Public fund new issuance in the first two months exceeds 210 billion yuan, with both scale and number reaching the highest levels in nearly four years for the same period.

The Year of the Horse Lunar New Year ushers in a bright start, and the public fund issuance market is the first to see a “strong opening.”

Latest data from Wind shows that, as of February 27, 2026, the number of newly issued public funds this year has reached 230 (counted by subscription start date), and the total issuance scale has surpassed 210 billion yuan (counted by fund establishment date). Compared with prior periods, it has set new highs for the same period over the past four years.

“Newly issued fund size this year has hit a new high for the same period over the past four years. The core driver is that the equity market’s positive ‘money-making effect’ has become apparent. Equity-focused funds are performing well, which has helped investors’ risk appetite rebound, accelerating the flow of funds from bank savings toward equity assets.” Wu Zewei, a research fellow at Suzhuo Bank, said that the capital market is undergoing profound structural changes. The channels for turning residents’ savings into investments are continuing to broaden, bringing a considerable amount of incremental capital to the market. Newly issued funds have shifted from being debt-market-led to equity-led. The share of passive index products and ETFs has risen significantly, reflecting improved market efficiency. Investors are more inclined toward transparent, low-cost tools, and the capital market ecosystem is becoming more diverse and mature.

Intensive issuance of active equity funds

At the start of 2026, China’s A-share market has shown a pattern of index volatility with an upward trend and increased trading volume, and the public fund issuance market has also continued to stay hot.

Wind statistical data shows that, compared with the same period in 2025, the number of newly issued funds in the first two months of 2026 increased by 29.94% from 177. Compared with the same period in 2024, it increased by 8.49% from 212. Compared with the same period in 2023, it increased by 21.69% from 189.

Of particular note, after the Spring Festival holiday, the issuance heat for newly issued funds further intensified, forming an intensive issuance wave.

According to Wind statistics, on the first trading day of the Year of the Horse (February 24), as many as 18 new funds were launched to start subscriptions at the same time. They cover multiple categories, including active equity, passive index, bond, and FOF, among others. In the first trading week after the holiday (from February 24 to February 27), the number of new products planned for launch was even as high as 36. The issuance pace was clearly faster than the same period in prior years. Some funds even shortened the fundraising cycle to 1 day, highlighting fund companies’ quick grasp of market opportunities and investors’ enthusiastic participation.

In terms of product structure, newly issued funds at the start of 2026 show the clear characteristics of “equities as the main focus, with diversified supplementation,” which is highly aligned with the current structural opportunities in China’s A-share market. Specifically, equity products (stock funds + balanced/ hybrid funds) have become the main force in issuance, accounting for 71.37% of the number and 60.09% of the scale. Within this, passive investment continues to heat up. Stock ETFs and passive index funds combined for the issuance of 156 funds, with a scale of 88.09B yuan. They cover multiple popular sub-sectors such as nonferrous metals, batteries, dividend/quality dividends, and Hong Kong stock internet themes, providing investors with low-cost, high-efficiency market allocation tools.

The leading-sector effect has been especially prominent in this issuance wave. Among them, 广发基金 (GF Fund) ranked first with 13 products and an issuance scale of nearly 24 billion yuan. 易方达基金 (E Fund), 景顺长城基金 (Invesco Great Wall), and others followed closely, with issuance scales all exceeding 10 billion yuan.

Wind data screenshot

In Wu Zewei’s view, the clear top-heavy pattern displayed by the newly issued fund market today is an inevitable outcome of the industry’s movement toward mature market-based competition, and it also signals that the public fund industry is moving fully from the past era of license/ regulatory dividends into an era of capability dividends. Although this pattern may intensify industry differentiation, it also optimizes resource allocation. Intense competition compels every institution to place greater emphasis on improving professional capabilities, ultimately promoting high-quality development across the entire industry.

He also noted that top fund companies show distinct advantages in the new-issue landscape. Relying on brand influence, channel trust, and mature investment research systems, they can deploy efficiently across products such as equity and index funds, adapting quickly to market demand. Smaller and mid-sized fund companies should take a differentiated route, focusing on niche sectors such as technology, healthcare/medicine, and quant strategies for deep cultivation, and building distinctive performance. At the same time, they can leverage internet channels to reach customer segments with precision and build core competitiveness in specific sub-sectors.

Newly issued scale exceeds 200 billion yuan within the year

As an important source of incremental capital for the capital market, the issuance boom of newly issued funds directly reflects market sentiment and the direction of capital flows.

In terms of issuance scale, this year has already reached 210.2 billion yuan. This represents major growth compared with 149.0 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. Over these four years, the scale has nearly doubled, and the trend of incremental capital entering the market is clearly evident.

The dense issuance of active equity funds has brought a lot of incremental capital to the Year of the Horse’s capital market start.

According to Wind statistics, there are a total of 78 active equity funds established within 2026 so far, with an aggregate fundraising size of about 8B yuan.

Looking at the details, 24 active equity funds within the year each have a fundraising scale exceeding 1 billion yuan. Among them, GF Research & Zhi Xuan’s fundraising scale of 92.41B yuan ranks first. Huabao Advantage Industry and Yinves/ Yinhua (Yin) Hua Zhi Xiang’s scale exceed 5 billion yuan and come next. In addition, the following four funds—ICBCM? (DMS?—大摩沪港深科技), GF Growth & Return, E Fund Balanced Selection, and Invesco Great Wall Prosperity-Driven—have fundraising scales exceeding 3 billion yuan each.

If you add 28 funds that are currently being issued and will be issued soon, active equity funds are expected to bring capital of a scale of one trillion yuan into the market.

Wu Zewei, a research fellow at Suzhuo Bank, expects that in 2026 the equity category will still dominate the newly issued fund market. The issuance pace is highly tied to the market’s positive “money-making effect,” and a slow bull market will continue to push residents’ bank savings into the market. In product structure, the heat of passive investment will continue, with distinctive index products becoming a key focus for deployment. In fixed-income plus strategies, opportunities will also emerge in parallel. As the top-heavy effect in the industry intensifies, smaller and mid-sized institutions will follow a path of more granular, characteristic specialization. Overall, the market is shifting from putting weight on quantity to focusing on quality, placing more emphasis on performance and the experience of holding, moving toward high-quality development.

By Xu Nanxan / Edited by Xu Nan

(Editor: Xu Nanxan)

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