App Shutdown Wave: Public Fund Direct Sales Break Through a Decade of Failure

Liu Ping still remembers those days when he "promoted to everyone and waited for people to scan the QR code".

In 2014, not long after he entered the industry, he worked in the Internet finance department of a public fund company in South China. In order to meet the assessment indicator of the company's App (mobile application) download volume, he and his colleagues used the most primitive "street promotion" method. They went to the entrances of office buildings to promote their company's App to office workers coming and going, and gave out small gifts such as tissues, U - disks, and umbrellas for scanning the QR code.

At that time, the entire industry was being swept by the wave of mobile Internet. In 2013, Yu'E Bao emerged suddenly. Tianhong Fund, with just one product, rose from an unknown small fund company. It was like a thunderbolt, waking up all public funds that were still on the sidelines. The slogan "Those who own an App own direct sales" spread like wildfire in the industry. Each fund company rushed to make arrangements, trying to gain control of customers, accumulate data, and get rid of the dependence on agency sales channels such as banks through their own Apps.

Liu Ping's company was no exception. The App download volume, the number of registered users, and the number of monthly active users became the core KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) pressing on the Internet finance department. The company even shouted the slogan of "full - staff marketing", and even colleagues in the investment and research department were required to help "acquire new customers".

Who would have thought that this vigorous "battle for customers on the mobile end" would turn into a completely different situation 10 years later. According to the incomplete statistics of reporters from Economic Observer, from 2025 to June 4, 2026, 7 public funds, including Guoshou Anbao, Qianhai Kaiyuan, and Ping An Fund, have successively shut down their Apps. If we extend the time axis to the past five years, this "shutdown wave" has swept more than 20 fund companies.

Liu Ping said that his fund company had invested more than ten million yuan in total in developing and maintaining its own App, and the annual upgrade and maintenance cost was also several million yuan. Looking at the output of this direct - sales channel: there were only 10,000 to 20,000 log - ins per day on average, and the corresponding sales holdings were tens of billions of yuan, accounting for less than 2% of the company's total management scale.

"The strategic layouts that each company once made with 'huge amounts of money' now seem more like a heavy financial burden. If we only consider the economic account, the direct - sales App is completely uneconomical, even for leading institutions," Liu Ping said.

01

From the "App development boom" to the "shutdown wave"

From 2013 to 2015, the wave of mobile Internet swept through the financial industry, and fund companies set off a boom in App development.

Liu Ping recalled that at that time, the slogan "Those who own an App own direct sales" was widely spread in the industry. Each fund company rushed to layout direct - sales Apps. The core goal was to develop and expand its own customer group, in order to get rid of the dependence on agency sales channels, reduce sales costs, and achieve long - term development.

In 2013, E Fund established a special Internet finance department and began to explore in the field of Internet finance. In January 2014, its own e - commerce App "e Wallet" was officially launched.

By the end of June 2014, the new version of Huifutianfu Fund's "Cash Bao" App, which took half a year to build, was officially launched, marking that the company shifted its strategic focus to the mobile end. Chen Canhui, the then deputy general manager and chief operating officer, put forward the view that "only by seizing the mobile end can you truly have close contact with users".

In the same year, Xiao Wen, the then deputy general manager of GF Fund, also clearly stated that mobile financial management must be the major direction in the future, and said that GF Fund would focus on investment and layout on the mobile end.

A practitioner from a medium - large public fund in Shanghai told reporters that in the early days, fund companies actively developed their own Apps mainly following the logic of "disintermediation". In this way, they could reduce sales costs, enhance customer stickiness, and obtain valuable user data to build brand influence and a closed - loop of services.

Liu Ping recalled, "At that time, the company would include the number of App users in the core assessment indicators of relevant departments and personnel, including the download volume, the number of registered users, and the number of monthly active users." To meet the indicators, he promoted the App to everyone, and almost all his relatives and friends around him were guided to download the company's App.

