From "Buying Funds" to "Finding Investment Advisors" - Insights from a Retired Executive's 20 Years of Investing

January 2026, Shenzhen, early morning. Mr. Wang opens the official E Fund Wealth App “e-wallet” at home to view the asset allocation plan tailored by his investment advisor. A year ago, this executive, who dedicated half his life to the company’s development, officially retired, ending over 20 years of a global career. Now, spending time with family and enjoying life are his top priorities.

However, the considerable assets accumulated over a lifetime face a “sweet burden”—how to protect his hard-earned wealth from inflation, achieve steady growth, and do so without consuming his valuable personal time after retirement? E Fund Wealth’s professional investment advisory service just meets his need for “ease and stability,” opening a new chapter in his wealth journey.

Fund — Embracing the Starting Point of Wealth Market Investment

This company executive, who grew up in a small county town, has a life story filled with “daring” and “seizing opportunities.”

“With an ordinary family background, education was the only way to change my destiny.” From a young age, Mr. Wang studied diligently, entering university with perseverance. He majored in computer-controlled switching technology, a frontier industry at the time with little domestic competition. During university, he excelled academically and actively served as a student union officer, developing strong organizational and communication skills. The campus was in a mountainous area with poor transportation and frequent water shortages, but these hardships forged his resilient and proactive character.

After graduation, Mr. Wang had the opportunity to study abroad, but the young generation of that era, full of ideals and passion, chose to stay. He hoped to use his knowledge to improve the then-inefficient domestic communication infrastructure and difficult telephone connections.

But stable days ultimately couldn’t suppress his entrepreneurial spirit.

Around 1995, as reform and opening-up swept across China, he resigned against his family’s opposition and moved south to join a leading company eager to expand overseas markets. This marked nearly 30 years of intense work, dedicating his efforts to the company’s growth. Throughout his career, he never stopped learning—pursuing a master’s degree, becoming a versatile talent with expertise in both communication technology and finance. This laid the foundation for his transition from R&D to market roles, and later to leading the finance department’s financing business.

Over nearly 30 years, Mr. Wang’s footprints spanned over 100 countries, often spending more than 200 days a year on business trips. Long-term expatriate life was common for him. “I’ve traveled almost across all seven continents, witnessing the rise of emerging markets and experiencing global financial crises,” he recalls with emotion. This experience broadened his horizons and shaped his worldview, making him realize early on the importance of investment for wealth accumulation through frequent dealings with domestic and international financial institutions.

Around 2004, China’s real estate and stock markets entered a rapid growth phase. Most friends invested in property or stocks, and Mr. Wang also bought two apartments. But unlike others who followed the trend blindly, he remained rational and trusted professionals—“just like a company focusing on R&D, investments should be entrusted to experts.” In March 2004, Mr. Wang subscribed to E Fund’s A-shares fund through a counter. This seemingly simple transaction marked the beginning of his trusting relationship with E Fund.

Over the next 20 years, China’s capital markets experienced multiple bull and bear cycles, but his investment journey never stopped. In 2006 and 2007, he repeatedly purchased E Fund products during business trips; during the market correction in 2013, he continued to buy E Fund products; from 2014 to 2021, he made multiple additional investments via the “e-wallet.” Although he redeemed some funds, his core holdings remained unchanged.

Due to frequent overseas travel, Mr. Wang had little time to monitor his accounts, and his investments were mostly long-term passive holdings. This steadfastness paid off with substantial returns, supplemented by stock options from his company, accumulating significant wealth over the decades.

Investment Advisory — A Worry-Free Wealth Manager

In 2024, Mr. Wang retired, ending his 30-year overseas life of frequent travel and separation from family. His greatest wish was to return home, spend more time with his children, and enjoy life. But new worries arose: “My money is growing, but I feel more anxious—afraid I won’t manage it well and that my hard-earned wealth will shrink.”

Looking back, Mr. Wang jokes that despite being a finance professional, he was an “outsider” when it came to investing.

