Core Viewpoint - Hedge funds achieved their highest overall returns in at least five years in 2025, driven by significant gains in the U.S. stock market, particularly in the AI sector, and volatility in the bond and currency markets due to trade tensions [1][3]. Performance Highlights - Bridgewater's flagship fund, Pure Alpha II, recorded a historic return of 34%, marking a significant recovery from annual returns below 3% from 2012 to 2024 [1][2]. - The Melqart Opportunities Fund led the performance with a return of 45.1%, while other notable funds included Bridgewater's Asian Macro Fund at 37% and the All Weather Fund at 20% [4][6]. - D.E. Shaw's flagship multi-strategy fund, D.E. Shaw Composite, achieved an 18.5% return, and its Oculus fund reached 28.2% [2][10]. Strategy Analysis - The strong performance of hedge funds is attributed to the flexibility of event-driven strategies, which capitalize on corporate mergers and restructurings amid increasing trade policy uncertainties [7]. - Multi-strategy funds showed varied performance, with Dymon achieving 18.1% and ExodusPoint at 18.04%, while industry giant Millennium only managed a 10.5% return [12]. - In the long/short equity strategy category, Soroban Opportunities delivered a robust 25% return, significantly outperforming the market [13]. Market Context - The U.S. stock indices recorded double-digit annual gains for the third consecutive year, a trend not seen since 2019-2021, with 14 out of 25 major hedge funds outperforming the S&P 500's 16.7% increase [3][5]. - Bridgewater's assets under management reached approximately $92 billion, reflecting its strategic shift towards AI-driven investment decisions [6][11].

Global Fund Trends - In the first half of 2025, there was a significant turnover in the number of actively managed funds, with 3,958 new open-end funds launched, but only a net increase of 278 actively managed open-end funds. Conversely, ETFs saw a strong net growth of 1,051, with 1,264 new ETFs issued [4]. - Over $410 billion in net inflows were directed towards bond funds, which is double the amount flowing into equity funds. Meanwhile, allocation funds experienced a net outflow of approximately $20 billion [7]. Passive Investment Growth - The market share of passive investment products has steadily increased over the past decade, with the total size of global public funds growing by over 130%. As of June 30, 2025, the total management scale of passive products accounted for 43%, up from 23% ten years ago, while active products' share decreased from 77% to 57% [13]. Overseas Fund Allocation to China - There has been a noticeable recovery in the allocation ratio of overseas funds to Chinese stocks, which dropped from a peak of 11.07% in 2020 to a low of 4.79% in 2024. However, this ratio began to rise again in the second half of 2024, reaching 6.26% by the end of March 2025 [19]. - In the overseas Chinese-themed funds, passive products have surpassed active funds in scale, with passive Chinese-themed funds exceeding active funds by approximately $16 billion as of June 30, 2025 [21]. - Despite a period of net inflows from 2020 to 2022, overseas Chinese-themed funds experienced net outflows from 2023 to 2024, with total fund size decreasing from nearly $250 billion in 2021 to $175.2 billion by the end of 2024. In the first half of 2025, these funds saw a net outflow of about $2 billion, although their total size grew to $196.7 billion [23][24].

Core Insights - Active management funds have shown outstanding performance in a rapidly rotating structured market, leveraging flexibility, stock selection, and balanced allocation [1] - Hengyue Fund has achieved significant returns with six of its ten actively managed equity funds showing a net value growth rate exceeding 50% over the past year, placing them in the top 20 of their category [1] - Hengyue Advantage Selection Fund has recorded a remarkable 92% increase in net value over the past year, ranking in the top 5% of its peers [1] Performance Metrics - As of August 13, there are 335 equity hybrid funds with a growth rate exceeding 60% in the past year, with three funds from Hengyue Fund included [1] - Among 79 funds with a growth rate over 90%, one fund from Hengyue Fund is represented [1] - Many top-performing funds focus on niche themes such as the Beijing Stock Exchange, innovative pharmaceuticals, and AI, while Hengyue's products are primarily broad-based stock selections [1] Fund Strategy - Hengyue Fund emphasizes active management since its inception, utilizing the expertise of its research team to create a diverse product system [1] - The active equity funds under Hengyue Fund have distinct characteristics: Hengyue Advantage Selection and Hengyue Growth Selection focus on high elasticity growth, capturing investment opportunities in AI computing power and optical modules [1] - Hengyue Blue Chip Selection and Hengyue Core Selection are designed for stable growth, balancing investments in domestic alternatives and controllable supply chains, while strictly managing drawdowns [1] - Hengyue Research Selection targets traditional value sectors such as chemicals and infrastructure [1]

Group 1 - Public funds increased their holdings in the banking, telecommunications, and non-bank financial sectors by 1.6%, 1.6%, and 0.8% respectively in Q2 2025, while reducing their positions in food and beverage, automotive, and power equipment sectors by 2.1% and 0.9% [1] - The defense sector also saw increased interest from public funds due to heightened geopolitical uncertainties, ranking fourth in terms of increased holdings [1] - The holdings in the STAR Market by public funds rose by 0.4%, reaching a historical high of 14.8% [1] Group 2 - New fund issuance remained sluggish in Q2 2025, with a total of 59.9 billion units of actively managed equity and mixed funds issued, a year-on-year increase of 128%, but down 73% from the peak levels of 2020-2021 [4] - Active management funds have consistently outperformed the CSI 300 index since Q3, indicating potential for increased fund inflows as market performance improves [4] - Positive catalysts in high-holding sectors may lead to increased new fund issuance, providing additional liquidity and creating a positive feedback loop [4] Group 3 - Net inflows from southbound funds reached 273.9 billion RMB in Q2 2025, a year-on-year increase of 25%, with the financial sector seeing the largest inflow [5] - Public funds' holdings in Hong Kong stocks increased by 1.5%, reaching 18.8%, a rise of 6.6 percentage points from Q4 2024 [5] - The AH premium significantly decreased in the first half of 2025 due to liquidity differences between A-shares and H-shares, with expectations of maintaining mid-term low levels [5] Group 4 - The "national team" is estimated to have increased its holdings in A-share ETFs by over 200 billion RMB in Q2 2025, with 65% directed towards CSI 300 index ETFs [6] - The "national team's" actions reflect a commitment to stabilizing the capital market and providing downside protection for A-shares [6] - In extreme scenarios, the "national team" has the capacity to further increase holdings to stabilize the market [7]