China mulls 50% pay cuts for underperforming fund managers

China is considering slashing pay of fund managers who underperform their benchmarks as part of a broad overhaul of the nation's 33 trillion yuan ($4.6 trillion) mutual fund industry aimed at boosting long-term investments, according to people familiar with the matter.

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The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is proposing a 50 percent pay reduction for fund managers if products overseen by them record a loss or return 10 percent less than their performance benchmarks, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Such pay cuts are part of a long-term assessment mechanism the regulator is trying to establish, the people said, adding it was not clear what time frame it would be applied over.

Under the draft plan, fund returns will account for at least half of the weighting in senior management's evaluation, while other metrics such as the firms' size and ranking will become less important, the people said. The proposal has yet to be finalized and may change, they added.

The CSRC didn't respond to a request for comment.