"Her Power" | Guo Feng, General Manager of the Strategic Asset Investment Department at China Merchants Wealth Management: Practicing trust with professionalism, achieving success through collaboration

“Financial markets do not reward or punish based on gender. It’s about true merit—there’s no gender, only professionalism.”

Guo Feng, General Manager of Strategic Asset Investment Department at China Merchants Bank Wealth Management

Guo Feng, with fourteen years of investment management experience, has carved out her own path in a heavily male-dominated asset management industry through her professional investment strategies and team management style, standing out in fierce market competition.

On International Women’s Day March 8th, we spoke with Guo Feng to explore what sustains female managers in the high-pressure, uncertain asset management industry. What perspectives and decision-making styles do they bring that inject different colors into teams and investment logic?

In our conversation, Guo Feng repeatedly emphasized a core idea: “In investment decisions, there is no gender, only professionalism.” This concept stems from her deep insight into the industry’s essence. Guo Feng defines investment as “a complex discipline blending mathematics, psychology, and game theory.” In this field, diligence, effort, and professional judgment are universal currencies. The market does not give discounts or penalties based on gender.

As a wealth manager, moments of market downturn and significant net value declines are always tough. “Facing daily inquiries from sales and clients is the most direct pressure. At those times, I clearly realized: the essence of asset management is not about numbers, but trust.” Guo Feng recalls, “You can convince yourself with financial logic that ‘volatility is temporary,’ but when net values fluctuate daily before your eyes, no professional finds it easy—because behind every fluctuation is a client’s real money entrusted to you.”

This unwavering professionalism has taught Guo Feng that short-term net value fluctuations and external anxiety are lessons in patience. She believes investing, like life, is a long-distance marathon requiring endurance. The real measure of how far we can go isn’t annual returns but whether we can maintain our rhythm, stay rational, digest volatility over time, and fulfill client trust through professionalism. This principle applies both to establishing a successful asset management career and to life itself.

When discussing the so-called “female traits” in investing, she doesn’t deny that women may share certain tendencies, such as greater risk perception and communication habits—like paying more attention to downside risks and listening to diverse opinions. However, she opposes labeling these traits. Guo Feng believes everyone develops their own characteristics over their careers. In team management, she advocates “letting professionals excel,” encouraging each person to become a “specialist” and then combining their strengths into a complete market picture.

Regarding the frequently asked question of “balancing career and family,” Guo Feng admits she doesn’t pursue “balance” because it implies fighting alone on both sides of a scale. She prefers to see it as a “long-distance race requiring collective effort,” supported by family backing, team support, and company platforms. Career and family are not opposing forces but mutually reinforcing partners.

For young women striving in or about to enter the investment field, Guo Feng offers three career tips: First, let professionalism be your greatest confidence—forget gender, focus on judgment; Second, learn to collaborate and support—amplify value through integration; Third, stay open-minded—let your cognition be your moat.

“Investment is fundamentally about monetizing your understanding,” Guo Feng believes. Your grasp of the world, observations, and trend judgments will ultimately reflect in asset allocation and returns. She encourages women concerned about family life quality to actively manage family assets because “source expansion is more important than cost-cutting, proactivity is safer than passivity, and cognition is more enduring than luck.”

Selected excerpts from the conversation:

On the essence of investment: Using professionalism as a measure to assess long-term value

Q: In the financial industry, especially in investment, men have traditionally been the majority. Looking back at your career, what has supported your choice to enter finance and keep breaking through?

Guo Feng: Investment is a complex discipline blending mathematics, psychology, and game theory, which attracted me to explore. Over time, what kept me going was the sense of value it provides—discovering opportunities through professional judgment and improving accuracy and success rates. Throughout, I’ve never judged by gender. Every decision in investment must pass market scrutiny. In that test, all effort, diligence, and professional judgment are equal—no discount or penalty based on gender.

Investment requires a professional perspective, not a gender perspective. Markets do not reward or punish based on gender; they judge true merit with real money.

Q: Which market fluctuation or investment decision has left the deepest impression on you or strengthened your investment style? Could you share that experience?

Guo Feng: Every investor has experienced market shocks and sleepless nights. In asset management, these hardships often stem not from personal gains or losses but from the heavy responsibility of entrusted trust.

The most vivid memory is during a prolonged market downturn when product net values declined sharply. Facing daily inquiries from sales and clients was the most direct pressure. I realized clearly: the core of asset management is not about numbers but trust. You can tell yourself “the volatility is temporary,” but when net values fluctuate daily, no one finds it easy—because behind every fluctuation is a client’s real money.

That period taught me a fundamental truth: investing, education, life—none are short sprints but long-distance marathons. Short-term fluctuations and external anxiety are inevitable over long cycles. What truly determines how far we go is whether we can maintain our rhythm, stay rational, and use time to digest volatility, fulfilling trust through professionalism. This applies both to building a career in asset management and to life.

On management and decision-making: Respect differences, encourage specialists

Q: How do you view the role of gender traits in investment decisions? Do you think being female has left any mark on your investment or management style?

