Securities Firm Asset Management Investment Pivots Comprehensively to Fixed Income + Multi-Strategy

Securities Times Reporter Xu Ying and Wang Rui

In the context of declining market interest rate centers, narrowing coupon spaces for traditional credit bonds, and weakening confidence in local government bonds, the securities asset management industry is experiencing a profound transformation in investment strategies.

Recently, investigations by Securities Times found that abandoning pure bond investments and fully shifting to “Fixed Income + Multi-Strategy” has become an industry consensus. This change is not only an optimization at the product and strategy level but also a systematic overhaul of the research system, yield structure, and risk management.

Caitong Asset Management explained that the current decline in absolute returns is a common challenge across the industry, and relying on a single asset class can no longer meet investor needs. A relevant person from Guolian Minsheng Asset Management also stated that with foundational fixed income yields at low levels, both coupon and duration strategies face limitations, and achieving substantial absolute returns is a widespread industry concern. Chen Jiabin, General Manager of Guohai Asset Management, also noted that the traditional credit deepening and reliance solely on coupon strategies have significantly narrowed the space, mainly because credit risk pricing is becoming more rational, high-quality credit assets are scarce, and simple spread income cannot support long-term product returns.

Under multiple pressures, restructuring income sources has become an urgent task for the industry. Upgrading from traditional “Fixed Income +” to a “Fixed Income + Multi-Strategy” system has become the core evolution direction for securities firms’ fixed income foundations. Moreover, unlike the past simple addition of “Fixed Income + Equity,” this round of strategy iteration emphasizes diversification, tool-based approaches, and all-weather strategic deployment.

Caitong Asset Management is one of the early institutions to complete a systematic layout in this area. Since 2016, the company has been developing “Fixed Income + Multi-Strategy” business, and has now evolved the traditional “Fixed Income +” into a comprehensive toolkit covering convertible bonds, quantitative financial engineering, derivatives, and overseas assets. In terms of structure, besides the traditional fixed income research department and public/private fixed income investment departments, Caitong’s large fixed income sector also includes an international business department and an innovation investment department. This architecture effectively reduces cumbersome cross-department communication and enables rapid construction of a “fixed income foundation with diversified enhancements” strategy system. Additionally, the company enhances integration of research and trading, improves interest rate bond trading capabilities, and seeks to generate returns from both research and trading, gradually reducing reliance on a single coupon strategy.

Guangzheng Asset Management has also completed the transformation of fixed income returns from a single coupon to multiple sources. Its overall strategy has shifted from passive holding to active trading and multi-enhancement, with a solid fixed income base providing stable coupons, and upper-layer strategies including equity timing, selective convertible bonds, quantitative hedging, and options to achieve limited enhancements. The key is to keep volatility within a manageable range for liabilities. Guangzheng believes that the core capability of “Fixed Income +” is not simply stacking tools like equities, convertibles, or quantitative strategies, but rather the ability to allocate and rebalance major asset classes, control drawdowns, maintain disciplined investment, and coordinate multiple strategies.

“During low interest rate periods, the threshold for active management is not lowered but significantly raised,” said a relevant person from Guolian Minsheng Asset Management. The company explores alternative strategies such as ABS and REITs through precise duration management and multi-asset diversification to reconstruct income sources. These directions are not about “changing tracks to win by default,” but require higher research and portfolio management capabilities.

Institutions like Guohai Asset Management, Guojin Asset Management, and Hu’an Asset Management are also advancing the implementation of “Fixed Income + Multi-Strategy.” Guojin Asset Management adopts a dual approach of “horizontal asset expansion and deepening tools,” extending income sources to REITs, commodities, cross-border assets, and more, using trading strategies and derivatives for hedging to optimize portfolio performance. Chen Jiabin explained that Guohai Asset Management is shifting from focusing on static income in early stages to “seeking dynamic income,” adding trading strategies on top of credit foundations; increasing convertible bond allocations to enhance yield flexibility with its “attack when possible, defend when necessary” feature; and steadily advancing multi-asset allocation with derivatives like government bond futures. Hu’an Asset Management also emphasizes “strengthening fixed income + product advantages and building diversified asset strategies,” continuously broadening investment boundaries and creating balanced, stable-yield products.

“In a low-interest-rate environment, the development of ‘Fixed Income +’ products and strategies across the market is rapidly evolving, constantly raising new requirements for asset management institutions. In my view, the core capability of fixed income + and multi-asset strategies is ‘multi-source yield integration under risk budgeting control,’ essentially achieving yield enhancement through multiple strategies while strictly controlling drawdowns,” Chen Jiabin said.