Under the wave of public fund companies rushing to develop Apps, public data statistics show that in 2018, among the top 100 public funds in terms of non - monetary fund's outstanding scale, nearly 70 had their own direct - sales Apps.

Under the assessment orientation, fund companies tried every means to "acquire new customers", and the core means was rate incentives. At that time, the discount rate of the agency sales channels was still small, and fund companies even launched a 10% discount on the subscription fee on their direct - sales Apps. "This is indeed a relatively effective way to acquire customers. But on the other hand, as licensed financial institutions, fund companies are subject to more regulatory restrictions and cannot promote 'acquiring new customers' on a large scale like Internet giants. The means they can use are nothing more than consumption red envelopes, experience funds, and discount vouchers, so the effect is not prominent," Liu Ping said.

The turning point came in 2019. Xinda Australia and Asia Fund announced the termination of the operation of the "Xinda Huilicai" App in September of that year. Since then, the list of public fund Apps withdrawing from the market has been getting longer year by year. Liu Ping didn't expect that the ebb tide of public fund Apps would come so fast.

In 2022, fund companies such as Fangzheng Fubang, Yingda Fund, and Zhonghai Fund announced the suspension or termination of the operation and maintenance of their Apps. In 2023, the number increased to more than a dozen; in 2024, Nord Fund, Great Wall Fund, and Zhongke Wotu Fund also successively shut down their Apps; since 2025, according to incomplete statistics, at least 7 fund companies, including Nuoyan Fund, Orient Fund, Shenwan Lingxin, Golden Eagle Fund, Ping An Fund, Qianhai Kaiyuan, and Guoshou Anbao, have officially announced the suspension of the operation and maintenance services of their Apps.

02

A "cost account"

Public fund industry insiders interviewed pointed out that there are mainly two factors driving the rise and subsequent delisting of fund company Apps.

One is the "dimensionality - reduction strike" brought by third - party platforms. With the rise of platforms such as Ant Fortune and Tiantian Fund, they have almost reconstructed the fund sales ecosystem with their huge traffic advantages and rich product lines. In contrast, the difficulty and cost of acquiring customers for self - built Apps of fund companies have been increased.

A research report from Industrial Securities pointed out that from 2018 to 2023, the share of direct - sales channels of public funds in terms of holdings dropped significantly from 61.3% to 36.7%. Among the agency sales channels, with the rise of Internet sales platforms represented by Ant Fund and Tiantian Fund, the market share of independent fund sales institutions has achieved rapid catch - up. From 2018 to 2023, the sales amount share of independent fund sales institutions increased from 9.6% to 32.1%, and the holdings share increased from 7.8% to 25.8%.

The other is the high "money - burning" reality. Developing and maintaining a compliant and user - friendly App requires a considerable investment, but the greater expense lies in continuously acquiring new users. For the vast majority of fund companies, it is far more cost - effective to allocate funds to the construction of investment and research capabilities or the improvement of product performance than to continuously invest in this field.

A public fund in Shanghai shut down its App at the end of 2024 and migrated the relevant business functions to a WeChat mini - program. A person from this public fund told reporters, "In addition to conforming to the usage habits of customers and migrating core functions to the WeChat mini - program, the company delisted the App mainly for cost considerations. Although the functions of the mini - program are relatively simple and the App can carry more complex functions and richer information, the investment gap between the two is very large." According to him, the development and operation cost of the App is about 3 to 7 times higher than that of the mini - program.

The high operation and maintenance cost of Apps is a common phenomenon in the industry. Liu Ping told reporters that in the entire industry, the annual operation and maintenance cost of public fund direct - sales Apps is generally several million yuan. Among them, technology development and system construction, operation and maintenance and security protection, iteration and update and compliance adaptation, as well as human resource expenditure, constitute the basic fixed cost. But more importantly, there are customer acquisition and operation costs. "Since the sunk cost has been invested, everyone still wants to increase the 'volume' through operation, but this also means continuous capital investment," Liu Ping said.

