Popular QDII funds continue to lower subscription limits.

Our reporter Fang Lingchen

QDII (Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor) funds are tightening subscription thresholds across the board, with multiple products lowering subscription limits and some even directly suspending subscriptions, effectively closing their doors to new investors.

On June 25, E Fund Management issued an announcement stating that starting June 25, it will adjust the large subscription business restrictions for its E Fund Global Growth Select Mixed (QDII). Specifically, the cumulative subscription (including regular fixed investments) of Class A RMB shares or Class C RMB shares of the fund by a single fund account across all sales institutions on a single day must not exceed RMB 10.

The reporter noted that the fund had previously issued announcements adjusting large subscription business restrictions in January, February, and May of this year. Since late January, the subscription limit for RMB shares of the fund has been reduced from RMB 500 to RMB 50, RMB 20, and now to RMB 10.

The repeated tightening of subscription limits is a true reflection of the current situation for many QDII funds. A public fund institution insider told the reporter, "Some popular products have tight quotas, and the temporarily released subscription quotas are quickly sold out as soon as they become available."

Since June, more than 30 QDII funds have issued announcements adjusting large subscription business restrictions or suspending large subscriptions, with some products directly suspending subscriptions. Wind data shows that as of June 25, among the 334 QDII funds in the entire market, 123 products are in a state of suspended large subscriptions, and 38 products are in a state of suspended subscriptions.

According to the announcements, protecting the interests of fund share holders and ensuring the stable operation of funds are the main reasons why fund managers frequently impose purchase restrictions or "close the door to new investors" on their QDII funds.

Geshang Fund researcher Guan Xiaomin told Securities Daily, "As market attention on high-prosperity overseas industries increases, investors' willingness for cross-border asset allocation continues to heat up. As an important channel for ordinary investors to participate in global asset allocation, QDII funds are highly sought after by investors. Some products' quotas cannot meet market demand. To protect investor interests, multiple QDII funds have implemented purchase restrictions or suspended subscriptions."

At the same time, compared to other funds investing in domestic markets, the daily operations of QDII funds are also constrained by the trading hours of overseas markets. For example, on June 24, China Merchants Fund issued an announcement stating that due to June 26 being a holiday and non-trading day for major overseas investment markets, it will suspend the subscription and redemption business of its China Merchants Lianan Emerging Asia Select ETF (QDII). The relevant business will resume on June 29.

The scarcity of over-the-counter QDII fund shares has driven a massive influx of capital into on-exchange cross-border ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), thereby pushing up the premiums in the secondary market for cross-border ETFs. In response, public fund institutions have frequently warned of the premium risk in the secondary market trading prices of their cross-border ETFs. On June 25 alone, multiple public fund institutions, including E Fund Management, China Asset Management, Southern Fund, and Huatai-PineBridge Fund, warned of premium risks in the secondary market trading prices of their cross-border ETFs. Wind data shows that as of the close on June 25, the on-exchange premium rates for some Nasdaq 100 ETFs exceeded 10%.

For ordinary investors, trading at high premiums often hides potential risks. Guan Xiaomin stated that ordinary investors must strictly adhere to the premium rate red line. Once a fund shows a significant premium, investors need to raise their risk awareness. If the premium rate climbs to a high range, investors must avoid blindly entering the market to chase gains and prevent losses from price corrections. In terms of specific product selection, investors should invest based on their own risk preferences and allocation needs, following the investment philosophy of long-term allocation and diversified deployment. For some restricted funds that match their preferences, they can choose to set up regular fixed investments in different funds tracking the same index.

(Editor: Xu Nannan)

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