A MAINLAND celebrity fund manager has gone on a shopping spree for Hong Kong’s battered shares, switching out a large chunk of mainland stocks after gaining investor approval last month to invest in the region.

Zhang Kun’s E Fund Quality Selected Mixed Fund now has 23 percent of its shares in Hong Kong after a change of mandate finalized Sept. 9.

The 21.7 billion yuan (US$3.4 billion) fund has snapped up the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. and JD.com Inc., counting them among its largest holdings at the end of September, according to a filing yesterday.

The reshuffling has started to pay off, with the fund gaining 7.8 percent in the past month to beat 96 percent of peers.

Stock traders in China closely watch the moves of Zhang, who was the first in the country to oversee 100 billion yuan in mutual fund products, with his purchases of local liquor stocks during the rally earlier this year drawing copycats.

But he remains under pressure to live up to his reputation, with the fund still 8 percent in the red this year, putting him in the bottom sixth percentile.

The fund had 9.4 percent of its assets in Tencent at the end of last month, near the 10 percent cap for an individual stock. It also had 5 percent each in Hong Kong Exchanges and JD.com.

It has added stocks in the consumer staples, internet and banking sector, while lowering exposure to health care and appliances, the filing said.

(SD-Agencies)