Guo Feng: Regarding the relationship between gender traits and investment decisions, I see it this way: markets do not reward or punish based on who is more sensitive or delicate emotionally. Ultimately, every decision boils down to judgment of information, risk pricing, and discipline. From this perspective, in front of investment decisions, there is no gender—only professionalism.

For example, in risk perception, I’ve seen many excellent female investors whose first reaction to opportunities is often, “If it works, how much can I earn?” rather than “If it doesn’t, what’s the worst-case scenario, and can we bear it?” This sensitivity to downside risk isn’t about being timid but about prioritizing safety margins. In asset management, this respect for entrusted responsibility aligns with “trust management” at its core.

Similarly, in communication and decision-making habits, women tend to listen more to different voices and exchange opinions thoroughly before deciding. This “consultative” style might sometimes be seen as indecisive in highly individualistic investment fields. But over time, I’ve found many major risks are uncovered precisely through diverse discussions, and good decisions are often made after thorough consensus.

However, these traits are not exclusive to women, nor do all women possess them. I’ve seen highly perceptive male colleagues in risk awareness and more delicate male colleagues in communication. Everyone develops their own style over their career, influenced by experience, personality, and background, not just gender.

Q: How would you describe your management style? What kind of team culture do you promote when leading and nurturing young investment managers?

Guo Feng: My management approach centers on a core goal: bringing together professionals so they can achieve better results collectively than alone.

I emphasize respecting differences and encouraging each person to become a “specialist.” A good investment team shouldn’t be a uniform “investment manager template” but a combination of strengths. I encourage colleagues to hone their unique skills into sharp tools, focusing on their areas of expertise.

In today’s market environment, single-asset or single-strategy approaches are hard to sustain. Multi-asset, multi-strategy frameworks require team synergy. This means each person’s strengths shouldn’t be isolated. I want the team to develop a state where everyone’s depth and perspective combine to form a complete market picture. When you have a long enough “long board” and are willing to collaborate at critical moments, you become indispensable. This sense of indispensability comes from both deep individual research and trust built through collaboration.

On “her power”: Long-distance race of career and family

Q: The outside world often discusses how women balance career and family. What’s your view?

Guo Feng: I see “balancing” as less about perfect equilibrium and more about a long-distance race requiring collective effort. The idea of a scale implies one person must fight alone on both ends. But real life isn’t like that. Work and family are not acrobatic acts by an individual but joint efforts of many.

Behind high-intensity work, success depends on the support of family, team, and company. Without understanding and support from family, shared responsibilities from colleagues, and a platform from the company, no one can shoulder everything alone.

So instead of “balance,” I prefer to see it as a long-distance race where success depends on collective effort. We work hard because we have family backing; we feel secure because of external support. Family and colleagues are mutually supportive and mutually enabling.

Q: If you could define “her power” in one sentence, what would it be?

Guo Feng: “Her power” is a kind of融合与包容—an ability to integrate diverse expertise, perspectives, and people’s strengths into a collective force; to maintain one’s rhythm over the long haul while accommodating others’ steps; to use professionalism to safeguard trust, and to uplift and enable everyone to shine on their own path.

Q: For young women currently striving in finance or aiming to enter investment, what three career tips would you give?

Guo Feng: First, let professionalism be your greatest confidence—forget gender, focus on judgment. In finance, markets recognize only correctness, not gender. Don’t waste energy worrying about being underestimated or others’ perceptions. Instead, improve your judgment, deepen your understanding, and use logic and data to persuade. When your insights are solid, gender becomes irrelevant.

Second, learn to collaborate and support—amplify value through teamwork. No one is an island. Success depends on collective effort. Trust colleagues, rely on your team, and help others when needed. Share your strengths and accept differences.

Third, stay open-minded—let your cognition be your moat. Investment is about translating understanding into results. Many top practitioners share a trait: curiosity and a willingness to embrace change. This curiosity drives continuous learning, which keeps your cognition evolving. Make learning a daily habit, like eating and drinking.

Final words: Proactivity is safer than passivity; cognition is more enduring than luck

Q: Women often play key roles in family wealth management. Any advice for them?

Guo Feng: My advice is to shift from passive frugality to active management—be a proactive steward of family assets. Investment is fundamentally about monetizing your understanding. Your perception of the world, observations, and trend judgments will ultimately reflect in asset returns.

Don’t see investing as distant or only for finance professionals. Anyone concerned with family well-being should care about asset growth. Keep learning, understanding, and participating. When you manage family wealth with your cognition, you gain a sense of security that surpasses mere saving or frugality. Source expansion is more important than cost-cutting; proactivity is safer than passivity; cognition is more lasting than luck.

Q: Finally, what would you say to those managing investment products?

Guo Feng: The core of asset management is trust. Markets fluctuate, net values will vary—that’s normal. But behind every decision, managers should ask themselves: if this were my parents’ money or my own, would I be willing to invest this way? This simple standard is the most honest bottom line. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint. Short-term market noise and temporary declines are just parts of the journey. The team at China Merchants Bank Wealth Management uses professionalism and discipline to navigate volatility and honor the trust of clients.

Text by Qian Xiaorui

Edited by Wang Xinyu and Xu Nan