Fund managers frequently change, talent shortages restrict the development of public index funds

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（Source: Economic Information Daily）

On March 28, Sorthern Fund announced that fund manager Pan Shuiyang stepped down as manager of the Southern SSE STAR Market Comprehensive ETF, and Yan Kaining took independent management. On the same day, Wanjia Fund also announced that Fang Zhouhe stepped down as manager of the Wanjia CSI Robotics ETF and the Wanjia SSE STAR Market 50 Constituents ETF; Wu Yirong took over both. Meanwhile, on March 26, Cai Kaer of Fuidang Fund and Zhang Fang of Huabao Fund also stepped down from related ETF products in succession.

In just three days, five ETF fund managers were changed. This year alone, there have already been more than ten cases of ETF fund managers stepping down, involving multiple institutions such as Huatai-Perry, Harvest, Penghua, Southern, and Wanjia.

Wind data shows that across the whole market there are fewer than 300 ETF fund managers. On average, each manager manages more than four products, and some senior professionals manage more than 10. However, as the wave of index-based investing accelerates, the cultivation of investment research talent has clearly lagged behind the expansion of products.

According to industry insiders, problems such as poor ETF tracking error control, a lack of liquidity support, and rapid “upskilling” of newcomers to take up roles are testing the sustainability of this scale competition.

The wave of resignations is spreading:

From intensive adjustments to rapid onboarding

Since 2026, the frequency of changes in ETF fund managers has increased significantly, showing dual characteristics: large-scale adjustments and newcomers taking the baton.

On February 26, Huatai-Perry Fund issued five announcements in one day. Li Qian stepped down as manager of the SSE 180 ETF and its feeder fund due to internal work arrangements. Tan Hongxiang stepped down as manager of the SSE 180 ETF, the Chiicce 50 ETF, and the Chiicce 50 ETF and its feeder funds. Meanwhile, Liu Yeqing, who had only been promoted to assistant fund manager in 2024, took over all five products at once.

Entering March, personnel changes became even more frequent. On March 4, Cailor Fund added Dou Fucheng and Hou Hao to co-manage the Cailor CSI Bank Index ETF; on March 12, Harvest Fund adjusted two products on the same day—Zhi Li stepped down as manager of Harvest CSI China High-End Agriculture ETF due to business adjustments, and Zhang Zhongyu stepped down as manager of Harvest SSE STAR Market New Generation Information Technology ETF, with Zhu Mengbang and Qian Xingjian taking over respectively. On March 25, Penghua announced that Yan Dong stepped down as manager of Penghua CSI All-Industry Public Utilities ETF, and Chen Long took over. From March 26 to March 28, in just three days, four institutions—Fuidang, Huabao, Southern, and Wanjia—successively announced changes, covering multiple niche tracks such as the CSI 300 ESG benchmark, low-volatility dividend strategy, STAR market comprehensive index, robotics, and STAR 50, among others.

“This is no longer normal personnel flow; it’s a sign of structural shortages.” An index-investment professional at a fund company told a reporter. Unlike active equity investing that focuses on stock selection, ETF management requires mastery of multiple skills, including index construction, quantitative tracking, derivatives use, liquidity management, and communication with market makers. Taking the STAR market chip design ETF launched on March 25 as an example: it invests in high-volatility stocks on the STAR Market and therefore needs real-time risk monitoring. Meanwhile, recently frequently changed products related to Hong Kong Stock Connect and STAR Market involve complex factors such as cross-border investing, foreign-exchange hedging, and time lags across multiple trading markets—creating extremely high requirements for system support and staff experience.

