The interview was launched on the Bloomberg website late at night on August 19th, New York time.
Zhao Chen When Chongqing hung up the video connection, it was already the early morning of August 20, Beijing time.
He turned off the computer without waiting for the interview to go online, picked up Zisha Pot and poured himself the last cup of tea.
Then a person walked along the riverside trail of Jiangbeizui for a long time.
It was hot and humid late at night in August, and there was no wind on the river. Only a few vague outlines of the Chaotianmen Bridge steel cables were left in the night fog.
He knew in his heart that once this interview was published, the market would not only focus on the words "long-term holding".
The questions in the interview outline about Bitcoin position opening, Nvidia position holding, and 178 US Dollar defense battle,
Each one points to the same thing - the market wants to know how Era Vanguard made those near-perfect judgments.
Early the next morning, when Zhao Chen walked into the office, Liu Mingyu was already waiting at the door.
He was holding a tablet computer in his hand, with the homepage of Bloomberg's website open on the screen.
Zhao Chen hung the coat on the hanger, walked to the desk and sat down, Liu Mingyu handed over the tablet.
The title on the screen is in bold black letters--
"Exclusive interview with Zhao Chen: From Bitcoin to Tesla, a China investor's 20 billion US Dollar gamble".
Zhao Chen Scroll down. The text of the report is not too long, and Emily Chang restored the rhythm of the entire conversation with an almost line drawing style.
But what really made Zhao Chen stop looking was the editorial note added at the end of the article--
"Times Pioneer Capital is one of the most outstanding offshore funds in the US Stocks market in recent years.
From Bitcoin to Tesla, from Nvidia to SpaceX, each of the fund's major positions was accurately positioned at the bottom of the market.
The decision-maker of all this is a 26-year-old China investor.
In the interview, Mr. Zhao Chen attributed the success to 'independent research on public data' and 'risk tolerance'.
But the market is more willing to believe in a simpler explanation - Zhao Chen has some kind of judgment that surpasses ordinary people."
Liu Mingyu added next to it - "Zhao Zong, the domestic media reprinted it faster than we expected.
First Finance and Wall Street News sent out news in the early morning. Caijing.com's homepage headline used the title 'Zhao Chen responded to the logic of 20 billion US Dollar positions for the first time'.
But the most controversial thing in the comment area is not the position logic."
Zhao Chen clicked on Caijing.com's reprint page. The hot comment at the top of the comment area only had one line -
"Twenty billion US Dollar. Bitcoin, Tesla, Nvidia, three transactions, all three transactions were at the lowest point.
Only God can do it."
There are more than a thousand replies below. Someone analyzed the "risk tolerance" framework he mentioned in the interview one by one.
I think his logical dismantling of Bitcoin position opening and closing is cleaner than most institutional research reports.
But more and more people are swiping the screen to "step on points", "luck" and "cheating".
Someone found out that he "happened" not to have any records of pledge liquidation during the liquidity crisis in March 2020.
It is suggested that there is more undisclosed information behind that "happen".
Someone else compared his operations in the Henglong Short Selling case with every position of Era Vanguard, and the conclusion is--
"This man's judgment has gone beyond the scope of normal humans. Every time he makes a move, he is right."
Zhao Chen put the tablet down, picked up Zisha Pot and poured a cup of tea.
The Jiangbeizui outside the window was shrouded in the morning light of August, and the surface of the Two Rivers Confluence river was glowing with a dazzling white light.
He was about to send an email to Lin Shicheng, when Liu Mingyu opened the door again and came in.
"The stock prices of Zhao Zong and Henglong jumped short and opened higher during the early bidding stage, opening higher by nearly 6%.
Buying Pressure is mainly driven by several foreign long-term funds, which increased their holdings overnight after the interview report was published."
Zhao Chen opens the pre-market trading data of Bloomberg Terminal and Henglong.
Opening Price One hundred and twenty Hong Kong Dollar, up nearly 5% from yesterday's closing price.
He stared at the time-sharing line for a few seconds, and suddenly realized one thing - the market's interpretation of him was completely wrong.
In interviews, he repeatedly emphasized "public data," "independent research," and "risk tolerance," but the market's response completely ignored these terms.
They compressed the entire interview into one sentence - Zhao Chen's judgment is beyond ordinary people.
In the next few trading days, this interpretation was repeatedly reinforced.
