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.

As the Year of the Horse ushers in the Spring Festival, the public offering fund issuance market is the first to welcome a “strong start.”

According to the latest Wind data, 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 size has surpassed 210 billion yuan (counted by fund establishment date). Compared with prior periods, it is the highest historical level in the same period over the past four years.

“Newly issued fund size this year has hit a new high in the same period over the past four years. The core benefit comes from the equity market’s earnings effect. Stock-focused funds have performed well, leading investors’ risk appetite to rebound, and capital is accelerating its shift from savings to equity assets.” Wu Zewei, a research fellow for Su Bank, said that the capital market is undergoing profound structural changes. The channels for residents’ savings to be converted into investments continue to expand, bringing a considerable amount of incremental capital to the market. Newly issued funds are shifting from being bond-market dominated to equity-market dominated. The share of passive index products and ETFs has risen sharply, reflecting improved market efficiency. Investors are more inclined toward transparent, low-cost tools, and the capital market ecosystem is becoming more diverse and mature.

Frequent Issuance of Actively Managed Equity Funds

The start of 2026 A-shares has seen index volatility with an upward bias, as trading volumes surged. The fund issuance market has also continued its hot momentum.

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

What is particularly noteworthy is that after the Spring Festival holiday, the issuance heat of newly launched funds has further intensified, forming a wave of concentrated launches.

According to Wind statistics, on the first trading day of the Year of the Horse (February 24), as many as 18 new funds started subscriptions in a concentrated manner, covering multiple types including actively managed equity, passive index, bond funds, and FOFs. In the first post-holiday trading week (February 24 to February 27), the number of new products planned to launch issuance was even as high as 36. The issuance pace has clearly accelerated compared with the same period in prior years. Some funds even shortened the fund-raising period to 1 day, highlighting fund companies’ fast grasp of market opportunities and investors’ strong enthusiasm to participate.

In terms of product structure, newly issued funds at the start of 2026 feature a distinct characteristic of “equities as the core, with diversified supplements,” which closely matches the current structural market行情 in the A-share market. Specifically, equity-related products (stock funds + hybrid funds) have become the main force in issuance, accounting for 71.37% of the number and 60.09% of the size. Among them, passive investment has continued to warm up. Stock ETFs and passive index funds together have issued 156 funds, with a size of 88.094 billion yuan. They cover multiple popular sub-sectors such as non-ferrous metals, batteries, dividend quality, Hong Kong stock internet, and more, providing investors with low-cost, high-efficiency market allocation tools.

The effect of industry-leading players is especially pronounced in this issuance boom. Among them, 广发基金 (GF Fund) ranks first with 13 products and nearly 24 billion yuan in issuance size. 易方达基金 (E Fund) and 景顺长城基金 (Invesco Great Wall Fund) follow closely, with issuance sizes all exceeding 10 billion yuan.

wind data screenshot

In Wu Zewei’s view, the clearly evident head-of-market effect in the current newly issued fund market is an inevitable outcome of the industry’s move toward mature market-based competition, and it also marks that the public fund industry is fully transitioning from the past license-dividend era to an ability-dividend era. While this pattern may intensify industry differentiation, it also optimizes the allocation of resources. Intense competition forces all institutions to place greater emphasis on improving professional capabilities, ultimately driving the industry’s high-quality development.

He also noted that leading fund companies have clear advantages in the new-issuance landscape. Relying on brand influence, channel trust, and mature investment research systems, they can efficiently position equity, index, and other product categories and quickly adapt to market demand. Smaller and mid-sized fund companies should take a differentiated path, focusing on niche sectors such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and quant strategies, and building distinctive performance. At the same time, they should leverage internet channels to precisely reach target customer groups, and build core competitiveness in specific sub-sectors.

New Issuance Scale Exceeds 200 Billion Yuan in the Year

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

In terms of issuance size, it has already reached 210.2 billion yuan since the start of the year. Compared with 149 billion yuan in the same period of 2025, 92.411 billion yuan in 2024, 126.8 billion yuan in 2023, and 151.6 billion yuan in 2022, it has all seen substantial growth. Over the past four years, the scale has nearly doubled, and the trend of incremental funds entering the market has been clear.

The dense issuance of actively managed equity funds brings a lot of incremental capital to the capital market at the start of the Year of the Horse.

According to Wind statistics, there are 78 actively managed equity funds established in 2026 year-to-date, with a total fund-raising size of about 75.233 billion yuan.

More specifically, among them, 24 actively managed equity funds have raised more than 1 billion yuan each year-to-date. Among these, 广发研究智选 (GF Research Select) has a fund-raising size of 7.221 billion yuan, ranking first. 华宝优势产业 (Huabao Advantage Industry) and 银华智享集 (Yin Guo Zhi Xiang Ji) follow with fund-raising sizes exceeding 5 billion yuan. In addition, the four funds 大摩沪港深科技 (DMAX HK-TS Shenzhen Technology), 广发成长回报 (GF Growth Returns), 易方达平衡精选 (E Fund Balanced Select), and 景顺长城景气驱动 (Invesco Great Wall Prosperity-Driven) have all raised more than 3 billion yuan.

If you add the 28 funds that are currently being issued and those about to be issued, actively managed equity funds are expected to bring entry capital on the order of one trillion yuan.

Wu Zewei, research fellow for Su Bank, expects that in 2026 the equity category will still dominate the newly issued fund market. The issuance pace and scale are highly tied to the market’s earnings effect, and a slow bull market will continue to drive residents’ savings into the market. In terms of product structure, the heat in passive investing will continue, and distinctive index products will be a key focus. Meanwhile, opportunities will also arrive for fixed-income plus (fixed-income+ ) strategies. As the head-of-industry effect intensifies, smaller institutions will take a route of subdivision and distinctive specialization. Overall, the market is shifting from “quantity” to “quality,” placing more emphasis on performance and holding experience, moving toward high-quality development.

By / Xu Nan Nan Editor / Xu Nan

(Editor: Xu Nan Nan)

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