The "Three-Step" Fee Reduction for Funds Shows Significant Results

The “Action Plan for Promoting the High-Quality Development of Public Funds” calls for steadily reducing the costs for fund investors. In recent years, the public fund industry has successively promoted the implementation of fee reforms across three stages, from management fees and custody fees to stock trading commissions, and then to subscription fees, redemption fees, sales service fees, and client maintenance fees, achieving substantive progress. From 2022 to 2025, the weighted average comprehensive fee rate of non-money market public funds has decreased from 1.41% to 0.93%. At the same time, the revenue pressure caused by fee reductions in public funds is also pushing the industry to transform and develop. Recently, public fund institutions have carried out comprehensive reforms across multiple dimensions such as assessment systems, sales models, operating models, and fee structures, with some leading institutions gaining valuable experience in innovative floating fee rate products and fund advisory services. Looking ahead, industry experts believe that index-based investing will develop in depth, and in a low-interest-rate environment, product design will show trends of globalization, diversification, and tool-based approaches. Fund sales will shift from being driven primarily by sales to being driven by service and performance, with concrete actions taken to enhance investors’ sense of gain. (China Securities Journal)