Excess returns show significant divergence; private equity quantitative enhanced strategies face challenges.

People’s Financial News, March 13 — Since 2026, while the overall A-share stock index has experienced moderate fluctuations, the structural differentiation among individual stocks has further intensified. Recent monitoring data from third-party institutions show that in the first two months of this year, quantitative strategies in the private equity industry have exhibited significant divergence in excess returns. For mainstream strategies such as CSI 500 and CSI 1000, the difficulty in achieving excess returns has noticeably increased, with some leading institutions even experiencing temporary negative excess returns, starkly contrasting with the 20% to 30% excess returns seen throughout 2025. Several interviewed quantitative private equity firms stated that, amid rapid market style shifts and extreme thematic performances, quantitative strategies are undergoing a “big test.” From the perspective of strategy iteration and fundraising changes, the quantitative industry has entered a new stage of refined competition and differentiation. (China Securities Journal)