Public fund new issuance in the first two months exceeds 210 billion yuan, with both scale and number reaching the highest levels in nearly four years for the same period.

The Chinese New Year of the Year of the Horse begins, and publicly offered fund issuance markets are the first to welcome a “strong start.”

Latest data from Wind shows that, as of February 27, 2026, the number of newly issued public funds this year has reached 230 (counted by the subscription start date), and the total issuance scale has surpassed 210 billion yuan (counted by the fund establishment date). Compared with previous periods, this is the highest level for the same period in nearly four years.

“Newly issued fund size this year has hit the highest level for the same period in nearly four years. The core benefit is that the equity market’s earnings effect is showing up. Equity-based funds are performing well, which has helped investors’ risk appetite rebound, accelerating the shift of funds from savings to equity assets.” Wu Zewei, a research fellow at China Merchants Bank? (Suzhou?)—stated, “The capital market is undergoing profound structural changes. The channels for transforming residents’ savings into investments are being continuously broadened, bringing a considerable amount of incremental capital to the market.” Newly issued funds have shifted from being dominated by the bond market to being led by equities. The share of passive index products and ETFs has risen sharply, reflecting increased market effectiveness. Investors prefer more transparent, low-cost tools, and the capital market ecosystem is becoming more diverse and mature.

Actively Managed Equity Funds Issued in Close Succession

The start of 2026 in China’s A-share market has featured index consolidation with an upward trend and rising trading volumes, and the fund issuance market has also maintained a hot momentum.

Wind’s statistical data comparisons show that the number of newly issued funds in the first two months of 2026 increased by 29.94% to 177 compared with the same period of 2025, by 8.49% to 212 compared with the same period of 2024, and by 21.69% to 189 compared with the same period of 2023.

What draws attention is that after the Spring Festival holiday, the issuance heat of newly launched funds further warmed up, forming a wave of concentrated issuance.

According to Wind statistics, on the first trading day of the Year of the Horse (February 24), 18 new funds launched subscriptions in a concentrated manner, covering multiple types including actively managed equity, passive index, bond funds, and FOFs. In the first post-holiday trading week (from February 24 to February 27), the number of new products planned to be launched was as high as 36. The issuance pace was noticeably faster than the same period in prior years. Some funds even shortened their fund-raising period to just 1 day, highlighting fund companies’ quick grasp of market opportunities and investors’ active participation.

In terms of product structure, the newly issued funds at the start of 2026 show a distinct feature of “equities as the main focus, with diverse supplementation,” which aligns closely with the current structural market opportunities in China’s A-share market. Specifically, equity products (stock funds + hybrid funds) became the main force in issuance, accounting for 71.37% of the number and 60.09% of the scale. Among them, passive investing continued to heat up. A total of 156 stock ETFs and passive index funds were issued, with a scale of 88.09B yuan. They span multiple popular sub-sectors such as nonferrous metals, batteries, dividend quality, and Hong Kong stock internet themes, providing investors with low-cost, high-efficiency market allocation tools.

The effect of industry leaders was especially prominent in this issuance boom. Among them, 广发基金 (GF Fund) ranked first with 13 products and an issuance scale of nearly 24 billion yuan. 易方达基金 (E Fund), 景顺长城基金 (Invesco Great Wall), and others followed closely, and their issuance scales were all over 200B yuan.

wind data screenshot

In Wu Zewei’s view, the clearly evident pattern of head-of-the-market effects in the current newly issued fund market is an inevitable result of the industry’s movement toward mature, market-oriented competition. It also signals that the public fund industry is fully moving from the era of license dividends in the past to the era of capability dividends. Although this pattern intensifies industry differentiation, it also improves resource allocation. Fierce competition forces all institutions to place greater emphasis on enhancing professional capabilities, ultimately driving the industry’s high-quality development.

He also pointed out that head fund companies have clear advantages in the newly issued landscape. Leveraging brand influence, channel trust, and mature investment research systems, they can deploy efficiently across equity, index, and other product categories and quickly adapt to market demand. Medium and smaller fund companies should take a differentiated route, focusing on niche areas such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and quant strategies to go deep, building standout performance. At the same time, they can leverage internet channels to precisely reach target customer segments, constructing core competitiveness in specific sub-sectors.

Newly Issued Scale Exceeding 92.41B Yuan Within the Year

As an important source of incremental capital for the capital market, the issuance heat of newly issued funds directly reflects market sentiment and capital flows.

Regarding issuance scale, this year it has already reached 210.2 billion yuan. Compared with 149 billion yuan in the same period of 2025, 92.411 billion yuan in the same period of 2024, 126.8 billion yuan in the same period of 2023, and 151.6 billion yuan in the same period of 2022, there has been substantial growth. Over four years, the scale has nearly doubled, and the trend of incremental capital entering the market is evident.

The concentrated issuance of actively managed equity funds has brought plenty of incremental capital to the Year of the Horse’s start for the capital market.

According to Wind statistics, there are a total of 78 actively managed equity funds established during 2026 within the year, with a combined fund-raising scale of approximately 126.8B yuan.

Looking at the details, during the year there are 24 actively managed equity funds with a fund-raising scale exceeding 1 billion yuan. Among them, 广发研究智选 (GF Research Select) ranks first with a fundraising scale of 75.23B yuan. 华宝优势产业 (China Asset Management Advantage Industry) and 银华智享集 (Yinhua Zhixiang Ji?) follow closely with fund-raising scales exceeding 5 billion yuan. In addition, the four funds—大摩沪港深科技 (JPMorgan? Hong Kong-Shanghai-Shenzhen Technology), 广发成长回报 (GF Growth Return), 易方达平衡精选 (E Fund Balanced Selection), and 景顺长城景气驱动 (Invesco Great Wall Prosperity-Driven)—each have fundraising scales exceeding 3 billion yuan.

If we add the 28 funds that are currently being issued and those that are about to be issued, actively managed equity funds could bring in funding on the order of one trillion yuan to enter the market.

Wu Zewei, a research fellow at Suzhou? Bank, expects that in 2026 the equity category will still dominate the newly issued fund market. The issuance pace is tightly linked to the market’s earnings effect, and a slow bull market will continue to drive residents’ savings to enter the market. In terms of product structure, the heat in passive investing will continue, and featured index products will be a key focus of layout. Fixed-income plus strategies will also meet opportunities at the same time. As the head-of-industry effect intensifies, smaller institutions will take a route of niche, characterized development. Overall, the market is shifting from “weight” to “quality,” focusing more on performance and the experience of holding, moving toward high-quality development.

By / Xu Nannan Editor / Xu Nan

(Editor: Xu Nannan)

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