On July 1, 2021, the half-year performance of public funds in 2021 was announced. Data from GMTEightapp shows that as of June 30, the average half-year return of all common stock funds was 9.65%, and the average half-year return of all mixed stock funds was 6.4%. All outperformed the half-year gains of the Shanghai Composite Index by 3.4%, the Shenzhen Component by 4.78%, and the CSI 300 by 0.24%. Among them, small-scale funds performed well, outperforming star funds. Funds that focused on sectors such as new energy, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals achieved excess returns. According to Wind data: Among common stock funds, the top three funds for half-year performance were: Qianhai Kaiyuan Utilities, Shangtou Morgan Core Selection, and Jinying Medical Health Industry, all of which are small-scale funds. Qianhai Kaiyuan Utilities ranked first in common stock funds with a performance of 44.52%. Qianhai Kaiyuan Utilities had a size of 354 million yuan, Shangtou Morgan Core Selection had a size of only 52 million yuan, and Jinying Medical Health Industry had a size of 356 million yuan. In mixed funds, the top three funds in terms of performance were also small-scale funds. The top fund, Jinying National Emerging, had a half-year return of 53.15%, with a size of only 112 million yuan; Baoying Advantage Industry had a half-year return of 52.17%, with a size of only 149 million yuan; Jinxin Stable Strategy had a half-year return of 47.43%, with a size of only 74 million yuan. At the same time, large-scale star funds have generally underperformed this year. For instance, the popular fund managed by E Fund, E Fund Consumer Industry, currently the largest common stock fund, with a size of 31.865 billion yuan, had a half-year return of only -2.31%, while E Fund Blue Chip Selection is currently the largest mixed fund. If we calculate the average half-year return of all common stock funds with a size of over 20 billion yuan, we find it to be 7.56%, which is lower than the average half-year return of all common stock funds, which is 9.65%. The average half-year return of all mixed funds with a size of over 20 billion yuan is only 5.78%, which is lower than the average half-year return of all mixed stock funds, which is 6.4%. In other words, the popular top funds are currently generally underperforming the market. If we analyze the top three performing common stock funds and mixed funds, we can see that these funds in the first quarter (second-quarter holdings have not been disclosed yet) were invested in sectors such as new energy, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. It is worth noting that in the first quarter, Jinying National Emerging, with a size of only 1.12 billion yuan, had negative returns and underperformed the benchmark. At that time, fund manager Han Guangzhe believed that there are still structural opportunities in the A-share market, especially in the green and carbon reduction road with minimal development divergence among countries. Based on this assessment, he focused on the new energy vehicles and photovoltaic sectors in the economic cycle, paying attention to companies with sustainable business models, and dynamically balancing consumption and growth styles. The best performing fund in common stock funds is Qianhai Kaiyuan Utilities managed by Cui Chenlong, an industry background-based fund manager with relatively extensive and in-depth research and accumulation in the new energy industry. Regarding the controversy over the valuation of the new energy vehicle sector in the market and the investment challenges brought about by the price increases in the upstream of the photovoltaic industry, he pointed out in an interview with Financial Links that being too focused on short-term single valuation indicators will lead to missing good investment opportunities, and the high valuation of new energy is only short-term, this valuation can be fully digested by rapid growth. Noah Fund Superiority With the top funds generally lagging behind, are there any products that can compete with the top star funds? Yes, Noah Growth Mixed Fund. With a half-year return of 23.59%, it ranks first among mixed funds with a size over 20 billion, closely followed by Zhongou Medical Health with a half-year return of 23.54%. Recently, with the strong performance of the semiconductor sector in the A-share market, the net value of Noah Growth, mainly invested in the semiconductor sector, has also risen sharply, and the "leading" trend has made its helmsman Cai Songsong once again popular among investors. Data shows that from May 11 to July 1, the semiconductor index rose by 37.51%. Due to its heavy investment in the semiconductor sector, Noah Growth Mixed Fund also had impressive performance, making Noah Growth, which had a mediocre performance in the first quarter, a hot topic again, and its fund manager Cai Songsong has become the subject of jokes among many investors. Phrases like "today belongs to General Cai" or "another day for General Cai to pay for the whole consumption" can be seen everywhere on stock bars and Weibo. According to regular reports and Wind data, since the third quarter of 2019, the concentration of holdings of Noah Growth has been continuously increasing, maintaining around 80% in 2020. By the first quarter of 2021, the top ten heavy-weight stocks of the fund accounted for 82.73% of the fund's net value, while the average for similar products was only 47.80%. Due to the high concentration in the semiconductor industry, the product's net value fluctuates greatly, forcing Cai Songsong to switch back and forth between the "General Cai" and "Dog Cai" in the eyes of some investors. Some investors even dubbed his behavior of going all in on the semiconductor sector as that of a "gambler". However, Cai Songsong himself has strong confidence in the semiconductor sector. In his report in 2020, he believed that after digesting the negatives in 2020, the chip semiconductor industry in 2021 can already stand on the same starting line as consumer, liquor, pharmaceutical, photovoltaic, and new energy industries. "Looking forward to 2021, the monetary policy will not make abrupt turns. In the fourth quarter of 2020, when there were no high liquidity expectations for 2021, a moderate shift in monetary environment will not become a constraint on the market." "No sector has ever collapsed in a high business climate track. Some sectors may have a need to return after a short-term surge, but after a period of consolidation, they will continue with the original trend and will not break the original trend until the industrial business climate changes. This is determined by"It is determined by the current capital structure of A-shares. Therefore, we believe that in 2021, consumption, liquor, pharmaceuticals, photovoltaics, and new energy will continue their previous trends, oscillating upwards.From the first quarter holding situation, the top ten heavy positions of Noer Growth Hybrid Fund all come from the semiconductor sector, and the change in positions is not significant compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. Among them: Zhuosheng Micro slightly reduced its position from 5.4774 million shares to 4.4055 million shares; MegaChips slightly reduced its position from 16.0855 million shares to 15.5532 million shares; SMIC slightly reduced its position from 55.7274 million shares to 48.7459 million shares; Sanan Optoelectronics slightly reduced its position from 117.9567 million shares to 113.6081 million shares; Weir reduced its position from 14.0514 million shares to 10.1387 million shares; North Huachuang slightly increased its position from 17.8779 million shares to 18.7389 million shares. A slight reduction in positions does not mean that Manager Cai is not optimistic. According to the annual and quarterly reports of Noer Growth Hybrid Fund, the holdings of Weir, North Huachuang, SMIC, Sanan Optoelectronics, MegaChips, and Zhuosheng Micro account for over 9.5% of the fund's net asset value, close to the 10% holding limit. Therefore, as stocks rise, when approaching the holding limit, fund managers may passively reduce their positions. At the end of May, Cai Songsong said in an interview, "I believe that the divergence between the industry's high prosperity and stock prices is getting bigger, and the darkness before dawn is about to come." Cai Songsong even personally purchases the fund he manages. Public information shows that Cai Songsong, the manager of Noer Growth Hybrid Fund, holds over a million shares of the fund he manages himself.