He explained that previously, he mainly relied on recommendations or intuition when choosing funds, without understanding industry trends or specific strategies. He bought funds through banks and brokerages but rarely received follow-up services. His account values fluctuated wildly with market ups and downs, and he could only cope alone, often ending up with no clear outcome.

Now, he realizes that relying solely on a single fund investment approach makes it difficult to preserve and grow wealth amid market volatility. “In my youth, I worked tirelessly for my career; after retirement, I don’t want to spend too much energy on investing,” he said. He hopes to have professionals manage his wealth, dedicating only a small amount of time to stay informed, while leaving the rest to trusted experts.

This wish coincided with the launch of E Fund Wealth’s advisory service.

In December 2025, E Fund Wealth launched a professional investment advisory service on its platform “e-wallet,” offering a full market fund lineup. Prior to this, E Fund had been deeply engaged in fund advisory for over six years, adhering to the principles of full-market asset allocation and continuous support, providing high-quality wealth management solutions to over 130,000 clients. The mature overseas market advisory model was well established, and upon learning about the new service, Mr. Wang immediately signed up, becoming one of the first managed advisory clients on “e-wallet.”

“Compared to traditional fund sales, what impressed me most about the advisory service was that they considered my situation and tailored solutions for me,” Mr. Wang said after experiencing the service. The advisory model is based on the buyer’s perspective: understanding you, creating a plan, executing investments on your behalf, and providing ongoing support. More importantly, the fee structure is based on the advisory service fee linked to the account’s net asset value, rather than traditional commission-based sales, aligning the interests of the advisory firm and the investor.

He recalled that E Fund Wealth did not push any products but spent a whole week communicating with him, thoroughly understanding his personal situation, retirement plans, and investment goals. The advisor used questionnaires to identify his risk comfort zone, reviewed his holdings in stocks, funds, real estate, and other assets, and clearly categorized high, medium, and low-risk assets, as well as liquid assets for daily expenses, gradually clarifying his overall asset optimization strategy.

Based on detailed asset analysis and needs assessment, combined with his risk preferences, overseas work experience, and deep understanding of the tech industry, E Fund Wealth ultimately matched him with the “E Fund Wealth Industry PLUS - Equity 30%” advisory strategy. This strategy adopts a “30% equities + 70% fixed income” allocation, selecting high-quality funds from the entire market, with 30% in domestic equity funds, supplemented with QDII and commodity funds, and increased allocation to emerging tech industries to maintain growth potential while ensuring stability. Notably, after Mr. Wang authorized, E Fund Wealth managed his account fully, dynamically adjusting positions and industry allocations based on market changes to rebalance the portfolio.

“The continuous support from the advisory service is something I’ve never experienced before, making me feel very at ease and confident,” Mr. Wang said. Previously, after buying funds, there was no follow-up service, and market fluctuations caused anxiety. Now, E Fund Wealth’s advisors proactively communicate, interpret market trends, monitor account performance, and respond promptly to needs. “In the past, market volatility often made me nervous. Now, with my account managed by E Fund Wealth and ongoing support from an advisor, I hardly need to worry. When I want to know more, I just contact my advisor directly.”

His choice reflects not only a shift in his personal wealth philosophy but also the broader transformation of China’s wealth management market.

Currently, the weakening of the real estate market’s wealth accumulation function, coupled with the approaching maturity of 50 trillion yuan in fixed deposits, makes “asset relocation” increasingly common. However, the gap between residents’ steady wealth growth needs and the complexity of the capital market remains wide. Fund advisory acts as a “bridge” over this gap. Unlike traditional “seller-side” fund sales, fund advisory adheres to a “buy-side” approach, providing asset allocation advice and comprehensive investment support to enhance long-term investment experiences. More investors are now turning to professional advisory services to manage their wealth.

The era changes, but professionalism remains constant.

“Young, I relied on daring and resilience to leave my small hometown; at work, I fought hard to realize my value; now, in retirement, I rely on professional advisory services to protect my wealth and enjoy life,” Mr. Wang said. His life story is a microcosm of countless hardworking generations in China—personal effort combined with national growth dividends, and trust in professionalism, ultimately leading to fulfillment.