ONE of last year’s hottest Chinese stock fund managers has turned into one of this year’s worst, as bets on the nation’s technology and education plays soured.

E Fund Asia Select, a Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) equity fund, is down 29 percent from a February peak, ranking near the bottom among funds of its type in the past six months, according to data from financial website East Money Information Co.

Its units are trading near the lowest level in a year, while most of its equity-focused peers have started to rebound from recent weakness.

The 3.1 billion yuan (US$478 million) fund is overseen by Zhang Kun, who rose to stardom last year as another of his funds nearly doubled thanks to bets on baijiu alcohol makers. Those investments have also turned south recently, as Chinese stocks have underperformed on concerns about valuations, liquidity and regulatory moves.

As a QDII, E Fund Asia Select mainly invests in Hong Kong-listed stocks and American depositary shares of Chinese companies on behalf of mainland investors. The BNY Mellon China ADR Index is down 12 percent this year, while the Hang Seng Index is up 5.5 percent, compared with gains of more than 10 percent each in U.S. and global benchmarks.

E Fund could not immediately comment on its performance when contacted.

Tencent Holdings Ltd., Meituan, JD.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. account for a total of 41 percent of E Fund Asia Select’s holdings. The Internet giants are all down more than 20 percent from recent highs amid probes by antitrust watchdogs into monopolistic behavior.

(SD-Agencies)