75 Trillion in Deposits Seek a Way Out: "Fixed Income+" Becomes the New Favorite, Individual Investors Turn into the Main Growth Force

Source: 21st Century Business Herald Author: Pang Huawei

“An average of 1 billion yuan flows in daily.” At the beginning of 2026, a scene of the flagship product’s prosperity, as described by a “Fixed Income+” fund manager, is being simultaneously played out by many fund companies.

Against the backdrop of deposit interest rates entering the “single-digit” range and bank wealth management yields continuing to decline, a large-scale migration of residents’ deposits, totaling up to 75 trillion yuan, is unfolding. One of the core battlegrounds for this flood of funds is the “Fixed Income+” product line under public funds. This time, the incremental capital is shifting from institutions to ordinary individual investors.

“Fixed Income+” Gaining Favor

The fund issuance market in 2026 presents a different scene from previous years.

Wind data shows that as of March 9, 2026, 31 newly established “Fixed Income+” funds have a total issuance scale of 35.9 billion yuan. Among them, six products, including Southern YiXiang Stable Profit, E Fund Yue Heng Stable, Bank of China Zhaoxiang 6-Month Holding, and Southern Huiyi Stable Profit, have initial offerings exceeding 2 billion yuan. Notably, Southern YiXiang Stable Profit reached nearly 5 billion yuan. The new bond funds issued this year amount to about 40.7 billion yuan, with over 70% belonging to “Fixed Income+” funds.

This momentum did not start suddenly in 2026. CICC data shows that by the end of 2025, the scale of “Fixed Income+” products continued to rise, with a total of 2,292 funds and an existing scale of 3 trillion yuan, up 9% month-on-month. Compared to the same period in 2024, the scale increased by 56%, surpassing the 2.7 trillion yuan peak in 2022, setting a new high.

The resurgence of “Fixed Income+” is no accident. Reviewing the past five years, “Fixed Income+” has experienced ups and downs. CITIC Securities divides it into three phases: the scale growth bonus period from 2020 to 2021, the market adjustment period from 2022 to 2024, and the recognition recovery period since 2025.

An industry insider told reporters that in the first three quarters of 2025, many equity funds faced redemption waves, but the total holdings of funds did not decrease. “Most of the new funds went into ‘Fixed Income+’.” A sales staff member from a joint-stock bank revealed, “50% to 70% of monthly sales are ‘Fixed Income+’ products.”

In the fourth quarter of last year, bond funds also experienced a significant redemption wave. An industry analyst explained, “From the redemption structure at that time, pure bond funds were redeemed en masse, while mixed bond funds actually saw net subscriptions, reflecting investors’ pursuit of ‘Fixed Income+’ products—after risk appetite increased, there was a demand for higher yields.”

Since 2025, whether it was the redemption wave of equity funds or the concentrated redemption of pure bond funds, “Fixed Income+” has not been affected—instead, it has become a recipient of funds.

From Institution to Retail Dominance

More noteworthy than the scale growth is the change in the fund structure.

“Unlike in the past when institutional funds played the leading role, we clearly feel that ordinary individual investors are becoming the new main force in subscriptions,” said a person from a public fund market department.

CICC’s fixed income team research also pointed out this trend: entering 2026, retail funds—mainly from bank channels and internet channels—may become an important source of incremental funds for “Fixed Income+” funds. Among them, “drawn line” style “Fixed Income+” funds that emphasize good holding experience are expected to see a significant increase in market share.

Data from Jiashang Fund researcher Jiang Rui shows that individual holdings of biased hybrid bond funds account for nearly 80%, making them the absolute main force. Secondary bond funds and primary bond funds are still mainly held by institutions, but the proportion of individual investors is rapidly increasing.

“‘Fixed Income+’ funds’ individual investors have become the absolute main force in scale growth, accelerating the shift from institution-led to retail-led holder structures,” Jiang Rui pointed out.

Fangfang, an operator at Paimai.com Wealth Public Fund Products, also said that since the beginning of 2026, personal funds from banks and internet channels have continued to flow in, and individual investors are expected to replace institutions as the main subscribers.

She explained that looking ahead to 2026, institutional positions are already relatively high, and incremental demand may slow down. Meanwhile, low-risk preference funds such as bank wealth management and individual investors from banks and internet channels are relatively late to enter the market, which may become an important source of incremental growth for “Fixed Income+” funds in 2026.

The driving force behind this wealth migration is the large amount of low-interest deposits maturing simultaneously.

CICC estimates that in 2026, the scale of residents’ fixed-term deposits maturing will be about 75 trillion yuan, with about 67 trillion yuan of one-year or longer-term deposits maturing—an increase of 10 trillion yuan year-on-year, a 17% rise. Meanwhile, medium- and long-term fixed deposit rates have generally fallen below 1%. As residents’ deposits mature and interest rates decline, they are forced to seek alternatives. In this asset reallocation, “Fixed Income+” has become one of the core battlegrounds to absorb this flood of funds.

