丰电子, 上海新阳, and 精智达. Excluding 安集科技 and 上海新阳, the other three companies have also doubled in share price this year.
In written responses, Peng emphasized that the domestic substitution rate for semiconductor equipment still has enormous room for improvement. He further analyzed that China's semiconductor equipment market reached approximately USD 30 billion in 2025, with an overall localization rate above 20%. In critical segments such as etching and thin film deposition, localization rates have already reached 20%–30%, and domestic players continue accelerating replacement of overseas competitors through technological breakthroughs. However, in extremely high-barrier core segments like lithography, metrology and inspection, and ion implantation, localization rates remain below 10% (with lithography under 1%). Future excess returns will derive from breaking through these "bottleneck" areas with extremely low localization rates.
He elaborated from a segment perspective: "Domestic mainstream wafer foundries are actively building non-US supply chains, and the localization process for equipment and materials has entered a fast track. As core domestic memory manufacturers roll out long-term expansion plans, upstream semiconductor materials (electronic gases, CMP materials, targets, photoresists, mask blanks, etc.) are poised to usher in historic opportunities for both volume and price growth. Despite overseas leaders commanding 70%–90% market share, a group of excellent domestic semiconductor materials companies has achieved substantial breakthroughs in hard-tech development, establishing a complete closed loop from technological breakthrough to mass production ecosystem."
Newcomer Zuo Shaoyi's first solo year delivers remarkable performance, with all portfolio stocks in positive territory and four doubling. Unlike the two veterans mentioned above, Zuo is a genuine newcomer. According to 天天基金网, he previously worked at 中软系统工程公司 on computer software/hardware R&D and strategic research, at 易观智库 on computer and internet industry research and data analysis, and at 浙商证券 and 中信建投证券 covering the computer industry. He joined 诺安基金管理有限公司 in May 2022 as a computer industry researcher and became fund manager of 诺安创新驱动灵活配置混合型证券投资基金 on May 20, 2023.
The fund itself carries significant legacy, as its second manager, Cai Songsong, was a flagship figure in mainland public funds. After his departure, managers Deng Xinyi and Zuo Shaoyi co-managed the product. On July 19, 2025, Deng stepped down, leaving Zuo as sole manager. This year marks his first full year of independent management, and doubling his year-to-date returns has earned him instant recognition.
Examining the fund's top ten holdings from the second quarter report, Zuo chose to deepen his expertise in familiar territory, particularly semiconductor equipment, with rewarding results. All ten stocks in the portfolio are in positive territory year-to-date, with 中科飞测, 华虹宏力, 芯源微, and 胜蓝股份 successfully doubling in value. Among these, only 胜蓝股份 was a new second-quarter addition. Companies with gains exceeding 80% include STAR Market names 微导纳米 and 甬硅电子, along with established sector leader 兆易创新. The latest semi-annual report reveals hidden heavyweight holdings exceeding 4% of the portfolio, including 艾森股份 and 君正股份, both "dual-innovation" (STAR and ChiNext) stocks.
In his written response, Zuo noted: "At this point, allocating to the tech sector requires attention to three key issues: first, whether the slope of industry trends is decelerating; second, whether fundamental delivery by sectors and individual stocks can meet market expectations; and third, whether volume-price logic remains valid and effective. In terms of direction, we will maintain close tracking of the AI data center mega-industry while staying highly sensitive to subtle changes in large models and AI applications, promptly detecting early signals of industrial evolution."
"We remain optimistic about technology industry trends over the medium-to-long term, but in today's more balanced market environment, our fundamental valuation anchor is relatively focused on the short-to-medium term, such as next year's fundamentals and valuation levels. The technology sector's prosperity and high growth remain intact, valuations are trending toward rationality, and trading congestion is declining. We are strategically optimistic about the second half. For our AI hardware and semiconductor positions, we continue to hold a positive outlook, aiming to smooth the return curve through position control and intra-sector stock adjustments. It should be noted that the higher proportion of 'dual-innovation' stocks in the portfolio stems from our research judgment that AI and semiconductor industry trends are still unfolding. A major tech industry trend often spans more than a decade; semiconductor localization has been intensifying since 2019 and continues to deepen. However, equity investing follows its own objective and subjective rules and rhythms, which we must assess and navigate," he emphasized.