The scale of our country's public offerings has surpassed 38 trillion yuan, marking the 11th consecutive month of a new historical high.

Securities Times reporter Zhao Mengqiao

On March 25, the latest public fund market data released by the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) showed that as of the end of February, the total size of China’s publicly offered mutual funds reached 38.61 trillion yuan, breaking through 38 trillion yuan for the first time and setting historical highs for 11 consecutive months.

By category, in February, the size of money market funds grew by 579.51 billion yuan, contributing the largest increase in scale. In addition, bond funds rose by 216.734 billion yuan that month, mixed funds increased by 93.341 billion yuan, and FOFs (funds of funds) and QDII (qualified domestic institutional investors) also recorded modest growth in scale, while stock funds declined by 79.035 billion yuan.

A fund manager noted that the growth in fund size has benefited from the continuation of the “deposit migration” trend. In a low-interest-rate environment, the appeal of traditional savings continues to weaken. Residents’ wealth allocation is undergoing structural reshaping—from “saving in banks” to “investing in funds.” Money market funds, with their dual advantages of liquidity and safety, have become the main force for absorbing transferred deposits. Stable products such as bond funds and FOFs also benefit from this. This trend not only drives the continued climb in the size of public funds, but also reflects the awakening of residents’ financial-management awareness and the optimization of asset-allocation structures.

Money market funds and bond funds take the lead in growth

In February, more stable money market funds and bond funds became the main driver of overall scale growth. According to data, as of the end of February, the size of money market funds reached 15.85 trillion yuan, surging by 579.51 billion yuan compared with the end of January, with an increase rate of 3.80%.

Against the backdrop of “asset scarcity,” the yields of money market funds have remained at the bottom in recent times. As of March 25, among more than 300 money market funds included in the statistics, the average annualized yield over the past 7 days is about 1.14%. Even falling below “1” has become a common occurrence. The top fund by size, Tianhong Yu’ebao, has an annualized yield over the past 7 days of 1.001%, just a hair’s breadth away from dropping below “1.” In addition, the annualized yields over the past 7 days for Jianxin Jiaxinbao and E Fund’s Yili Financial Management are 1.18% and 1.05%, respectively.

“Money market funds mainly invest in assets such as bank deposits, interbank certificates of deposit, short-term bonds, and reverse repos. In recent times, the central bank’s stance on liquidity has been relatively gentle, and the policy interest rate has been trending downward at the center point. This includes banks lowering deposit rates multiple times; yields on short-end assets have fallen, causing money market fund yields to drop as well.” Guan Zhiyu, a fund manager at CICC (China Europe) Fund, analyzed.

It is also worth noting that to maintain the product’s bottom line of positive returns, the decline in money market fund yields has led multiple products to cut their management fee rates. Recently, including Shenwan Lingsin Tian Tian Li, CITIC Jiantou Zhiduoxins, ZT Jinquan Huijin, and GF Cash Increase, these money market funds have lowered management fees, with the maximum cut ranging from 0.90% down to 0.25%.

Zhu Yanqiong, a fund manager in fixed-income investments at Tai Ping Fund, believes the growth in money market fund size can be traced. On the one hand, bank deposit rates are falling, and the “invest in funds” trend continues. On the other hand, volatility increases in the equity and bond markets, and funds need a “safe haven.” Money market funds can provide both high liquidity and relatively attractive yield stability. With money market funds’ cost-effectiveness higher than that of demand deposits, their growth trend is expected to continue.

In addition, bond funds increased in size by 216.734 billion yuan in February to 10.75 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.06%, and the number of units also rose by 137.009 billion units.

Some market analysts noted that in February, after A-shares touched short-term highs, they continued to trade in a sideways range, and some funds chose to lock in gains or shifted toward defensive positioning. The growth in the size of money market funds and bond funds indicates that as market uncertainty increased, investors’ demand for risk hedging warmed up.

FOF funds surge quarter-over-quarter

Besides the clear increases in bond funds and money market funds, FOF funds also saw a notable rise in February, contributing an increase of 34.536 billion yuan in a single month.

