Chapter 43: A Historic Innovation

In the luxurious sea-view room at the Victoria Hotel where Zhou Ming was staying, Zhou Ming stood in front of the mirror while Lin Muqing helped him with his attire.

Used to his casual style, Zhou Ming found it uncomfortable to be dressed up by Lin Muqing like a mannequin. He complained, "Muqing, isn't this enough? It's really uncomfortable to be dressed like this."

Lin Muqing, who was kneeling on the floor adjusting Zhou Ming's trousers, looked up and said with irritation, "Even if you're uncomfortable, you have to endure it. Zhou Ming, you're no longer an ordinary person. You're the boss of Jinming Fund and a newly minted millionaire in Hong Kong. Today is your first day at the company after the acquisition. You need to present yourself as a boss to establish your authority; otherwise, how will you manage the company without it?"

Zhou Ming chuckled, "There's no helping it, Muqing. This is just my personality! Besides, establishing authority doesn't necessarily require this approach!"

In fact, Zhou Ming was intentionally complaining to divert his attention. With such a refined woman kneeling in front of him, it was almost like a scene from a particular type of movie, especially with Lin Muqing dressed in a well-tailored suit and high heels, accompanied by a subtle fragrance. Zhou Ming found it hard to suppress his inner excitement and needed to focus on something else to maintain his composure. If he had any reaction that Lin Muqing might notice, it would be quite awkward.

Finally, Lin Muqing finished adjusting Zhou Ming's attire.

At 9 AM, Wang Yunlong and Sun Wei arrived at the hotel to pick up Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing for their visit to the company. The office of Jinming Fund was located in Central, and they quickly arrived there.

Wang Yunlong had informed the company in advance. When Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing arrived, the company's employees were waiting at the entrance to welcome him.

Zhou Ming glanced around and saw eleven people in total. A middle-aged man stepped forward and said, "Welcome, Mr. Zhou, to the takeover of the fund company. Let's give him a round of applause."

The middle-aged man's name was Cao Haiyang, the company's vice president. All eleven people applauded as Zhou Ming entered.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, "I'm aware the company has a meeting room. Since everyone is here, let's go to the meeting room and have a meeting."

Zhou Ming led the way to the meeting room, followed closely by Lin Muqing, then Wang Yunlong and Sun Wei. Cao Haiyang and the other employees quickly followed, bringing notebooks and pens.

Once seated in the meeting room, Zhou Ming began, "Let me introduce myself first. I'm Zhou Ming, and I'll be the owner of this company from now on."

He then introduced Wang Yunlong and Sun Wei, "This is Wang Yunlong, the general manager, who will manage everything for me. And this is Sun Wei, the deputy general manager, who will be responsible for market research."

Cao Haiyang nodded and then asked, "And who is this beautiful lady?"

This question didn't need Zhou Ming's answer. Lin Muqing smiled and said, "I'm Lin Muqing, Mr. Zhou's personal secretary."

Everyone was not surprised by this answer and merely envied Zhou Ming's wealth and the presence of such a beautiful personal secretary.

Zhou Ming quickly got to the point, "I called this meeting to assign two tasks. First, conduct a thorough audit of the company's situation, including finances and performance. Second, quickly launch our new fund to improve our performance."

Zhou Ming paused, noticing that the staff looked surprised by the tasks, especially the business department members, who exchanged puzzled glances. Zhou Ming knew they did not understand his intentions and continued, "I understand you might have different opinions. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and communicate. Feel free to express your thoughts."

Seeing this, the business department members started making subtle signals to Cao Haiyang. After some consideration, Cao Haiyang said, "Mr. Zhou, I have some personal views."

Zhou Ming gestured for him to continue. Cao Haiyang said, "I agree that auditing the company's situation is necessary. It's crucial for both client accountability and future development. However, launching a new fund and boosting performance might be very challenging."

"Why is that?" Zhou Ming asked.

Cao Haiyang explained, "You must have experienced the recent market crash. The Hong Kong stock market has collapsed, and all our fund contracts are currently invalid. Not just our company, but the entire financial market in Hong Kong is in a slump. No one is willing to invest now. Even if someone has money, they are hesitant due to the economic downturn."

"I understand. You're saying that people are afraid to invest because they fear losing money in this market, right?" Zhou Ming asked.

Cao Haiyang and the others nodded. Zhou Ming then asked, "What if we tell them that our new fund is a capital-protected fund, which will never lose money regardless of market changes?"

The mention of a capital-protected fund caused a stir among the attendees.

"A capital-protected fund? Is that even possible?"

"Everyone knows the risk of investment. How could a fund guarantee no losses? Even the best investors wouldn't make such a promise."

Cao Haiyang said, "Mr. Zhou, you might not be familiar with our market, but investment always carries risks. Even a professional fund cannot guarantee no losses. We need to disclose fund movements to clients daily. If we can't ensure no losses, we would face compensation liabilities and damage the fund's reputation. Especially now, with the market so bad, even the Hong Kong government and the stock exchange can't revive the market. All banks and funds are losing money. We, as a small fund company, can't promise no losses."

Lin Muqing was displeased with Cao Haiyang's comment, which seemed to imply that Zhou Ming, being from the mainland, didn't understand finance and was making misguided decisions.

Lin Muqing said, "Manager Cao, who told you that it's impossible to make money during a financial downturn? Mr. Zhou made 20 million Hong Kong dollars during the market crash!"

Everyone was stunned, their disbelief evident. Cao Haiyang incredulously asked, "Secretary Lin must be joking. The market has been plummeting since the crash. How could Mr. Zhou have made so much money?"

"If it's from shorting the Hong Kong stock index futures?" Lin Muqing asked.

"If it's shorting the index, it's profitable, but with such a steep decline, it's impossible to place such trades!" Cao Haiyang said.

"Then what about before the crash?" Lin Muqing asked.

This question left everyone gasping. They stared at Zhou Ming, speechless.

Seeing their reactions, Zhou Ming took over, saying, "So, through my actions, I've shown that nothing is impossible in this world."

"But that only proves Mr. Zhou's investment acumen. It doesn't guarantee that our fund will be profitable," Cao Haiyang said cautiously, his tone much softer than before.

Zhou Ming smiled slightly, "As I said, nothing is impossible, including a capital-protected fund. Now, let our new general manager, Wang Yunlong, explain our new fund to you. Let's welcome him with applause."

Zhou Ming led the applause. Wang Yunlong thanked Zhou Ming and then said, "Understanding a capital-protected fund is not difficult. Most of our fund's money will be invested in fixed-income securities like financial and government bonds. A small portion, including the interest from these bonds, will be invested in higher-risk areas like futures and forex. Since most of our fund's money ensures returns, we can guarantee the fund is fully protected regardless of market changes."

Wang Yunlong's explanation amazed everyone. Cao Haiyang asked in disbelief, "I've been in the fund industry for many years and never heard of such a fund combination. Is this strategy developed by Manager Wang?"

"No," Wang Yunlong shook his head, "This plan was created by Mr. Zhou."

Hearing this, Cao Haiyang looked at Zhou Ming with deep respect and said, "Mr. Zhou is truly a financial genius. To come up with such a fund combination, it's no wonder you made 20 million during the crash. With this method, you've solved the fund protection issue that has plagued financial geniuses for over a century. Mr. Zhou, you will surely be recorded in the annals of fund history!"