High-Flyer Quant’s Strong 2025 Performance Highlights Rise of China’s Quant Hedge Funds
High-Flyer Quant, a leading quantitative hedge fund in China and co owned by Liang Wenfeng, has emerged as one of the country’s best performing investment firms in 2025, underlining the growing influence of data driven strategies in China’s financial markets. Liang is also the founder and chief executive of DeepSeek, linking the worlds of artificial intelligence research and quantitative finance more closely than ever.
According to a newly released ranking by Shenzhen PaiPaiWang Investment & Management, High-Flyer Quant delivered a return of 56.6 per cent over the past year. This performance placed the firm second among China’s ten top performing large hedge funds in 2025. The only fund to outperform High-Flyer was Lingjun Investment, which topped the table with a return of 73.5 per cent.
The results reflect a broader shift within China’s asset management industry. All of the top ranked hedge funds in the latest list rely heavily on quantitative investment strategies. These firms use advanced mathematical models, large data sets and algorithmic trading systems to identify patterns, price inefficiencies and short term opportunities across markets. Their dominance in the rankings highlights how quant based approaches are becoming central to professional investing in China.
High-Flyer Quant has long been known for its systematic trading style and strong research capabilities. Its close association with DeepSeek has also drawn attention, particularly as artificial intelligence techniques increasingly influence financial modelling, risk management and portfolio construction. While the firm operates independently, the overlap in talent and technological thinking reflects a wider trend of cross pollination between China’s AI sector and its financial industry.
Market participants say the success of quantitative hedge funds is partly driven by China’s rapidly expanding data environment and highly liquid domestic markets. Frequent trading, diverse asset classes and growing retail participation provide fertile ground for algorithmic strategies. At the same time, increased market volatility in recent years has created conditions in which systematic models can outperform more traditional discretionary approaches.
Regulatory developments have also played a role. While authorities continue to monitor leverage and systemic risk, China has generally allowed quantitative funds to innovate, provided they operate within defined risk controls. This balance has encouraged the growth of large scale quant firms capable of deploying significant capital.
Looking ahead, analysts expect competition among China’s top hedge funds to intensify. As more capital flows into quantitative strategies, maintaining an edge will depend on research depth, computing power and the ability to adapt models quickly to changing market conditions. High-Flyer Quant’s strong showing in 2025 suggests it is well positioned in this race, and its performance adds to the narrative of China’s rapid evolution into a global centre for quantitative finance.