Demand from retail investors for this type of product is mainly reflected in the “blockbuster” phenomena that have appeared frequently in new launches in recent days. As of March 25, FOFs launched within the year have raised a total of over 65 billion yuan on the issuance side. Among them, two FOF products—Bosera Yingtaizhen Select 6-month Holding and China Europe Yingxin Steady 6-month Holding—reached subscription sizes of over 5 billion yuan for those two products. Also, Industrial Bank’s Yingtai Steady 6-month Holding and PhD’s Zhihui Steady 3-month Holding were established with subscription sizes exceeding 4 billion yuan.

Since last year, in an environment where market volatility has intensified, FOFs have significantly optimized the risk-reward ratio of their portfolios by leveraging multi-asset allocation strategies, to some extent validating their core value as professional “allocation tools.”

Norde (Nobeld) Fund analysis believes the FOFs’ hot issuance momentum stems from a high match with the structure of their target investor base. Bank retail channels have been one of the key forces driving the expansion of FOF offerings this round.

“Over the past few years, major banks have accelerated their deployment and have jointly launched dedicated FOF programs with fund companies. They have shifted from selling single products to conducting more systematic, brand-oriented, and tailored operations. In this process, managers provide dedicated strategies, open up the underlying holdings, and accept more stringent performance assessments; banks, in turn, provide scale support and tilt resources toward channels.” Norde Fund said.

According to people in the retail business line at joint-stock banks, this year will see more than 5 trillion yuan in term deposits mature, presenting real challenges for customers’ reinvestment demand. Three-month holding-period FOFs, with their diversified allocation model of “fixed income plus” (bond-core allocation + dividend low-volatility assets + overseas equities + gold), enable investors to obtain returns higher than deposit yields while also managing liquidity. As a result, they have become core recommended products for bank wealth managers.

A statistics review by Lide Fund found that currently, FOF product supply shows a clear “low-risk dominated” pattern, which closely aligns with investors’ preferences for stable returns and drawdown control in a low-interest-rate environment. This not only confirms investors’ high sensitivity to drawdown control in a low-volatility era, but also reflects FOFs’ core positioning as a tool for replacing deposits and serving as a vehicle for wealth management inflows.

Equity fund scale dips slightly

In February, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes rose to varying degrees. Therefore, the scale of mixed funds increased by more than 90 billion yuan, while the scale of stock funds fell by about 79 billion yuan.

Some analysts believe the main reason for the decline in stock fund scale is the contraction in ETF fund units.

According to data, in February the ETF market continued the decline seen in January. The ETF market scale decreased by 74.1 billion yuan month-on-month. Among this, the net outflow of Shanghai-Shenzhen 300 ETF and CSI A500 ETF both exceeded 20 billion yuan, which has been a core factor behind the contraction in both ETF scale and even overall stock fund scale. Citic Securities said that recently, global geopolitical risks have been compounded by a rebound in domestic inflation. Trading heat for large-cap index products has cooled, while crowding in structured trading strategies has increased. Market funds may engage in short-term games around scenarios such as raising valuation levels, low valuation, and defensive assets.

Looking ahead, multiple fund managers have paid more attention to investment opportunities in more granular segments. Cui Shutian, general manager and director of equity research at Everbright Prudential Fund, said that over the past two years, A-shares have been a typical valuation-repair market. But historically, such a situation has never lasted for three consecutive years. In 2026, the room for valuation expansion is limited, and corporate earnings will be the core variable determining the direction of the market. Based on historical experience, during the phase when earnings digest valuations, market style is prone to switching. This year, the A-share market is expected to shift from a single track of technology growth toward a pattern where technologies, manufacturing, and cycles—old and new sectors—trade side by side.

Cainiao Fund said that the market’s core trading logic is not a bet that geopolitical conflicts end quickly, but rather the lasting duration of how high oil prices continue to affect inflation, interest rates, and the economy’s fundamentals. In this context, sectors with clear industry trends and solid business momentum will be more resilient. The AI sector may still be one of the key allocation directions. During periods of market turbulence, the certainty of performance and the ability to deliver results are the core of quality assets. Focusing on high-quality targets with high business momentum and strong performance is what enables investors to pass through short-term geopolitical and macro volatility.

(Edited by Wen Jing)

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