Wave Maker | ICBC Credit Suisse Gao Jingxia: The Original Aspiration of Serving Finance and the Country, Hidden in the Practice of Empowering the Real Economy

A Hundred Years of the May Fourth Spirit Passed Down Through Generations, Youth Striving Forward to Live Up to the Prime of Life.
The May Fourth Spirit embodies the core values of patriotism, progress, democracy, and science, and has become the spiritual coordinate for public fund youth to forge ahead and uphold their mission amid the wave of the new era asset management industry.

As an important part of the capital market, public funds bear the vital mission of managing clients’ assets, wealth management, and serving the real economy.
Generation after generation of young fund practitioners, guided by the May Fourth Spirit, integrate their ideals and beliefs into investment and research practices, rapidly growing into the backbone of the investment community, and practicing their original intention of serving the people through professionalism and responsibility.

In the view of Gao Jingxia, a young fund manager at ICBC Credit Suisse Fund, the May Fourth Spirit in the public fund industry can be summarized into three core elements: “objectivity, progress, and a sense of responsibility.”
The capital market is ever-changing and full of uncertainties. “Objectivity” requires practitioners to maintain rationality and independent judgment amid complex market conditions;
“Progress” means continuously deepening industry research, broadening capabilities, and iterating investment frameworks;
While “a sense of responsibility” is fundamental—public funds are essentially “managing clients’ assets,” striving to steadily increase the value of investors’ assets, which is the original mission of every practitioner.

As a young professional in the public fund industry, Gao Jingxia believes that inheriting the May Fourth Spirit requires cultivating and maintaining three valuable qualities: perseverance, curiosity, and responsibility, and integrating them into the entire process of daily investment research and decision-making.

There are many “temptations” in the capital market. Short-term wealth myths are played out daily. Young fund managers must adhere to their investment frameworks, distinguish between short-term market fluctuations and long-term industry trends, uphold rationality, and build a solid foundation for investment through strict risk control.

Maintaining curiosity is an inevitable requirement to adapt to industry transformation. Emerging sectors like new energy and new materials evolve rapidly. Only by continuously tracking industry dynamics and digging deep into the logic can one avoid cognitive lag.

Upholding responsibility must be internalized and externalized. She always reflects with a cautious and restrained attitude, constantly considering from the perspective of investors when making decisions, prioritizing investors’ interests.

In fact, on the path of professional growth, extreme market conditions serve as a testing ground for practicing the scientific and rational spirit of the May Fourth movement.

“Even when facing short-term performance verification pressures, I remain committed to the investment research framework, not blindly following market sentiment, which profoundly embodies the May Fourth Spirit of advocating science and upholding truth,” she explained.
She adheres to a left-side investment philosophy. In early 2025, when the chemical industry was pessimistic due to market sentiment, she relied on cyclical规律 research for independent judgment, believing that industry profits had bottomed out, supply-demand patterns would gradually recover, and high-quality leading companies’ valuations were highly cost-effective, so she made contrarian allocations.

She always respects the complexity of the market, integrating the pursuit of truth and progress into the entire investment research process.
From industry research and target screening to portfolio management, she delves layer by layer: focusing on industry supply-demand relationships and cyclical positioning, adept at identifying long-term value stocks in periods of low prosperity;
Stock selection emphasizes competitive landscape, long-term potential, and profitability quality, avoiding chasing short-term elasticity;
In portfolio management, she maintains self-reflection, willing to admit judgment biases and adjust strategies promptly.

The original aspiration of serving the country through finance is rooted in empowering实体经济.
As a resource allocation vehicle, public funds bear the使命 of serving the real economy and guiding social capital into优质产业.
Gao Jingxia focuses on core sectors like new energy and new materials, precisely布局关键领域 of economic transformation, leveraging industry growth dividends to generate returns for investors, while also promoting high-quality实体经济 development, embodying the patriotic初心 of the May Fourth movement.

Relying on ICBC Credit Suisse’s open and inclusive team environment, the May Fourth Spirit is passed down through mentorship and sharing.
The company’s investment research atmosphere is democratic, encouraging diverse judgments and correction through discussion.
Having joined ICBC Credit Suisse nine years ago, Gao Jingxia has grown from industry research to portfolio management under the guidance of senior colleagues, and she plans to pass on her experience to younger colleagues in the future.

To her young peers in the public fund industry, she offers:
“Investing slowly is actually fast. There’s no need to chase short-term rankings; only坚持长期主义 can continuously create稳健回报 for clients.”
The新时代 public fund youth should坚守风控底线, improve投研能力, and enhance持有体验 from the perspective of持有人, using青春之力 to deeply cultivate wealth management, ensuring the永续传承 of the May Fourth Spirit in the asset management industry.

Below is the full interview transcript

Q1: What do you see as the core connotation of the May Fourth Spirit? Considering the characteristics of the public fund industry, what are the points of resonance between the May Fourth Spirit and industry development?

The May Fourth Spirit advocates “patriotism, progress, democracy, and science.” I think in the public fund industry, it can be understood as objectivity, progress, and a sense of responsibility.
Every day we face uncertainty and a constantly changing market environment.
“Objectivity” emphasizes maintaining rationality and independent judgment amid complex conditions;
“Progress” means continuous learning about industry changes, constantly adjusting our frameworks, and expanding capabilities;
And “a sense of responsibility” is most important because public funds are fundamentally “managing clients’ assets,” making responsible decisions for clients is the most basic requirement.

