20 Billion in Funds "Precision Bottom-Fishing"! Who Didn't Waste the Opportunity of the Major Crash?

“Greed in Panic,” those who bought the dip yesterday were rewarded by the market.

On March 24, the A-share market bottomed out and rebounded. Although trading volume shrank, major core indices turned strongly positive again, with hundreds of stocks hitting the daily limit. In terms of ETFs, yesterday the Asia-Pacific markets experienced a “Black Monday,” with a short-term sharp decline. Market funds did not miss the opportunity to buy the dip, once again staging a bottom-fishing rally.

Between the decline and the rise, there are plenty of market highlights: on one hand, nearly 20 billion yuan of bottom-fishing funds made a strong comeback;

According to data from Caixin, the entire market ETF saw a net inflow of 19.4 billion yuan on March 23, defying the trend. Among them, broad-based ETFs became the top choice for bottom-fishing. The Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF led with a net inflow of over 3.7 billion yuan, while the Guoxin ETF on the Shanghai Composite and the Huaxia SSE 50 ETF saw net inflows of 1.82 billion and 1.58 billion yuan respectively; the Southern CSI 1000 ETF, Huaxia STAR Market 50 ETF, and E Fund ChiNext ETF all experienced net inflows exceeding 1 billion yuan.

On the other hand, who is driving the rally? Is it large funds entering the market? ETF trading activity reveals some signals.

Investors expecting large capital inflows may be disappointed. The A500 ETF led the market in trading volume, followed by the ChiNext ETF, STAR Market 50 ETF, and other broad-based indices. The Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF had a total daily trading volume of 3.784 billion yuan, nearly halving from the previous trading day’s 6.799 billion yuan.

The trading volume of the A500 ETF has not suddenly surged; since March, it has maintained high levels, with several ETFs each exceeding 10 billion yuan in daily turnover. At each quarter-end, top players in the A500 ETF compete fiercely for ranking.

Rightly timed! Nearly 20 billion yuan bought the dip, broad-based ETFs most favored

From the scale of capital inflows, the “big funds” market may still be on standby.

Looking at ETFs, the entire market saw a net inflow of 19.4 billion yuan, with broad-based ETFs accounting for 22.3 billion yuan, style and strategy ETFs netting 7 billion yuan, while sector and thematic ETFs experienced net outflows.

In the core broad-based category, the Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF led with a net inflow of over 3.7 billion yuan. The Guoxin SSE Composite ETF and Huaxia SSE 50 ETF saw net inflows of 1.82 billion and 1.58 billion yuan respectively; the Southern CSI 1000 ETF, Huaxia STAR Market 50 ETF, and E Fund ChiNext ETF all had net inflows exceeding 1 billion yuan.

Among the top ten ETFs by net inflow, besides the core broad-based ETFs like CSI 300 and SSE 50, the inclusion of the Guoxin SSE Composite ETF was somewhat unexpected.

In terms of index tracking, ETFs related to the CSI 300 index received nearly 6 billion yuan in net inflows yesterday, while ETFs tracking the Shanghai Composite and STAR Market 50 received 2.37 billion and 1.92 billion yuan respectively.

As of March 23, the latest size of the Guoxin SSE Composite ETF was 10.702 billion yuan. After the 2024 “924” rally, it has once again surpassed 10 billion. A public fund professional pointed out that during sharp declines, bottom-fishing funds tend to favor broad-based ETFs because historical experience shows that geopolitical conflicts usually follow a pattern of “short-term shocks—desensitization—return to fundamentals.” As panic emotions are released, the market rebounds quickly.

Additionally, gold-related thematic ETFs, non-ferrous metals ETFs, and chemical ETFs experienced some net outflows, but the declines were modest. The Huaxia Gold ETF had the largest outflow, totaling 1.2 billion yuan.

Is the market watching whether large funds are entering?

On March 23, the market experienced indiscriminate selling, reflecting liquidity squeeze caused by panic selling. The entire market is watching whether the national team-like stabilization funds will step in.

Eastern Red Asset Management noted that the operation of national team-like stabilization funds has become more mature, serving as a “ballast” in counter-cyclical adjustments. The capital repatriation in January was not a sign of exit but a cooling measure during market overheating, reflecting the role of “counter-cyclical regulation.” In the current volatile window, their stabilizing role is expected to be reactivated.

From ETF activity, the four giants dominate the broad-based ETF trading volume leaderboard.

Huatai-PineBridge’s A500 ETF had a daily trading volume of 7.401 billion yuan, leading the pack, with Huaxia, Southern, and Guotai A500 ETFs each exceeding 6 billion yuan in daily turnover.

With the seasonal quarter-end approaching, the familiar rhythm has returned, and various A500 ETF funds are once again engaged in a new round of quarterly ranking battles.

Since October 2025, when news broke that “each of the two exchanges will select one CSI A500 ETF for options inclusion,” the competition for A500 ETF rankings each quarter has been intense. However, as the news has yet to materialize, the competition has become even fiercer, with the ranking battle extending longer. From the last week of each quarter to now, since March, A500 ETF trading volume has been consistently dominant.

In terms of scale, the pattern is becoming clearer: four “small giants” are emerging, with two listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and two on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Huatai-PineBridge’s A500 ETF, with a scale of 377.82 billion yuan, remains the leader, followed closely by Southern’s A500 ETF at 366.7 billion yuan, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The scales of Guotai and Huaxia’s A500 ETFs are 290.15 billion and 288.17 billion yuan respectively, both with similar sizes and listed on different exchanges.

Since March, all four A500 ETFs have traded over 1 trillion yuan, far surpassing the CSI 300 ETFs, indicating a clear intention to expand scale.

Additionally, E Fund’s A500 ETF, with a size of 25.088 billion yuan, ranks fifth among A500 ETFs and is considered part of the first tier. However, its trading volume since March, totaling 46.455 billion yuan, suggests it has not participated in the recent volume battles.

Industry insiders point out that institutional funds are involved in the big rebound, but the likelihood of a national team-like stabilization fund is low. “Current market liquidity is not poor. During this correction, A-shares fell much less than Japan, Korea, and other overseas markets,” said a public fund professional.

In the short term, the rapid decline in A-shares has already released considerable risk. The dividend yield of the CSI 300 has risen to 2.8%, further increasing the attractiveness compared to the 10-year government bond yield, with limited downside risk, according to Invesco Great Wall Fund. The medium-term logic remains unchanged: the current revaluation of Chinese assets is driven by the restructuring of the international order, the weakening of dollar dominance, and geopolitical conflicts likely strengthening the decline in dollar credibility; meanwhile, the AI industry trend is boosting productivity and driving growth across many sectors, with China achieving significant innovations.

Some fund companies also note that market funds believe “price is more important than time.” With corporate earnings recovery and domestic liquidity remaining reasonably ample, equity assets still have a high success rate for the year. The current turbulence may even provide a golden window for second-quarter deployment.

(Source: Caixin)