Who Attracts the Most Capital?

Behind the influx of funds is the trust built by “Fixed Income+” products through performance.

Jiang Rui introduced that as of March 9, the average return of “Fixed Income+” funds was 1.28%, outperforming pure bond funds.

Wind data shows that as of March 9, four “Fixed Income+” funds in the market had a year-to-date return exceeding 10%, including ICBC Add Wealth A, Golden Eagle Annual Postal Benefit One-Year Holding A, China Merchants An Ding Balanced 1-Year Holding A, and Huashang Ruixin Fixed Term Open.

Looking at a three-year long-term cycle, Wind data shows that among 1,380 “Fixed Income+” funds with complete three-year performance records, 1,341 achieved positive returns, with a positive rate of over 97%. Among them, 55 products achieved returns exceeding 30%, with Hua’an Zhiliang A reaching as high as 76.36%.

“‘Fixed Income+’ funds have continued steady growth this year,” Jiang Rui said. The reasons are twofold: on one hand, low interest rates are prompting residents to move their deposits; “Fixed Income+” funds, with moderate volatility, have become an alternative asset for savings. On the other hand, A-share corporate profits are recovering, and sectors like technology and cyclicals offer space for increased yields, while the convertible bond market also plays an important role in “plus” returns, supporting performance.

It is worth noting that high-yield “Fixed Income+” funds mostly belong to the “track” high-volatility category.

For example, Hua’an Zhiliang A, as of March 9, has an year-to-date return of 8.79% and a three-year return of 76.36%. The fund holds about 40% in stocks, mainly in tech stocks like optical modules and storage chips; Fuguo Jiuli Stable A has a three-year return of 61.09%, with about 26% in stocks at the end of last year, mainly in pharmaceuticals, technology, and resources.

CICC’s research shows that these “track” style “Fixed Income+” funds, which make relatively clear bets on sectors or styles in stocks, saw more prominent growth in 2025, with significantly higher growth rates than “Fixed Income+” funds with balanced sector allocations.

Looking at the full-year performance of 2025, benefiting from the rebound in the equity market, the relatively high-positioned “Fixed Income+” categories performed well: convertible bond funds had a median return of 22.4%; biased hybrid FOFs and hybrid funds returned 6.1% and 5.5%, respectively; secondary bond funds returned 4.6%; primary bond funds around 2.0%.

On the risk side, the average maximum drawdown of “Fixed Income+” products in 2025 was about 2.1%, with the median drawdown of primary bond funds at only 0.9%; secondary bond funds about 1.9%; convertible bond funds about 8.8%.

As “Fixed Income+” products become more diverse, “drawn line” low-volatility products are also favored by conservative investors.

What is a “drawn line” product? It refers to products with smooth net value curves, clear drawdown boundaries, and predictable holding experiences. They rarely top the performance charts but hold the line during market corrections, allowing holders to “hold steady and sleep well.”

Jiang Rui pointed out that the core goal of “drawn line” “Fixed Income+” funds is to provide a good holding experience; the “track” type aims to generate excess returns. Currently, most “Fixed Income+” clients have low risk tolerance, so “drawn line” products are more popular. However, as investors gain a deeper understanding, those with some risk capacity and seeking higher yields will also choose “track” products.

Fangfang also said that, based on fund preferences, in 2025, structural opportunities led to a large influx of institutional funds seeking flexibility, making “track” products with clear sector bets grow more rapidly. By 2026, with about 75 trillion yuan of residents’ long-term deposits maturing, these funds entering the market may favor “drawn line” “Fixed Income+” funds.

For investor allocation, Jiang Rui recommends that the explosive growth of “Fixed Income+” in 2025 was due to the resonance of capital demand and market environment. This logic will continue in 2026, but performance differentiation will become normal. Going forward, the core indicators to distinguish products will be bond stability, equity stock-picking ability, and drawdown control. Investors should choose products matching their risk preferences—low-volatility secondary bond funds for conservative investors, biased hybrid funds with convertible bonds for aggressive investors—and pay attention to holding period strategies to reduce timing risks.

Fangfang suggests that, amid maturing residents’ deposits and low interest rates, the scale of “Fixed Income+” funds may continue to expand, with individual funds becoming an important incremental force in the market. In investment allocation, a “core-satellite” strategy can be adopted: allocate most funds to low-volatility “drawn line” products as the core to seek steady returns, while using a small portion for high-elasticity “track” products as satellites to pursue excess returns. In terms of timing, use dollar-cost averaging and phased building to smooth volatility, avoid chasing high-flying sector products, and focus on long-term holding.