A former investment manager at Huatai Asset Management has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined 21 million yuan for engaging in "rat trading," profiting over 24 million yuan. Liu Jianyi joined Huatai Asset Management in February 2021 and began colluding with others using confidential information the following month.

The Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court issued the first-instance judgment. From February 2021 to August 2023, Liu served as an assistant investment manager and investment manager in the equity investment department of Huatai Asset Management. He had decision-making authority over the company's stock investment trades and possessed non-public information regarding account investments, trading decisions, executions, and position changes.

During this period, Liu agreed with individuals surnamed Yang and Liu to share profits from stock trades based on predetermined splits or capital contributions. Liu used WeChat to send coded signals and relayed the non-public information obtained through his position via specific software to Yang and Liu. Yang executed trades using designated and personal securities accounts, while Liu used accounts under his control.

Liu personally received profit shares of 1.5 million yuan and 19.5 million yuan from these activities.

On September 10, 2024, Liu voluntarily surrendered to the public security authorities and truthfully confessed to the crimes of trading using non-public information.

The court found that Liu, as a financial institution employee, used non-public information obtained through his position to engage in related securities trading activities, violating regulations. The circumstances were deemed particularly severe, constituting the crime of trading using non-public information.

Considering Liu's voluntary surrender, which may lead to a lighter or reduced punishment, his guilty plea, and the return of part of the illegal gains before the trial, the court decided on a酌情从轻处罚 (discretionary lighter punishment), resulting in the aforementioned sentence.

**Internal Risk Control Management Raises Concerns** Huatai Asset Management Co., Ltd. was established in 2005. Liu worked as a senior investment manager at Huatai Asset Management from February 2021 to August 2023. He began his illicit activities in March 2021, meaning he started the "rat trading" scheme merely one month after joining the company. This suggests the actions were premeditated rather than impulsive.

According to information disclosed by Huatai Asset Management regarding its stock investment management capabilities and self-assessment, its stock investment scale exceeded 10 billion yuan in 2022. Liu served as assistant investment manager and investment manager for 15 of the company's asset management products.

To strengthen investment risk control, Huatai Asset Management established multiple "firewall mechanisms." The company's self-assessment concluded that these mechanisms "comply with regulations."

Subsequent investigations by the Liaoning Securities Regulatory Bureau revealed that Yang controlled and used a "Jiang" account at China Securities Co., Ltd. for stock trading. From March 12, 2021, to August 1, 2023, this "Jiang" account conducted convergent trades on 104 stocks with accounts managed by Liu, representing a 65% convergence rate. The convergent trading amount totaled 1.3201397 billion yuan, with a convergence rate of 50.73%, generating profits of 3,953,616.93 yuan.

Liu contacted another individual surnamed Liu, who either personally operated or instructed a third party to operate a "Wu Mouling" account at Founder Securities for stock trading. This "Wu Mouling" account conducted convergent trades on 113 stocks with Liu's managed accounts, a 58.25% convergence rate. The convergent trading amount was 2.0433663 billion yuan, with a convergence rate of 66.72%, generating profits of 20,773,217.86 yuan.

Consequently, Liu was ordered to forfeit illegal gains of 20,773,217.86 yuan and fined 41,546,435.72 yuan. An additional fine of 2 million yuan was imposed for instructing others to trade using non-public information. In total, Liu was ordered to forfeit 20,773,217.86 yuan and fined 43,546,435.72 yuan, amounting to over 64.31 million yuan in penalties and forfeitures.

**Profiting Personally at the Expense of Policyholders** Liu previously managed the "Huatai Youying Steady Growth Equity Pension Product." He served as its investment manager from December 30, 2022, to August 2, 2023, a tenure of approximately seven months.

When Liu assumed management, the product's net asset value had already fallen significantly below 1, standing at 0.885. By the time he left his role, the net value had dropped to 0.648, representing a loss of 27% during his tenure.

In recent years, insurance funds have entered the capital market on a large scale. According to data disclosed by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, by the end of the first quarter, insurance companies' stock investment balance reached 3.84 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.95% from the end of 2025.

Asset management companies under insurance groups, utilizing insurance funds for investment, are not only a significant source of profit for insurers but also affect the returns of many insurance products with wealth management functions, directly impacting insurance consumers.

Huatai Insurance Group reported operating revenue of 23.756 billion yuan for 2025, a year-on-year increase of 15.21%, with a net profit of 1.536 billion yuan, up 5.13%. Huatai Life Insurance reported premium income of 9.943 billion yuan and a net profit of 245 million yuan for 2025.