Ping An Fund Manager Blasted for ‘Arrogance’ by Loctek Chairman

(Bloomberg) -- The outspoken chairman of Loctek Ergonomic Technology Corp. has publicly criticized a fund manager at China’s influential Ping An Asset Management Co.

In an open letter published on Saturday, Loctek’s chairman Xiang Lehong said he won’t welcome investments from Ping An Asset because its young fund managers are “full of themselves and do not do their homework.” Xiang also published the comments on his Weibo page and described the “condescending and patronizing” tone of Ping An Asset’s Zhang Liang during a recent conference call.

The widely-shared criticism from Loctek, one of China’s best-performing shares this year, highlights the skepticism toward professional investors in China. The country’s funds have historically struggled to trounce the market and are often called out by clients for chasing rallying stocks, rather than picking winners early through their own research.

“Enough-- if Loctek needs to plead and beg for you to invest in us, then I’d rather not have you invest at all,” Xiang wrote in the open letter. “Why are funds only interested in our company after the shares have rallied, and only asking questions at our headquarters instead of counting crates and cars at our factory gates?” he said.

Shares of Shenzhen-listed Loctek, which makes standing desks and monitor stands, have nearly quadrupled this year to beat all but 29 of the 2,300-odd companies on the Shenzhen Composite Index. Profits rose 190% in the first half, helped by a shift to cross border e-commerce channels, according to a filing last week. The shares fell 2.2% Monday from an all-time high, after gaining 20% on Friday.

A representative for Ping An Asset declined to comment when reached by phone on Monday. The firm managed about 3.3 trillion yuan ($480 billion) at the end of 2019, according to its website.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg