Zhang received a scholarship to Renmin University of China, where he received his B.A. in Economics in 1994.[1] In 2002, he received an MBA and M.A. in International Relations from Yale.[3] Zhang translated David Swensen's book, Pioneering Portfolio Management, An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment (2000), into Chinese while in school and created new Mandarin words for "endowment" and "fiduciary."[2] During his studies, Zhang also worked at the Yale University Endowment.[4] He was an investment analyst for a global emerging markets fund that covered South Africa, Southeast Asia and China. After this, he was the chief representative to China[5] for the New York Stock Exchange and he established their Hong Kong and Beijing offices.[5]