"Submitting is a routine matter!" After Liu Shaihe's "surrender letter" went viral, he urgently clarified: Can quantification truly defeat speculative funds?

“The tide of technology is vast and unstoppable; those who go with it prosper, those who oppose it perish. Today, after deep reflection, we realize that human effort has its limits, but computing power is boundless.”

The author of this passage is Liushahe, a top-tier active trader who has been prominent on the Dragon and Tiger List for nearly a decade and is regarded within the industry as a pioneer of the “Leading Strategy.” When his article “The Human Trader’s Vectorized Trading Manifesto” was posted on social media, it quickly gained widespread attention and shook the financial circle.

As public opinion fermented, on March 22, 2026, one week later, Liushahe issued a clarification.

Author of the “Declaration”

Rumors about Liushahe have long circulated.

Liushahe, whose real name is Yu Tiqi, is a representative figure among frontline active traders in the A-share market. After graduating in 2007, he enlisted in the military, serving nine years, during which he was awarded a second-class merit; in 2016, he began professional investing, and within less than ten years, he transitioned from starting capital of 100,000-300,000 yuan to a net worth of billions.

In the short-term trading community, Liushahe was once considered a god-like figure. His trading style is known for being “steady, precise, and ruthless”: he only participates in the most core, popular leading stocks, entering at the start of market sentiment and exiting at its peak. This “Leading Strategy” thrived during an era when thematic speculation was rampant, creating countless wealth legends.

Some even call Liushahe the “Nuclear Button Pioneer,” a title derived from his extreme liquidation method: once he judges the market direction is wrong or has reached his target, he will unhesitatingly place sell orders at the limit-down price during the initial auction or opening, causing the stock price to collapse instantly, often trapping follow-on traders.

His trading cycle is extremely short, typically “one-day trades”: after pushing a stock to a volume-reduced limit-up, he will directly “press the nuclear button” to sell the next day. Some define his approach as “malicious market-making”—destroying the short-term ecosystem and ruthlessly harvesting follow-on investors.

Such a fierce, market-hardened short-term hero, who has been active for nearly ten years, chose to “surrender” publicly in the spring of 2026. In fact, Liushahe’s “grudge” with quantitative trading did not start today. As early as late 2024, he was targeted by precise quant strategies, posting a “Close Account” article on social media, listing quant trading as one of the “Three Mountains.”

Not Truly “Surrendering”

Amid heated discussions about the authenticity and tragic tone of the “Declaration,” Liushahe quickly clarified that he was not truly “surrendering,” but rather expressing his feelings about the profound changes in the market ecosystem.

First, he denied rumors of massive losses. During the controversy, rumors circulated that Liushahe “lost 270 million yuan, with wealth shrinking by 90%,” causing market panic. In his clarification, he posted screenshots of his returns, stating that in March he not only avoided significant losses but achieved a 13% positive return. He explicitly said that the so-called “surrender” was just “earning less.”

Second, regarding the positioning of quantitative trading, Liushahe explained three points: although quantitative trading is fast and disciplined, it “lacks the ability to initiate or change market direction”; fundamentally, quant trading amplifies existing market trends rather than creating volatility out of thin air; moreover, regulators have already imposed oversight on quant trading, and everyone “should trust the authorities.”

Third, he mentioned that writing a “surrender letter” is routine for him—merely reflecting a market low point. Despite recognizing the brutality of quant strategies, he remains optimistic about the overall market: “I still believe in a bull market, but no bull market is purely one-sided. Look at the US stock indices—they rise for a period and then pull back. The future is bright, but the road is winding.” He judges that “a phase of correction here might present a good opportunity.” Regarding the future direction, he suggested to “continue observing whether new main themes will emerge.”

Quantitative Trading Reshapes the Ecosystem

Whether it’s “surrender” or “clarification,” these reflect a profound ecological transformation in the A-share market, driven by the rapid rise of quantitative trading in recent years. Quantitative trading involves using mathematical models and computer algorithms to make investment decisions and execute trades through high-speed calculations and automation. Its core advantages are speed, discipline, and breadth.

Data from Tonghuashun (300033) shows that in January, the average number of stocks traded daily by active funds on the Dragon and Tiger List was 72; by March, it had fallen to 57. This year, only 15 stocks have hit more than five consecutive limit-ups, compared to 35 in the last quarter of the previous year.

Behind this data is a deep reshaping of the A-share ecosystem by quant trading.

Statistics indicate that by the end of 2025, the scale of domestic quant private funds exceeded 1.8 trillion yuan, accounting for over 30% of private equity securities funds. As of late February 2026, there were 126 private fund managers with over 10 billion yuan in assets, of which 62 were quant managers. For the first time, the number of 10-billion-yuan quant private funds surpassed that of subjective long-only funds. Leading quant firms are equipped with dedicated supercomputing centers, capable of microsecond-level analysis of market information, investor trading habits, stock gene expressions, and order flow dynamics—all quantifiable.

Faced with such a well-equipped “quant army,” traditional active traders relying on “market feel,” “experience,” and “speed” are increasingly powerless. On the Dragon and Tiger List, top traders like Chen Xiaoqun have even sold off 700 million yuan worth of holdings to “escape.” Meanwhile, quant funds, leveraging firms like Huaxin Securities Shanghai Branch and CITIC Securities (600030) Shanghai Branch, are gradually replacing traditional active traders and becoming regulars on the list.

The Last Bastion of Value Investing

In response to the wave of quant trading, some well-known investors have offered different perspectives.

Recently, Dongbin Zhu, chairman of Orient Harbor, issued warnings about the risks of quant funds, sparking discussion in the investment community. He worries not just about scale battles but about whether the concentrated positions driven by algorithms could someday trigger a “catastrophic resonance” of wealth destruction. Zhu said: “Currently, over 110 private funds manage over 10 billion yuan, most of which are quant funds, with increasing size and concentrated holdings in small-cap stocks. I can’t confirm a collapse is inevitable, but if it happens, it would be devastating for overall wealth.” His solution is to return to value investing—algorithms can predict the next trade, but they cannot foresee a company’s long-term resilience and competitive moat over twenty years.

Another “private stock god” Lin Yuan offers a more insightful view. He admits that AI and quant strategies are powerful—they calculate quickly, are disciplined, and execute efficiently. They excel at capturing short-term volatility and high-frequency arbitrage, outperforming humans in these areas. But the core of investing is not about who can calculate faster; it’s about who sees more clearly, from afar, and understands better. Lin Yuan believes that quant trading impacts short-term speculation, not long-term value investing. “True value investing will not be eliminated; in fact, it becomes more precious in noisy markets.”

In their view, the era’s change is not simply “who eliminates whom.” For healthy market development, it’s not about eradicating quant trading but about regulating high-frequency chaos, encouraging long-term holdings, and strengthening transparent supervision to steer the market back toward a balance of value and trading. For ordinary investors, reducing trading frequency and returning to the essence of value investing is the safest harbor in the algorithm era.