Newly launched wealth management products frequently face setbacks: Why are fixed-income products losing popularity?

◎Reporter Chen Jiayi

In recent days, multiple bank wealth management subsidiaries have released announcements stating that newly issued wealth management products failed to be issued because the subscription amount did not meet the minimum发行 size specified in the product prospectus. Among them, fixed-income wealth management products have become the worst “hit area” for a cold issuance.

Multiple industry insiders told the Shanghai Securities News that the above phenomenon is the combined result of multiple factors, including the supply side, demand side, distribution channels, and the overall market environment. In a low interest-rate environment, the return potential of fixed-income products has been compressed, greatly reducing their appeal to investors. In addition, wealth management products have serious homogenization; supply does not match investors’ demand, which also leads to cold product issuance.

In response to the above phenomenon, interviewees believe wealth management companies should proactively adapt to market changes and actively seek to change in areas such as optimizing product layouts, improving channel building, and strengthening investor follow-up and companionship.

Several wealth management products failed to be issued during the year

On March 25, Xinyin Wealth Management issued an announcement stating that its Xinyin Wealth Management Anyingxiang Fixed Income Stable Yield No. 332 closed-end wealth management product did not成立 because the subscription amount could not reach the minimum size set in the product prospectus (RMB 5 million). According to the terms agreed in the prospectus, the product for this period would not be成立.

Shanghai Securities News’ reporter’s search of Wind data found that there are many cases where wealth management products fail to be issued due to the募集 size not meeting the minimum requirement. According to incomplete statistics, from the beginning of the year to date, there have been 36 wealth management products across the whole market that failed to be issued, a significant increase compared with the same period last year. Among them, most are fixed-income wealth management products, and many are closed-end products.

Data monitored by Puyig Standard shows: In February 2026, the whole market newly issued 2,018 wealth management products, a month-on-month decrease of 522. Of these, 397 were open-end products, with an average performance comparison benchmark of 1.85%; 1,621 were closed-end products, with an average performance comparison benchmark of 2.35%.

In the stock (existing) market as well, many wealth management products have issued announcements to terminate early. For example, on March 24, Ping An Wealth Management released an announcement stating that, after comprehensive assessment of the product’s actual operation, in accordance with the relevant provisions in the wealth management product prospectus, it will terminate early four of its fixed-income wealth management products on March 31, 2026. In early March, Bank of Communications Wealth Management? (Boc?)? released an announcement stating that, given that the existing scale of its three wealth management products is relatively small, to protect investors’ interests, it decided to terminate early the above three products’份额 on March 11, 2026, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the product prospectus.

Decreased appeal of income levels

In the view of the interviewees, the frequent “failures” in the issuance of fixed-income wealth management products are the result of multiple factors acting together, including the market environment, investors’ demand, product design, and industry competition.

As market interest rates fall, the space for investment returns of fixed-income wealth management products has been compressed. “Recently, many bank wealth management products have lowered their performance comparison benchmarks. For investors, the appeal of the current return levels is indeed quite limited.” A bank wealth management investment manager told Shanghai Securities News.

When investors’ demand does not match product supply, it further intensifies the cold response to wealth management products. “The increasing number of cases where wealth management products fail to raise funds reflects a mismatch between investors’ risk preferences and the supply of products.” Liupeng Yang, a researcher at China Postal Savings Bank, told Shanghai Securities News. The decline in deposit interest rates has pushed funds to seek higher returns; investors are more sensitive to net value fluctuations, especially in an environment where multiple classes of assets have recently fallen. Investors hold a wait-and-see attitude toward newly issued products. Closed-end fixed-income products have poor liquidity and long terms, making them less compatible with current investors’ demand for flexibility.

In addition, serious product homogenization and insufficient core competitiveness are also important reasons why some products fail to raise funds. Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst for the financial industry at Bowen Consulting, told Shanghai Securities News that in today’s wealth management market, product homogenization is obvious. Coupled with investors’ increased emphasis on liquidity, investors’ acceptance of products with longer lock-up periods declines. At the same time, insufficient channel promotion and inadequate customer fit jointly lead to these products experiencing cold demand.

From scale expansion to stock (existing) games

The “Annual Report on China’s Banking Wealth Management Market (2025)” shows that as of the end of 2025, the outstanding scale of bank wealth management products reached RMB 3.329 trillion, up 11.15% from the beginning of the year. Across the whole market, there are 46,300 products outstanding, and 97.09% are fixed-income products.

Although the wealth management market continues to expand, not all products will “sell well.” This uneven pattern of hot and cold reflects structural changes in the wealth management market.

“The wealth management market is shifting from scale expansion to games over the existing stock. Investors are becoming more rational, and the supply side of products is also moving away from extensive issuance.” Wang Pengbo believes that from the perspective of supply and demand, failure to meet raising targets may become a norm in the industry. Products designed inappropriately and issuance rhythms that do not match market conditions are more likely to result in not meeting募集 requirements.

How should wealth management companies respond to this change? The interviewees believe that wealth management companies must continue to focus on adapting to market changes and exert efforts in areas such as optimizing product layouts, improving channel construction, and strengthening investor companionship.

Wang Pengbo believes that wealth management companies should optimize product structures, increase open-end and liquidity-friendly designs, and at the same time enhance their investment research and portfolio research capabilities, create differentiated return characteristics, and issue products in a targeted way that fits customer needs. In addition, they should control the issuance pace, strengthen coordination across channels and investor companionship, rebuild investors’ trust with steady performance, and promote stable development of the market.

Su Xiaorui, a senior research analyst at Suzhi Zhiyan, suggests: On the one hand, wealth management companies can strengthen asset allocation and develop from “fixed income as the main” to “diversified and balanced.” On the other hand, they can also strengthen channel expansion and establish a wealth management full lifecycle service system, promoting fund retention and increasing customer stickiness by relying on professional investment research capabilities and reliable investor companionship.

(Editor: Qian Xiaorui)

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