Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management, the quantitative hedge fund founded by DeepSeek creator Liang Wenfeng, delivered average returns of nearly 57% in 2025, reinforcing a standout year for China’s systematic managers, according to a report by Business Times.
High-Flyer, which manages more than RMB70bn ($13bn), generated an average return of 56.6% across its funds last year, according to data compiled by consultancy Shenzhen PaiPaiWang Investment & Management. That performance ranked the firm second among Chinese quant managers overseeing more than RMB10bn, trailing only Ningbo Lingjun Investment Management Partnership, which posted gains of over 70%.
The strong performance has turned High-Flyer into a significant source of capital for Liang, who retains a majority stake in the asset manager and halted external fundraising several years ago. Market participants say the results could materially expand the resources available to DeepSeek, the AI start-up incubated by High-Flyer in 2023, which has drawn global attention for developing advanced models at a fraction of the cost reported by major US rivals.
Industry estimates suggest High-Flyer’s returns could have generated more than $700m in revenue last year, assuming standard management and performance fees. That figure dwarfs the reported sub-$6m budget DeepSeek said it required to develop its flagship AI model, although some competitors have questioned those cost disclosures. Liang has previously said DeepSeek’s research efforts were funded through High-Flyer’s internal research and development budget.
Performance was broad-based across the firm. Two strategies managed by co-founder Xu Jin rose by an average of 58.6%, while eight products overseen by chief executive officer Simon Lu delivered average gains of around 56%, according to PaiPaiWang. Lu also ranked first among leading Chinese quant managers on a risk-adjusted basis for equity strategies, with a Sharpe ratio of 2.8 as of mid-December.
High-Flyer’s results follow a strategic shift away from market-neutral approaches. The firm exited those strategies in 2024 to focus exclusively on long-only, benchmark-beating equity models, which have since become its core product offering.
The performance highlights a bumper year for China’s quantitative hedge fund industry more broadly. Chinese quant funds posted average returns of 30.5% in 2025, more than double the returns of global peers, according to PaiPaiWang and data provider With Intelligence. Long-only quant strategies averaged gains of around 35%, outperforming discretionary equity managers by more than 10 percentage points.
The sector’s growth has accelerated alongside returns. The number of Chinese quant firms managing more than five billion yuan rose to 91 by the end of November, up from 63 a year earlier, underscoring rising investor interest despite tighter regulatory disclosure requirements that have narrowed the pool of publicly reported data.
