India, June 30 -- A 30-year-old Chinese fund manager has outperformed most of his peers this year, not by banking on tech giants but by using Gen Z's favourite names like Pop Mart, which created the widely popular Labubu dolls.

According to a Bloomberg report, Xie Tianyuan's Penghua Selected Return Flexible Allocation Mixed Fund has delivered a 24% return so far this year, placing him in the top 3% of nearly 2,300 funds.

After taking over in 2024, the Shenzhen-based fund manager quickly replaced the fund's top holding, a liquor distiller called Kweichow Moutai Co and replaced it with the Labubu doll maker.

The young fund manager's breakthrough strategy leans heavily on "emotional consumption," a fast-growing trend among Gen Z and young...