"Her Strength" | Nord Fund Bond Investment Department Deputy Director Xu Juan: Prioritizing Stability and Striving to Secure Absolute Returns

In traditional understanding, strength is often associated with rigidity and sharpness, but the capital markets are never short of edge. Female fund managers are redefining professional strength by combining firmness and flexibility. The current “her power” breaks this binary—being firm means sticking to principles and bottom lines, while softness signifies wisdom and guidance. Together, they forge an investment path that balances intensity and warmth, reflected in net value curves and long-term value.

With over fifteen years of investment research experience and about nine years managing portfolios, Xu Juan is currently the Deputy Director of the Bond Investment Department at Norde Fund. Her past management includes liquidity enhancement strategies, pure bond strategies, and “Fixed Income+” strategies. Initially focused on absolute return fund accounts, she began managing public funds in 2022, including pure bond funds and secondary bond funds.

Deputy Director of the Bond Investment Department at Norde Fund, Xu Juan

Steady and Far-reaching with Bottom-Line Thinking

In today’s rapidly evolving and volatile markets, long-term, prudent fixed income investors are increasingly recognized by the market.

Xu Juan’s investment philosophy centers on staying close to the market, focusing on her core capabilities, and maintaining steady operations. Facing complex and changing environments, she insists on continuous cognitive iteration, staying within her ability boundaries, and pursuing stability to generate sustainable excess returns for investors.

When describing her investment style, Xu Juan uses the word “balance.” As a female investor, she incorporates her natural traits—meticulousness, thoroughness, and sharpness—into her decision-making. She perceives uncertainty more acutely, naturally emphasizes bottom-line thinking and risk control, and seeks the optimal balance between return and risk, demonstrating patience and resilience amid volatility.

She also compares portfolio management to parenting, emphasizing the importance of long-termism. She does not pursue short-term linear growth but prefers to accompany investments patiently through cycles, maintaining steady progress. In her framework, risk control is a fundamental principle—an inviolable bottom line. She first clarifies product positioning and client risk tolerance, then formulates strategies based on macroeconomic analysis, strictly adhering to investment boundaries.

Thanks to her over a decade of research and investment experience, Xu Juan has witnessed and experienced multiple asset class cycles, gradually building a comprehensive investment analysis system. She has developed a deeper understanding of the universal law that “everything is cyclical.” In her investment approach, she balances long-term vision with short-term holding experiences, aiming for absolute returns while controlling drawdowns and striving for flexible gains, balancing holding comfort with achievable results.

Prioritizing Stability and Striving to Secure Absolute Returns

In today’s increasingly complex markets with rapid information flow, Xu Juan believes that liquidity remains ample, but bond yields are low, and the upside potential is limited. The stock market’s strength and rising risk appetite have caused phased outflows from bonds. Considering both liquidity and fundamentals, the yield increase in the bond market is limited in the short term, likely leading to oscillations. As the economy is a slow-moving variable, attention should be paid to economic policies, price indices, and investor behavior changes.

To maintain a stable mindset amid market fluctuations, Xu Juan emphasizes nurturing her mental resilience through hobbies like traveling, reading, and knitting, which support her emotional well-being and decision-making. She actively conducts product roadshows and exchanges, clearly communicating product positioning and market views to help investors understand market and product logic rationally. She also empathizes with investors’ perspectives, remaining calm and firm during market volatility, and walking long-term alongside her clients.

Additionally, she adopts a flexible trading mindset during turbulent markets, dynamically balancing odds and win rates. Her investment process centers on pursuing absolute returns, strictly controlling drawdowns, and seeking return flexibility. She moderately reduces portfolio risk exposure, adjusts duration structures flexibly, and continuously upgrades credit risk levels to maintain a resilient portfolio across different market environments.

“In portfolio construction, I start with macro fundamentals and adopt a top-down approach. First, determine the duration center and yield targets, then allocate assets accordingly, and finally select securities from the bottom up,” Xu Juan explains. The primary goal of a product depends on its positioning; different products emphasize different balances. Currently, with limited upside in the bond market, safety is prioritized, risks are tightly controlled, and operations are steady, aiming for continuous net value appreciation.

Words of encouragement:

Within her core capabilities, manage each portfolio carefully, cherish the trust and confidence of every investor. Meanwhile, continuously expand her investment skills, strive to handle more diverse strategies, serve a broader investor base, and contribute to the cause of inclusive finance.

For herself, she hopes to face each day in a self-consistent and enjoyable way, calmly moving forward along her established path toward the future.

For investors, choosing products aligned with their risk preferences, practicing patience, and maintaining long-term companionship will allow them to wait quietly for the bloom.

Text by Xu Nannan | Edited by Xu Nan