However, the reality is that the “multi-tool” dilemma has become widespread. Wind data shows there are fewer than 300 ETF fund managers across the whole market. On average, each manages more than four products, and even some senior professionals, such as Pan Shuiyang, after stepping down from the STAR Market Comprehensive Index ETF, continued managing more than a dozen products, including Southern CSI All-Industry Index—Computer ETF, Hong Kong Stock Connect Central SOE Dividend ETF, Artificial Intelligence ETF, and Robotics ETF. The above-mentioned insiders said that this “one person with many roles” model leads to severely dispersed energy. For some high-volatility industry-themed ETFs, their full-year tracking error can even exceed 3%, while similar products in mature markets typically control it within 1%.

The root cause of talent shortages lies in insufficient long-term industry investment. A researcher at a fund evaluation agency said that active equity fund managers usually have large research teams supporting them, while ETF fund managers often work solo, lacking dedicated index researchers and system developers. In addition, ETF management fees are low and scale competition is fierce. Fund managers’ compensation is often less than that of active equity positions, causing strong talent to flow into private fund quantitative fields.

It is worth noting that as complex products such as Smart Beta and enhanced ETFs have emerged, requirements for talent capabilities have been further raised, yet the corresponding training system has still not been established. “In China, there is a lack of dedicated certifications for index investing and ETF management, and our professional education is clearly lagging behind.” The researcher above pointed out that some domestic companies adopt a “researcher fast-track” model, letting newcomers without practical experience directly manage products. This creates a sharp contrast with the long cultivation cycle in mature markets—“assistant researcher → researcher → assistant fund manager → fund manager.”

Rebuilding the ecosystem:

From individual reliance to platform-based investment research

Faced with dual pressure from the resignation wave and talent gaps, the industry urgently needs to shift from relying on individual capabilities to platform-based, systematized investment research support, and build a sustainable talent cultivation ecosystem.

It is understood that currently, some leading institutions have begun to push operational functions such as daily subscription/redemption processing and liquidity monitoring down to dedicated operations teams, so that fund managers can focus on optimizing portfolios and managing risks. “We are building an integrated platform that integrates data, algorithms, and trading systems, so AI can assist with risk monitoring and reduce reliance on human labor. At the same time, we introduce quantitative models to assist decision-making and strengthen monitoring of performance attribution for sub-funds.” An index-investment professional at the fund company explained.

Product allocation strategies also face reform. Currently, some fund companies blindly pursue complete product lines, resulting in too many products managed by a single fund manager. For example, Tan Hongxiang has previously managed more than ten ETFs at the same time, and Fang Zhouhe has also managed multiple cross-market products. “We recommend limiting the number of products each person manages to ensure that each product receives sufficient attention.” The index-investment professional explained: “For broad-based ETFs with severe homogeneity, you can reduce the number through mergers or transformations, freeing up human resources for product innovation.”

At the same time, the importance of liquidity services is becoming even more prominent. The above-mentioned insiders said that most fund companies currently treat liquidity services as an operational matter rather than an investment function, leading to severe differentiation in ETF liquidity. The Shanghai Stock Exchange recently approved Cathay Haitong Securities to provide lead market maker services for German ETFs. Such a mechanism still needs to be extended to more products. In addition, fund companies can also staff dedicated personnel to coordinate with market makers, establish contingency plans for liquidity crises, and not simply disclose it passively in quarterly reports.

Furthermore, standardization of ETF investment research is still pending. The above-mentioned insiders believe that relevant regulatory authorities can establish industry benchmarks for ETF tracking error, information ratio, and liquidity indicators. At the same time, they can build a strengthened information-disclosure mechanism for changes in fund managers, with重点監控 products whose managers change frequently, to prevent risks caused by personnel mobility.

Multiple industry insiders said that competition in ETFs has already entered deep waters. In the future, the deciding factors will be system capabilities and talent depth, not simply the number of products. With many ETF fund managers resigning in a concentrated period, the industry needs to think calmly: when the number of ETFs exceeds a thousand, do we have enough talent and system support for this index-based investing wave? Only by building a platform-based, professional, and sustainable investment research system can the index-based process in China’s 3.8 trillion yuan public fund market move forward steadily.

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