China Life AMP Fund Management, an insurance-backed fund company, has changed its general manager.
On June 23, the company announced that general manager E Hua left due to work arrangements, and Liu Zhongjiang took over. Liu previously served as general manager of the direct investment department and general manager of the fixed income investment department of major shareholder China Life.
E Hua, who stepped down, had served as general manager since January 2023, a tenure of about three years and five months. Before becoming general manager of China Life AMP, he was general manager of the equity investment department of China Life.
On the company's website homepage, the tagline reads: 'Adhering to the original intent for 12 years, rewarding every trust.' However, the company's actual business performance over the past three-plus years has been less than satisfactory. As of the end of the first quarter this year, the company's non-money market fund scale was 181.8 billion yuan, ranking 30th in the industry. However, fund types are dominated by bond funds, with equity funds accounting for a small proportion. Among them, stock funds are about 10 billion yuan, and hybrid funds about 5.6 billion yuan.
As former general manager of the equity investment department of China Life, E Hua oversaw equity funds during his tenure of three years and five months, which overall not only did not rise but declined. Among them, hybrid funds fell by as much as 50%.
During E Hua's tenure as general manager, not only did equity fund performance and scale lag, but the company's internal controls also exposed significant loopholes.
In August 2025, according to an administrative penalty document from the Tianjin Securities Regulatory Bureau, fund manager Li Dan was penalized for 'front-running' (rat trading).
Earlier, in December 2023, according to a penalty document from the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau, Hu Wenbiao, general manager of the company's segregated account investment department, was penalized for illegal stock trading and market manipulation.
Despite these issues, this did not prevent E Hua from returning to the major shareholder and entering the leadership for further promotion. It is reported that in China Life AMP's daily work, there is a serious problem of too many meetings and documents. In the company's performance evaluation system, the requirement to make money for holders is not given due importance, which deviates significantly from the CSRC's requirements for high-quality development.
Over the past three-plus years, the major shareholder of China Life AMP has sent many people to the company, occupying important positions, while the heavy and tiring work is mainly handled by market hires. This has led to a significant reduction in the company's marketization level, with insufficient investment research and sales capabilities.
Before 2023, China Life AMP was not like this; at that time, the company had a relatively high degree of marketization. The first general manager, Zuo Jiqing, was relatively bold in upholding principles and maintaining corporate governance.
China Life AMP was established in October 2013, founded by Zuo Jiqing, former general manager of the fixed income department of China Life Asset Management, and Shen Mengyu, former deputy general manager (presiding) of the risk management and compliance department, among others.
After its establishment, China Life AMP grew from scratch over 10 years to become a mid-sized fund company. By the end of 2022, the company's non-money market fund scale was 128.5 billion yuan, ranking 31st in the industry. Among them, stock funds were about 7.6 billion yuan, and hybrid funds about 12.8 billion yuan.
At that time, the company had high requirements for professionalism, with the management mainly selected from the market, possessing strong competitiveness.
However, after the company expanded its asset scale, some people within the major shareholder began to covet important positions in the company, demanding appointments through delegation. Zuo Jiqing was unwilling to comply with these unreasonable demands and endured tremendous pressure.
In January 2023, the company's general manager Zuo Jiqing, inspector Shen Mengyu, and fixed income investment director Dong Ruiqian resigned due to 'personal reasons.' After Changning State-owned Capital took over Chunhou Fund, in January 2026, Zuo Jiqing and Shen Mengyu respectively became general manager and deputy general manager of Chunhou Fund.
Over the past three-plus years, the filter of China Life AMP has shattered. E Hua and others fulfilled their butterfly dreams, while the founding generation like Zuo Jiqing and Shen Mengyu experienced a phoenix-like rebirth.
In the story of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream, Zhuangzi dreamed he turned into a carefree butterfly. Upon waking, he realized he was clearly still Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi became a great sage because he could clearly know he was Zhuangzi after waking, and the flying wings in the dream were borrowed from the butterfly.
In real life, some people cannot distinguish between dreams and reality. Some state-owned enterprise cadres, after serving in an enterprise for many years, still cannot transform into competent business operators, living long in a butterfly dream, preferring to stay drunk forever.
We sincerely hope that China Life AMP can seriously study and understand the connotation and essence of 'development is the hard truth,' focus on company operations, speak with business results, and not fall into the quagmire of formalism, being lazy in action despite mouthing off. The company should return to the track of marketization and internationalization as soon as possible, and stop formalism, rather than concealing from superiors and deceiving subordinates to go backward, missing precious development opportunities. The company's management should truly focus on work, ensure the preservation and appreciation of state-owned capital invested by the major shareholder, and help holders obtain good returns.
