Questioning Liu Yanchun's Rigid Strategy? Step Back from Short-Term Fluctuations and Look at Invesco Great Wall's Investment Research Foundation

Product Listing | China Investment Network

Review | Li Xiaoyan

Recently, Seazen Great Wall’s emerging growth hybrid A fund’s performance and management fee collection issues have attracted market attention. Some retail investors are dissatisfied due to short-term net value declines, bringing the industry’s debate on the balance of interests among “scale and performance” and “fund managers and investors” back to the forefront. Objectively, short-term performance fluctuations are normal in equity investments. Industry mechanisms and corporate governance are continuously improving. As a leading public fund manager, Seazen Great Wall’s long-term value creation, balanced business development, and compliant operations remain unchanged. The industry is steadily moving toward better alignment with investors’ interests.

Founded in 2006, Seazen Great Wall’s emerging growth hybrid A fund is an established fund. It previously achieved impressive returns during the 2019-2020 consumer bull market under Liu Yanchun’s value investing philosophy, becoming a star product with over 10 billion yuan in assets and earning the trust of many investors. During 2020-2021, amid a core asset rally, the fund’s size grew rapidly, with holdings focused on high-quality sectors such as liquor, duty-free, and pharmaceuticals, aligning with market valuation logic at the time. However, since the second half of 2021, the A-share market experienced sharp style shifts, core asset valuations retreated, and sectors like consumer and pharmaceuticals continued to adjust. The fund has experienced approximately 32% net value decline over the past three years, with short-term performance falling short of expectations, which is the core reason for market discussion.

From industry rules, management fees based on fund size are a recognized standard regulated practice. These fees are used for core activities such as research and development, product operation, risk control, and compliance, forming the foundation for the fund company’s ongoing operations. The management fees collected from this product from 2021 to 2024 strictly follow the fund contract and are used to cover operational costs. There are no illegal charges. Meanwhile, custody fees are charged by the custodian bank, independent of the fund company, and are fully supervised by regulators, ensuring the safety of fund assets. Under short-term performance pressure, the “guaranteed” management fee may seem to contrast with investor returns, but it is a systemic design in the public fund industry to disperse operational risks and ensure long-term service capacity, not a special arrangement for any single company.

Liu Yanchun, the fund manager, has 22 years of industry experience and has been deeply engaged in the consumer sector for over a decade. His investment philosophy of focusing on high-quality business models and long-term corporate competitiveness has generated excess returns for investors across multiple market cycles. In recent years, his holdings have been relatively concentrated and stable in style, reflecting a commitment to long-term value rather than strategic inertia. In the context of rapid market style rotations, avoiding chasing hot topics and sticking to core competencies are essential for long-term investing. Since 2025, his holdings have been slightly optimized, with gradual adjustments to stock structure, aligning with macroeconomic recovery dynamics, demonstrating proactive market adaptation. Additionally, Liu Yanchun has consistently expressed optimism about consumer recovery and domestic demand improvement in quarterly reports, based on long-term logic of income growth and consumption upgrading, without abandoning the pursuit of long-term returns for holders.

From the overall development of Seazen Great Wall, the company has not fallen into the trap of “scale obsession,” but instead shows balanced and steady growth. By the end of 2025, the company’s management scale approached 800 billion yuan. The rapid development of fixed income reflects a reasonable response to market demand and asset allocation optimization. In recent years, the fixed income team has built multiple five-star rated bond funds with solid investment capabilities, providing stable returns for low-risk investors and becoming a core driver of the company’s growth. This “equity + fixed income” dual-engine layout diversifies risks associated with a single business cycle and offers investors multiple options, exemplifying mature operations of top-tier public fund companies.

In equity research and investment, Seazen Great Wall maintains industry-leading strength. Several of its active equity funds have long-term excellent performance, with nine products ranking on the Galaxy Securities long-term performance list. Products like Growth Star and Quality Evergreen have significantly outperformed benchmarks over the past three years and have won multiple awards such as the Golden Bull Award. Even amid key personnel changes, the company relies on a mature research system, continuously cultivating new fund managers, maintaining team stability and innovation. This model of creating value through systematic research rather than relying on star managers embodies the essence of long-termism.

Currently, the public fund industry is undergoing a high-quality development transformation. Regulators are promoting reforms such as floating management fees and strengthening the linkage between performance and fees, guiding the industry from “scale-focused” to “return-oriented” development. As a leading institution, Seazen Great Wall actively responds to industry reforms, optimizes product design and evaluation mechanisms, and incorporates investor returns into core assessment systems. For products under short-term performance pressure, the company is strengthening research support, optimizing holdings, and balancing fund managers’ investment philosophies with investors’ actual interests to gradually resolve short-term conflicts.

Returning to the essence of investment, the value of equity funds should be measured across cycles; short-term declines do not mean long-term value has failed. Seazen Great Wall’s accumulated experience in compliant operations, balanced business development, and long-term research remains the foundation of investor trust. For retail investors, rationally viewing market cycles and short-term fund fluctuations, and choosing products aligned with their risk preferences, is key. For fund companies, continuously improving research capabilities and strengthening alignment with investor interests are the long-term paths to success.

The development of the public fund industry always involves balancing “short-term volatility” with “long-term value,” and “scale growth” with “performance returns.” Seazen Great Wall’s current challenges are a reflection of industry cycles, not isolated issues. With ongoing reforms and improved corporate governance, leading public fund managers will better fulfill their original mission of “trustees managing others’ money,” creating a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship among fund companies, fund managers, and retail investors over the long term.