End-of-quarter effect emerges; asset management and trust establishment market shows significant recovery

At the end of March, driven by the seasonal concentration of funds and projects landing toward quarter end, the asset management trust market saw a phased recovery, with both standardized (on-balance-sheet) and non-standard businesses warming up in tandem. Products with relatively clear return expectations and whose underlying assets are relatively transparent attracted capital, especially fixed-income products, which maintained a high share among newly established products, leading to a significant rebound in the establishment scale of standardized trusts.

According to data from the YII Financial Trust Research Institute, from March 23 to March 29, the establishment scale of asset management trusts increased sharply by 68.06% quarter-on-quarter, with daily average establishment scale reaching RMB 3.119 billion, as large-scale products were concentrated and rolled out.

Specifically, the non-standard trust market saw a notable increase in both establishment scale and number of newly established products. A total of 163 non-standard trust products were established, up 19.85% quarter-on-quarter; the disclosed establishment scale was RMB 8.423 billion, up 20.58% quarter-on-quarter. Standardized trusts also achieved a strong recovery in scale, with an establishment scale of RMB 7.174 billion, up more than twofold quarter-on-quarter. From the perspective of product allocation, among the standardized trusts established during this period, allocation-related business accounted for 12%, while fixed-income business accounted for as much as 86%.

Yang Tao, a researcher at the YII Financial Trust Research Institute, said that this market rebound was driven primarily by the quarter-end effect. For standardized trusts, amid volatility and divergence in the equity market and a backdrop of shrinking trading volume, the bond market stabilized and steadied, and liquidity conditions remained stable and somewhat loose. Capital’s risk appetite declined on a temporary basis, highlighting the allocation value of fixed-income products with relatively certain returns, thereby supporting the rebound in standardized trust scale. Non-standard trusts were pushed by multiple factors, including the concentrated release of liquidity arrangements by enterprises toward quarter end, needs for operational turnover, and debt optimization requirements, ultimately causing both quantity and pricing to rise across the non-standard market.

A wealth of information and precise analysis—on the Sina Finance APP

Responsible editor: Cao Ruitong