The intense work pressure and the high performance targets seem to be slowly taking the sheen off the high-profile fund managing business in the country, especially at a time when the capital markets have slowly emerged from hibernation.

The deaths of two top fund managers recently from health complications have trained the spotlight on the health hazards associated with the profession.

Industry sources admitted that the huge workload and the pressure on achieving better financial results have increased the stress levels for fund managers and forced many of them to push themselves beyond their limits.

Yang Jun, 44, president of Everyoung Capital Management Company and a doyen of the private fund management industry, died of liver cancer on June 22. A couple of weeks later Sun Yanqun, 41, chief investment officer at JP Morgan Asset Management's China fund venture, passed away from a digestive tract hemorrhage-induced shock.

Though no fingers are being pointed, industry insiders are of the view that the two fund managers paid the price for intense overwork over a prolonged period of time.

Though Sun had been suffering from stomach-related problems for some years, the extreme professional stress proved fatal, according to a long-time colleague at the fund venture between JP Morgan Asset Management and Shanghai International Trust.

"I usually work at least 60-70 hours a week and travel for work every half a month, which is quite common for fund managers," said a leading Beijing-based fund manager.

"Unlike others, there is no weekend for me, as I have to keep myself abreast with market developments and take investment decisions that can maximize returns for the fund and investors," he said.

Highlighting the long work hours, an investment officer with a Shenzhen-based fund said he often got research notes from analysts late in the night. This in turn ensured that he had to spend long hours way into the night to analyze the gist of the reports to plan investment decisions.