High-Flyer (company)

High-Flyer was founded in 2015 by three engineers from Zhejiang University.[1][2][5] They generated ideas of algorithmic trading as students during the 2007–2008 financial crisis.[1][2][5] The company has two AMAC regulated subsidiaries, Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management Co.,Ltd. and Ningbo High-Flyer Quant Investment Management Partnership LLP which were established in 2015 and 2016 respectively.[1][5] The two subsidiaries have over 450 investment products.[5]

In 2016 the firm experimented with a deep learning algorithmic model to take stock positions and began testing in trading the following year.[2]

In 2019, the company established High-Flyer AI which was dedicated to research on AI algorithms and its basic applications.[6] In the same year the company set up a SFC regulated subsidiary in Hong Kong named High-Flyer Capital Management (Hong Kong) Limited.[6] It was approved as a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor one year later.[7][8]

In 2020, the company established Fire-Flyer I, a supercomputer that focuses on AI deep learning.[5][7] It cost approximately 200 million Yuan.[5][7]

In 2021, Fire-Flyer I was retired and was replaced by Fire-Flyer II which cost 1 billion Yuan.[8]

At the end of 2021, High-Flyer put out a public statement on WeChat apologizing for its losses in assets due to poor performance.[3][5] The performance of over 100 of its investment products declined by over 10%.[5] High-Flyer stated that its AI models did not time trades well although its stock selection was fine in terms of long-term value.[3][5] The models would take on higher risk during marker fluctuations which deepened the decline.[3][5] In addition the company stated it had expanded its assets too quickly leading to similar trading strategies that made operations more difficult.[3][5] Up until this point, High-Flyer produced returns that were 20%-50% more than stock-market benchmarks in the past few years.[5] Higher

In 2022, the company donated 221 million Yuan to charity as the Chinese government pushed firms to do more in the name of "common prosperity".[9]

In March 2023, it was reported that High-Flyer was being sued by Shanghai Ruitian Investment LLC for hiring one of its employees.[4] The rival firm stated the former employee possessed quantitative strategy codes that are considered "core commercial secrets" and sought 5 million Yuan in compensation for anti-competitive practices.[4]

High-Flyer's investment and research team had 160 members as of 2021 which include Olympiad Gold medalists, internet giant experts and senior researchers.[10] It has been trying to recruit deep learning scientists by offering annual salaries of up to 2 million Yuan.[2]

• Hedge fund industry in China

• Official website
• High-Flyer Capital Management (Hong Kong) Limited