The scale of newly issued public funds in the first two months exceeded 210 billion yuan, with both the scale and number hitting a four-year high for the same period.

At the beginning of the Year of the Horse, the public fund issuance market has taken the lead in achieving a "strong start."

According to the latest data from Wind, as of February 27, 2026, the number of newly issued public funds this year has reached 230 (based on subscription start dates), with total issuance scale surpassing 210 billion yuan (based on fund establishment dates). Compared with previous periods, both figures hit a four-year high for the same period.

"The scale of newly issued funds this year hitting a four-year high for the same period is mainly due to the visible profit effects in the equity market, the improved performance of equity-oriented funds, which has driven up investor risk appetite, and accelerated capital flows from savings to equity assets," said Wu Zewei, a special researcher at Sushang Bank. The capital market is undergoing profound structural changes, with channels for converting household savings into investments continuously broadening, bringing significant incremental funds to the market. New fund issuance has shifted from debt-market dominance to equity dominance, with a substantial increase in the share of passive index products and ETFs, reflecting enhanced market efficiency, investor preference for transparent, low-cost tools, and a more diversified and mature capital market ecosystem.

Active Equity Funds Launched Intensively

At the start of 2026, the A-share market showed a volatile upward trend with increased trading volume, and the public fund issuance market continued its hot momentum.

A comparison of Wind statistics shows that the number of newly issued funds in the first two months of 2026 increased by 29.94% from 177 in the same period of 2025, by 8.49% from 212 in the same period of 2024, and by 21.69% from 189 in the same period of 2023.

Notably, the heat of new fund issuance further intensified after the Spring Festival holiday, forming a wave of intensive launches.

According to Wind statistics, on the first trading day of the Year of the Horse (February 24), 18 new funds simultaneously started subscriptions, covering various types including active equity, passive index, bond, and FOF. In the first trading week after the holiday (February 24 to February 27), as many as 36 new products planned to launch, with the issuance pace significantly faster than in previous years. Some funds even shortened their fundraising period to one day, highlighting fund companies' rapid capture of market opportunities and investors' active participation.

From a product structure perspective, the new fund issuance at the start of 2026 shows a clear "equity-oriented, diversified supplement" characteristic, highly aligned with the current structural market of A-shares. Specifically, equity products (stock + hybrid) have become the main issuance force, accounting for 71.37% in quantity and 60.09% in scale. Among them, passive investment continues to heat up, with a total of 156 stock ETFs and passive index funds issued, totaling 88.09B yuan, covering multiple popular niche tracks such as non-ferrous metals, batteries, dividend quality, and Hong Kong-listed internet, providing investors with low-cost, high-efficiency market allocation tools.

The head effect in the industry is particularly significant in this issuance wave. Among them, GF Fund leads with 13 products totaling nearly 24 billion yuan in issuance scale. E Fund Management and Invesco Great Wall follow closely, each with issuance scales exceeding 126.8B yuan.

Screenshot of Wind data

In Wu Zewei's view, the current significant head effect in the new fund issuance market is an inevitable result of the maturation of industry market competition, and also marks the industry's comprehensive transition from the past era of license dividends to an era of capability dividends. Although this pattern intensifies industry divergence, it also optimizes resource allocation. Fierce competition forces all institutions to pay more attention to improving professional capabilities, ultimately promoting high-quality development of the entire industry.

He also pointed out that leading fund companies have prominent advantages in the new issuance landscape, relying on brand influence, channel trust, and mature investment research systems to efficiently deploy equity, index, and other products, quickly adapting to market demand. Small and medium-sized fund companies should take a differentiated route, focusing on niche tracks such as technology, healthcare, and quantitative investing to cultivate distinctive performance. At the same time, they can leverage internet channels to precisely reach customer groups and build core competitiveness in segmented fields.

New Issuance Scale Exceeds 200 Billion Yuan This Year

As a major source of incremental funds in the capital market, the issuance heat of new funds directly reflects market sentiment and capital flows.

In terms of issuance scale, it has reached 210.2 billion yuan so far this year, significantly increasing from 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. The scale has nearly doubled over four years, indicating a clear trend of incremental capital entering the market.

The intensive issuance of active equity funds has brought a lot of incremental capital to the capital market at the beginning of the Year of the Horse.

According to Wind statistics, there are 78 active equity funds established within the year 2026, with total fundraising scale approximately 75.23B yuan.

Specifically, 24 active equity funds have raised over 1 billion yuan each this year. Among them, GF Research Intelligent Selection raised 7.22B yuan, temporarily ranking first, followed by China Fortune Advantage Industry and Invesco Great Wall Wisdom Collection with scales exceeding 5 billion yuan. Additionally, four funds—Morgan Stanley HSBC Shanghai-Hong Kong-Shenzhen Technology, GF Growth Return, E Fund Balanced Select, and Invesco Great Wall Prosperity Drive—raised over 3 billion yuan each.

If including the 28 funds currently being issued or about to be issued, active equity funds are expected to bring about 100 billion yuan of market-entry capital.

Wu Zewei, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, predicts that in 2026, the new fund issuance market will still be dominated by equity products, with issuance pace and scale highly tied to market profit effects. A bull market with mild fluctuations will continue to drive household savings into the market. In terms of product structure, passive investment continues to heat up, with characteristic index products becoming key layout points, and "fixed income +" also faces opportunities. The industry's head effect intensifies, and small and medium-sized institutions will take a niche, differentiated path. The overall market shifts from focusing on quantity to quality, paying more attention to performance and holding experience, moving towards high-quality development.

Article/Xu Nannan Editor/Xu Nan

(Editor: Xu Nannan)

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