Chinese fund manager Zhao Xuejun whisked away as Beijing cracks down on securities sector
- The chairman of Harvest Fund Management has resigned after being placed under investigation, according to a statement from China’s fourth-largest mutual fund firm
Zhao Xuejun, chairman of Harvest Fund Management, has resigned from the mutual fund house because of the investigation, according to a statement published by the Beijing-based company on Friday. Co-chairman An Guoyong has taken over as acting chairman.
“The board has made proper arrangements to keep the management, investment and research teams stable,” the mainland’s fourth-largest fund house said in the statement. “Our business operations are normal.”
The statement did not elaborate on the wrongdoings committed by Zhao. It also did not name the law-enforcement authority that has detained him.
Zhao, 58, who holds a PhD in economics from Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, became president of Harvest in 2000. In 2017, he was named chairman and president.
He is viewed as an open-minded professional with an international perspective on the mainland’s stock market. Under his leadership, Harvest has evolved from a pure manager of mutual funds into an asset management conglomerate whose businesses range from real estate and equity investment to intelligent investment research services.
Harvest has 1.57 trillion yuan (US$219 billion) of assets under management and has generated nearly 200 billion yuan of returns for its investors, according to the company’s website.