◎Reporter Chen Yue and Zhu Yan
How to achieve "personal alpha" to the greatest extent in "era beta"?After the release of the "Guidelines for Performance Appraisal and Remuneration Management of Fund Management Companies", more and more public offering practitioners are thinking about this issue.
It is an indisputable fact that the people-oriented public offering industry has taken the lead in wealth management.In the past three years, with the continuous increase of the asset management scale of the public offering industry, more and more fund managers who are in the front line realize that the golden age of personal career has come, but what kind of way can take off in order to "swing three thousand"? inside"?To some extent, reasonable choices can fly higher and faster.
The same is true for fund companies.When the halo of star fund managers cannot bring beautiful sales data, how to retain talents, stimulate vitality, and avoid side effects caused by excessive incentives has become the "most important thing" for fund companies.
What is certain is that only by abandoning the shortcomings of shortsightedness, homogeneity, and excessive incentives can the public offering industry achieve long-term and healthy development, and individuals and companies can fully benefit from it.Other than that, there is no other way.
"Personal Alpha" and "Epoch Beta"
In 2022, when the scale of public offering assets under management reaches the 25 trillion yuan level, another batch of outstanding fund managers will leave the industry to find more space for personal development.Among them are Lin Sen, former fund manager of E Fund Fund, Dong Chengfei, former fund manager of Industrial Global Fund, Zhou Yingbo, former fund manager of China Europe Fund, Ge Chen, former fund manager of Bosera Fund, and Zhao Yi, former fund manager of Agricultural Bank of China Fund and Huaan Fund. Cui Ying, Xiao Xiao of Baoying Fund, etc. are all familiar names to individual investors, and many of them are targeting private equity as their next stop.
Statistics show that the number of fund managers who left in the first half of this year reached 136.In the eight years since 2015, this figure is only lower than the same period in 2021 and 2015.
Historical data shows that whenever the market changes between bulls and bears, there are always a group of star fund managers who choose to "run privately", which has become a market rule.But this time is different. Market factors take the second place. After three years of rapid expansion, the public offering industry has begun to slow down and turn to high-quality development, which has brought about industry shocks.In this context, the development method of fund companies relying solely on star fund managers to achieve scale expansion has encountered many challenges.In the process of correcting and correcting, various constraints emerged as the times require. The people-oriented public offering industry first faces the constraints of people.
On June 10, the Asset Management Association of China issued the "Guidelines for Performance Assessment and Remuneration Management of Fund Management Companies" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), which proposed the compensation structure, salary payment, performance assessment, and internal control management of compensation for fund companies. specific requirements.
According to industry analysts, the "Guidelines" refer to situations such as "excessive compensation and rapid growth", and require fund companies to use reasonable compensation incentives to bind the interests of fund managers and holders for a long time.This move is beneficial in the long run, but short-term personnel shocks are inevitable.It is a natural thing that some fund managers who have acquired fame and fortune during the rapid development stage in the past three years choose to "run away".
Some people choose "the sky is high and the birds can fly, the sea is wide and the fish leaps", and some people yearn for "the good wind will use its strength to send me to the blue sky".What needs to be seen is that from 2018 to the present, with the continuous expansion of the industry, the number of fund managers has increased from 1,261 to 3,039, and more and more "fresh blood" has flowed into the public offering industry.
"For public fund managers, 'running for smuggling' is an eternal temptation." A public fund manager in Shanghai said bluntly that if there is a suitable opportunity to "run for smuggling", he will definitely consider it."Private funds pay more attention to absolute returns. Compared with public funds, private funds are more attractive in terms of investment scope, income and freedom."
But there are also fund managers who choose to "repeatedly jump".A blue-chip fund manager who left the public offering to "run privately" in the early years and returned to the public offering last year told reporters that he would take a break after returning to the public offering and consider where he would go after two years."It turned out that during private placement, I could raise management fees and get 20% of the performance remuneration. The income was very high. However, when the market was not good, I was also very uncomfortable with retracements and mistakes in decision-making." He said.
You can't always rely on high pay to maintain performance
For fund companies, they are also faced with a dilemma.When the halo of star fund managers cannot bring beautiful sales data, how to retain talents, stimulate vitality, and avoid side effects caused by excessive incentives?In addition, when the industry's leading trend is becoming more and more prominent, how can small and medium-sized companies resist the attraction of large companies to talents?The "Guidelines" give a clear direction, but the specific implementation depends on the wisdom of managers.
"The performance of fund managers will not always lead, fund companies cannot always rely on high compensation to maintain performance, and the development of the industry cannot rely only on a few large companies." An industry insider said that in addition to the hard constraints of the assessment system, the company Soft constraints and benefits such as governance, corporate culture, and employee benefits should also play a role.
The fund manager of a small fund company told reporters that due to its excellent performance last year, he recently received an "olive branch" from a large and medium-sized fund company, and the salary conditions given were doubled on the existing basis.This is quite attractive to him.
"In the wealth management industry, hard work is important, but a reasonable choice determines how fast and how far you can go." The above-mentioned fund manager bluntly said that this year, the regulatory authorities issued a series of industry guidelines and measures, and now there is a lot to consider when leaving the company Factors: For example, the deferred part of the salary may not be available; if you go to public offering after resignation, you will not be able to engage in investment, research, trading and other related businesses within 6 months of leaving office.All of these have had a certain impact on his choice, and he needs to take a long-term view.
It is worth noting that in the first quarter of this year, the number of fund managers left as high as 84, but only 52 in the second quarter, a decline from the previous peak.
A relevant person from a small fund company in the north that implements the partnership division system revealed that the company has long implemented the partnership division system, and the fund manager is responsible for its own profits and losses, and the salary change has little impact on the fund manager.Moreover, they originally implemented a 3-year salary deferral system, and the difference between the deferred ratio and the "Guidelines" is not large.Brain attrition rates have been low at companies over the past few years, with fewer fund managers switching jobs.The person said that how to improve the salary system is still under discussion and is expected to be implemented flexibly.
"The reason why star fund managers become stars is mainly based on the excellent performance of their managed products. They enjoy popularity among investors and attract attention, which is not a bad thing in itself, which represents investors' trust in practitioners. In any field , it is a basic law that outstanding people become famous. The problem is that fund companies and fund managers should cherish the trust of investors, work harder to improve investment performance, and do a good job in investor education, instead of using the star effect to realize scale.” A medium-sized fund company said the general manager.
(Editor in charge: Li Rong)