Q2: As a young professional in the public fund industry, what qualities do you think are most essential for inheriting the May Fourth Spirit? How are these qualities reflected in daily work?

The qualities corresponding to “objectivity, progress, and responsibility” are: maintaining perseverance, curiosity, and responsibility.
Perseverance is the most difficult. For a young fund manager like me, the biggest challenge in the capital market is “temptation.” Opportunities seem everywhere, wealth myths are played out daily.
In such an environment, maintaining perseverance is one of the most important qualities.
Being able to stay rational and objective, distinguish short-term fluctuations from long-term trends, and stick to the investment framework without distortion are fundamental to risk control.
Curiosity is very important because many of our investment directions, like new energy and new materials, are changing rapidly.
Without continuous industry tracking, it’s easy to fall behind cognitively.
Responsibility is the most fundamental. Although we manage clients’ assets, I often ask myself: if this were my own money, would I buy this stock? Would I invest at this point?
Reminding myself to be responsible for clients.

Q3: During your professional growth, has there been any event that made you deeply feel the power of the “May Fourth Spirit,” or strengthened your determination to deepen your career in the public fund industry?

What left a deep impression was how extreme market sentiment can be a real test of judgment.
I tend to favor left-side investing and sometimes operate contrarily.
For example, early 2025, the chemical industry was very pessimistic, with mainstream views citing overcapacity and weak demand, many believed profits would never recover.
But I judged that: cyclicality wouldn’t disappear, profits had bottomed out historically, supply-demand would gradually recover in two or three years, and valuations of high-quality leading companies were very attractive, with good risk-reward ratios.
So, during the pessimistic market, I decisively made some allocations.
It was a stressful period because short-term validation wasn’t guaranteed, but I believed in my framework rather than market sentiment.
My understanding of “rationality” and “science” is to stick to judgment even when emotions are extreme.

Q4: The core content of the May Fourth Spirit is “patriotism, progress, democracy, and science.” How do you incorporate the spirit of “pursuing truth and progress” into your investment research work? For example, in industry research, target screening, and strategy optimization, how is this reflected?

I never claim to fully understand the market. The stock market is a complex system involving many layers, variables, and participants.
In uncertain markets, our best effort is to do well in areas we can grasp and judge, improving win rates.
In specific work, I focus on several aspects:

First, industry research. I pay close attention to supply-demand relationships and cyclical positioning. Often, the most valuable opportunities are in periods of low prosperity.

Second, target selection. I focus on competitive landscape, long-term potential, and profitability quality, rather than short-term elasticity.

Third, portfolio management. As markets change, so must our understanding.
Being able to admit judgment biases and adjust strategies promptly is a crucial skill.

So, my understanding of “progress” is to maintain reverence, reduce uncertainty through in-depth research, and increase the probability of correct judgments.

Q5: Facing the accelerated iteration of the public fund industry, how do you respond with the “courage to innovate” May Fourth Spirit? Are there specific practical cases? What are your outlooks for the future of the industries you are deeply involved in?

In recent years, a clear change is that information has become more abundant.
Previously, much of our work was about comprehensively understanding industries and stocks to make more accurate judgments.
Now, I feel that while we have more information, the win rate of judgments hasn’t necessarily improved; in fact, too much information can be counterproductive.
In response, we actively learn and use AI tools to assist in gathering information.
But more importantly, we leverage AI’s efficiency to conduct deeper research, review from multiple dimensions, and consolidate useful methodologies and frameworks, which can truly improve decision accuracy.

Q6: As an important force in the capital market, public funds undertake the responsibility of serving the实体经济 and guiding social capital into优质产业. How do you (your company) practice the “patriotic”初心 in your investment research to support实体经济的发展?

Public funds are fundamentally resource allocation tools, channeling capital into industries with long-term价值.
For example, I mainly invest in sectors like new energy and new materials, which are key directions for China’s economic转型.
At the same time, these sectors grow faster than the overall economy.
By investing in these areas, as企业价值 increases, we can also achieve good returns.

Q7: How does your company’s team collaboration help传承五四精神 and achieve a win-win situation for personal growth and team development?

ICBC Credit Suisse is a harmonious, open team.
In daily investment research discussions, we encourage diverse judgments and correction through debate.
I joined the company right after graduation, and now in my ninth year, my growth from industry research to portfolio management has benefited greatly from the selfless sharing and guidance of senior colleagues.
In the future, I also plan to pass on my experience and insights to younger colleagues.

Q8: What would you like to say to young peers in the public fund industry about “传承五四精神 and践行行业使命”?
What areas should future public fund youth focus on to better传承五四精神, contribute to industry development, support实体经济, and increase大众财富?

As a young fund manager, I often remind myself: “Slow is fast.”
Ultimately, investing is a long-term game—whether you outperform in a year or not, what matters is whether you can steadily generate returns for clients over time.
We must keep risk control in mind, continuously improve investment skills, and view things from the client’s perspective to enhance the holding experience.

Text by Xu Nannan, Edited by Xu Nan