Bloomberg published a follow-up report the day after the interview was published,
The title is "Era Vanguard's position logic: Is it the system or people?"
This report is longer than the interview itself. The core is not what Zhao Chen said.
It's a fact that Emily Chang discovered after reorganizing all the public disclosure documents of Era Vanguard and Henglong -
Era Vanguard's position opening time, cost control and exit rhythm on Tesla and Nvidia were right in front of the turning point of market sentiment almost every time.
She wrote at the end of the article -
"The position logic of Era Vanguard can be verified through public data.
But the results of the verification only deepened a question - in the same set of public data, why was he the only one who saw something that others did not?"
Zhao Chen was eating lunch when he read this report. The simple meal Canteen had sent was half cold on the desk.
He read the report from beginning to end twice, and when he read the sentence "Why was he the only one who saw things that others didn't see?", he paused for a moment with the chopsticks in his hand.
He sent a message to Shen Jue - "Have you read Bloomberg's follow-up report today?"
Shen Jue's reply popped up quickly--
"Look. They attribute all the success of Era Vanguard to you alone.
Your team, Hang Lung's institutional framework, and the institute's independent model - these are not important in their eyes.
They only want to believe one thing - Era Vanguard is a work of genius."
Zhao Chen put down the phone and leaned on the back of the chair.
Canteen The rice on the plate was completely cold, and he didn't move it again.
He remembered what he said in the interview - "I won't carry it alone anymore."
But at this moment, the market's interpretation is erasing all the institutional framework behind this sentence, leaving only the two words "Zhao Chen" alone.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Henglong Group Hong Kong Stocks closed. The stock price rose by more than 8% throughout the day, closing at 124 Hong Kong Dollar, setting a new high since 2019.
Chen Xi sent a brief report to Zhao Chen after the market closed--
"Today Henglong System is all popular, Hong Kong Stocks and A-share are synchronized.
Foreign long-term funds continued to increase their holdings of Henglong after the interview report was published, and the market's recognition of Henglong's institutional framework is increasing.
But there is something I need to tell you - this afternoon,
Researchers from three foreign-funded institutions called Henglong Capital and asked questions all in the same direction.
They want to know your decision-making process, what data you usually look at, when you make judgments, and whether you have an investment framework that can be copied.
Not one person asked about Investment Decision Committee, Research Institute or the quarterly review."
Zhao Chen was silent for a long time after reading Chen Xi's message.
The aftermath of the interview is still spreading - Hong Kong Stocks's stock price has risen, foreign investors have increased their holdings, and domestic media have continued to reprint it.
But there is only one core of all this heat--Zhao Chen.
The market does not believe that the system can make such accurate judgments. They only believe in one thing - Era Vanguard has a genius.
This genius has made perfect judgments on Bitcoin, Tesla, Nvidia, and SpaceX since the end of 2016.
However, Henglong Research Institute's Model, Investment Decision Committee's collective resolution, and Shen Jue's independent opinions on the quarterly review report—all of these do not exist in the public eye.
He picked up the phone and turned to the contact information of Shen Jue.
After hesitating for a moment, he did not dial out.
He knew what Shen Jue would say. She would tell him in that unhurried tone on the other end of the phone--
"You spent so long taking Decision-Making Rights out of one person's hands, but the market only recognizes that one person.
This is not your problem, it's the market's problem."
Then she would pause and add -
"But you don't have to make the market understand. You just have to keep the system going."
Zhao Chen put the phone in his pocket, picked up Zisha Pot and poured himself the last cup of tea today.
He leaned back in his chair and remembered the scene a long time ago at the Fairy Mountain Meeting Center when he drew the Triangle Framework picture on the whiteboard -
System, Model, and team are three vertices that are independent of each other and verify each other.
That picture is now hanging on the wall in the corridor on the 23rd floor. Chen Xi takes a look at it every day when he passes by.
But no one in the market saw that picture. They only saw Zhao Chen.
He put the tea cup on the table, and the sound of the bottom of the cup hitting the glass table was particularly clear in the quiet office.
The market can continue to believe in genius stories. The institutional framework of Henglong will continue to operate.
One day, when a certain decision is made independently by Investment Decision Committee without his participation, and the market finds that the "genius" was not involved, they will start to ask--
"Who made that decision?" Only then will the answer change from "Zhao Chen" to "Henglong's system." But that day has not come yet.
What he needs to do now is keep the system running until it proves itself.