A staggering 45% loss so far this year has seen Penghua Fund's so-called "New Energy Goddess" and top equity manager, Yan Siqian, suffer a major setback, landing her at the very bottom of the performance charts. Wind data as of August 24th shows her Penghua Manufacturing Upgrade Hybrid A fund has plummeted 45% year-to-date, ranking last among its peers. Beyond this flagship fund, four other main equity products under her management have all fallen by more than 20% this year.

Once celebrated for her precise bets on the new energy sector, Yan Siqian earned a stellar reputation as a top track investor. However, her aggressive style, which has seen her pivot from new energy and power batteries to humanoid robots and now AI hardware, has failed to withstand the latest market downturn, leading to significant losses.

Where things stand

According to Wind data through August 24th, the Penghua Manufacturing Upgrade Hybrid A fund has the worst year-to-date return of -45% among all actively managed equity funds tracked in the market this year. As of August 21st, the fund's net value had fallen below 0.6 yuan. Launched in October 2025, the fund has seen its returns over the past month, three months, six months, and since inception stand at -1.07%, -35.77%, -41.32%, and -42.91%, respectively.

By the end of June 2026, the combined scale of the A and C share classes of the Penghua Manufacturing Upgrade Hybrid fund was 853 million yuan. Since its inception, it has underperformed its benchmark by 49.21% (A class) and 49.57% (C class).

In less than a year since its establishment, the fund has executed several dramatic sector rotations. Initially positioned in Q4 2025 with heavy stakes in robotics and auto parts companies like Ningbo Huaxiang, Beite Technology, and Joyson Electronics, the portfolio underwent a major overhaul in Q1 2026, shifting towards photovoltaic equipment and commercial aerospace. By Q2 2026, it had again reduced some of these holdings to pivot towards the AI hardware sector, replacing six of its top ten holdings in a single quarter.

The fund manager behind this strategy is Yan Siqian, who holds a master's degree in software engineering from Peking University. She has previously worked at Huachuang Securities, China International Capital, and ICBC Credit Suisse before joining Penghua Fund in January 2022. Currently, she serves as the General Manager of the Third Equity Investment Department, Investment Director, and Fund Manager.

In the fund's Q2 2026 report, Yan stated that high-performing and high-prosperity sectors are gaining capital recognition, with AI being the core market theme. She highlighted commercial aerospace, space computing, and space photovoltaics as new growth areas for both AI and new energy. The fund focuses on manufacturing, new energy, AI, brain-computer interfaces, commercial aerospace, robotics, and new technologies, closely monitoring opportunities in new quality productive forces as outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan, favoring high-growth and undervalued stocks.

From 300% returns to significant losses

Yan Siqian currently manages total assets of 15.473 billion yuan, with her best-performing fund delivering a cumulative return of 73.19% during her tenure. During her time at ICBC Credit Suisse, she achieved over 300% returns managing the ICBC New Energy Vehicle Hybrid A fund, earning her the "New Energy Goddess" moniker from investors due to her concentrated bets on the sector.

However, as the new energy sector corrected, her fortunes reversed. Her investment style, characterized by following market hotspots and rotating between sectors like new energy, power batteries, humanoid robots, and AI hardware, has backfired. Besides the Penghua Manufacturing Upgrade Hybrid, her other funds, including Penghua Technology Driven Hybrid Initiating, Penghua CSI Hong Kong-Shenzhen Emerging Growth Hybrid, Penghua Carbon Neutral Theme Hybrid, and Penghua New Energy Vehicle Hybrid, have all declined over 20% year-to-date, placing them at the bottom of their peer groups.

The Penghua Technology Driven Hybrid Initiating fund, which also bets heavily on tech stocks, has fallen over 32% this year. Its top ten holdings include companies like Cambricon, Silex, Yuanjie Technology, Hygon Information, Hua Hong Semiconductor, ACM Research, Montage Technology, Huafeng Test, Zhenbao Technology, and Lens Technology, which together account for over 60% of the portfolio.

Back in early 2025, Yan had predicted that technology would become a national consensus theme, driven by a new economic cycle and a renewed national ethos. By May 2026, she reiterated her belief that Chinese assets, particularly those representing global manufacturing and tech growth, would benefit from a global AI rally and see a revaluation of core assets.

A pattern of promoting star managers

Penghua Fund, established in 1998, is one of China's first-generation public fund companies. Its shareholders include Guosen Securities (50%), Italian asset manager Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. (49%), and Shenzhen Beirongxin Investment Development Co., Ltd. (1%). As of June 30, 2026, the company manages total assets of 1.5047 trillion yuan across 410 public funds, 23 social security and pension funds, serving 223 million clients with cumulative client profits and dividends of 526.9 billion yuan.

Penghua Fund has a history of promoting star managers. Previously, Wang Zonghe was built up as a "national fund manager" during the 2019-2020 consumer bull market, with his funds heavily weighted in baijiu and other core consumer stocks, generating significant excess returns. His assets under management ballooned to over 50 billion yuan by the end of 2020, making him a top-tier manager. However, as the consumer sector corrected, his performance suffered, and his star status faded.

In 2022, Yan Siqian joined Penghua as the general manager of the Third Equity Investment Department. She began managing the Penghua Carbon Neutral Theme Hybrid fund in May 2023 and the Penghua Technology Driven Hybrid Initiating fund in August 2024. In October 2025, capitalizing on the sector's peak popularity, Penghua launched the Penghua Manufacturing Upgrade Hybrid fund with a 2 billion yuan fundraising cap, placing it under Yan's management.