Alma Maters of China's 10-Billion-Yuan Fund Founders

The alma maters of the founders behind China's 10-billion-yuan private funds are out — do you see any of your alumni here?

By major, mathematics (including statistics and financial mathematics), computer science (including electronic information and software), and physics account for the largest share. But there are also liberal arts majors (political economics) and business majors on the list.

By region, Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang lead the way. Central China is represented only by Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, while western China has just two schools on the list: Sichuan University and Xi'an Jiaotong University.

By ranking, Tsinghua and Peking University (Qingbei) dominate, followed by other elite schools such as Zhejiang University, Fudan University, and MIT.

Does this data mean that if you didn't go to a top school, you're not cut out to mine for alpha? Of course not. The list also includes several non-Project 985 universities. Clearly, survivorship bias is at play here: for a few outstanding funds, the founders' undergraduate schools may be less prestigious, so their schools might not have made it into the statistics. And after all, the data only covers founders of top-tier funds — as leaders, it's only natural they started from a higher baseline.

As the classic line from Ratatouille goes:

Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere

Spot any of your alumni? Come say hi!