Over 1,600 funds distributed dividends totaling 53.1 billion in the first quarter, with bond funds becoming the absolute main force

Securities Times reporter Wang Minghong

In the first quarter of 2026, mutual fund markets once again delivered generous “red envelopes” to unit holders. Using the dividend distribution date as the statistical reference, more than 1,600 funds across the market (with share accounting separated, same below) implemented dividends, with a total amount exceeding RMB 53.12 billion. Among them, large-cap broad-based ETF products and high-performing equity funds were “generous,” while bond funds took an absolute lead in the number of distributions.

In terms of the absolute dividend amounts, the top three on the dividend leaderboard were all large-cap broad-based index ETF products. Among them, Huatai-PineBridge’s CSI 300 ETF, which currently has the largest managed scale among ETF products in China, ranked first with approximately RMB 9.811 billion in dividends. E Fund’s CSI 300 ETF and Southern’s CSI 500 ETF ranked second and third, with approximately RMB 4.591 billion and RMB 1.161 billion in dividends, respectively. After securing considerable returns, these large-scale funds all realized profit allocation through dividend distributions.

In addition, the dividend size of index funds such as Southern’s CSI 1000 ETF and Huatai-PineBridge’s Dividend ETF also ranked among the top. Overall, passive index funds (including ETFs) performed prominently in dividend distributions in the first quarter. Several dividend-focused products, such as the Shanghai Dividend (510880) ETF and the CSI Dividend Index Enhanced, also actively participated in dividend payments, further highlighting the growing activity of passive products in this area.

Long-term pure bond funds are one of the categories with the most number of dividend-distributing funds. Although the dividend amount per single product is generally lower than that of top equity ETFs, thanks to the large number of products, their combined total dividend amount is substantial. Among them, long-term pure bond funds had as many as 496 dividend-distributing funds, making them the category with the largest count among all dividend-distributing funds, reflecting the characteristics of bond funds pursuing steady returns and regular dividend distributions. For example, Bosera’s Fu’an Pure Bond 3-month fund ranked near the top with a single dividend distribution of RMB 655 million; Shiwanda Loyshin’s An Tai Fu Li 3-year fixed-open A also distributed dividends exceeding RMB 470 million.

Although they have fewer funds by count than bond funds, the total dividend amounts of stock-biased hybrid funds (100) and flexible allocation funds (95) were also RMB 3.620 billion and RMB 3.487 billion, respectively.

Besides the total dividend amount, the dividend payout ratios of some funds are also quite noteworthy. Among them, Xingquan Sustainable Investment 3-year fixed-open topped the list with a dividend payout ratio of 19.45%. Several stock-biased hybrid and long-term pure bond funds, such as 宝盈策略增长 (13.86%), China Europe New Trend (166001) A (12.64%), and China International Trust and Investment’s Shunxin (12.44%), also all had dividend payout ratios above 12%. In equity funds, several funds such as Southern Active Allocation, Penghua Value Advantage, and Great Wall & Longsheng Aerospace and Marine Equipment A had dividend payout ratios above 10%, bringing investors substantial profit allocations.

It is worth noting that in the first quarter of 2026, some funds had already implemented dividends more than once. Funds from China Europe Fund, Xinhua Fund, Bosera Fund, and others had multiple products that paid dividends multiple times within the quarter. For instance, Xinhua’s Preferred Dividend A distributed dividends as many as 7 times in the first quarter; Bosera’s Zhixuan Quantitative Multi-Factor C and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ruihong’s 3-month fixed-open funds also distributed dividends 3 times. This approach of multiple, phased dividend distributions provides investors seeking stable cash flow with more flexible options for return allocation.

A public fund practitioner in South China noted that in the first quarter, bond funds became the main force behind dividend distributions, which is closely related to the relatively stable current interest-rate environment and steady performance in the bond market. Hybrid funds and stock funds, although they had larger dividend amounts, had fewer dividend distribution occurrences. For investors, fund dividend distributions are not only a reflection of returns, but also a demonstration of the fund companies’ sense of responsibility to investors. When selecting funds, investors can pay attention to the fund’s historical dividend distribution records, the stability of its dividend payments, and the fund manager’s dividend distribution strategy. At the same time, it should be noted that dividend distribution is not the only standard for measuring whether a fund is good or bad; investors should also consider the fund’s long-term performance, risk control capability, and investment strategy in a comprehensive manner.

(Editor: Li Yue)

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