Many public fund industry insiders interviewed said that in the early days, fund companies built their own Apps to gain control of customers and data and reduce their dependence on third - party agency sales channels. However, the high costs of technology maintenance, user acquisition, and compliance, in contrast to the limited direct - sales income, have forced the industry as a whole to turn to a lean operation strategy.

In addition to the problems of high operation costs and unbalanced input - output, Zhu Runkang, a public fund product manager at PaiPaiWang Wealth, analyzed to reporters that there are two other considerations for public fund institutions to shrink their direct - sales business: Firstly, it is difficult to acquire and retain users. The product richness and convenience of a single company's App are usually inferior to those of large - scale agency sales platforms; Secondly, when resources are limited, some institutions choose to prioritize the guarantee of core capabilities such as investment and research and entrust the scale expansion to agency sales channels so as to concentrate their energy and resources on the main investment business.

It is worth noting that all these fund companies that shut down their Apps have migrated their businesses to their official websites, WeChat official accounts, or WeChat mini - programs. From self - built platforms and self - operated traffic to embedding in the WeChat ecosystem and leveraging platform traffic for direct sales, the direct sales of public funds are evolving towards lightweight models.

According to the statistics of reporters from Economic Observer based on public information, currently, among the fund companies in operation, the number of fund direct - sales Apps (excluding the Apps of fund wealth subsidiaries and other asset management institutions with public fund licenses) still in operation is about 40, and they are mainly leading public funds or medium - sized companies with strategic determination.

03

From a "marketing entrance" to a "service base"

In recent years, under the double squeeze of traffic competition and cost pressure, many fund companies still stick to their own App positions. However, they are all quietly transforming without exception.

Liu Ping's fund company is also continuously exploring the transformation path of its App. He said, "The company's internal positioning and expectations for the direct - sales App have changed profoundly: from the 'new - customer acquisition' function that focused on sales in the past to the service - centered companion function."

Liu Ping observed that currently, many fund companies' own Apps are actively exploring the buyer - side investment advisory model. "With the in - depth investment and research and professional advantages of fund companies themselves, the App has begun to carry functions such as portfolio strategies, intelligent portfolio adjustment, and behavior guidance, thereby enhancing customer stickiness."

In addition, the company's own App also has important value in terms of customer data. "The biggest shortcoming that fund companies currently face is the limited number of their own customers and the high degree of dependence on agency sales channels. By analyzing and mining data assets such as the behavior of customers using their own Apps, fund companies can understand customer needs more deeply and thus provide more targeted services," Liu Ping said.

The above - mentioned practitioner from a medium - large public fund in Shanghai also said, "Whether it is the shutdown wave of public fund Apps or the self - transformation of Apps, it reflects that the marketing development path of public funds is shifting from focusing on scale to focusing on service."

This person said that his company has improved the infrastructure of its official direct - sales platform in line with the industry development trend. Taking the development of investment advisory business as an opportunity, it has explored the investment advisory business on its own platform and converted loyal customers into investment advisory customers. "The direct - sales platform is naturally 'closer' to customers. Fund companies can give full play to this advantage and improve customer satisfaction and stickiness by launching high - quality and personalized services with characteristics."

Against the background of the accelerated transformation of fund direct - sales platforms, many leading institutions are moving from a single product sales channel to an "asset allocation solution center".

For example, E Fund has renovated and upgraded its one - stop financial management platform "e Wallet", upgraded its original direct - sales customers to E Fund Wealth customers, supported fund transactions across the market, and launched professional investment advisory services covering scenarios such as asset appreciation, cash management, pension planning, and children's education.

Huaxia Fund has created five major advantageous services through its "Huaxia Fund Butler App", including an intelligent butler - style experience, a high - liquidity and quick - withdrawal service for the current - account fund, scenario - based account management for parent - child and pension, a one - click asset diagnosis function, and a points - based welfare system, providing users with information filtering and investment decision - making assistance.

In addition, Southern Fund, GF Fund, Wanjia Fund, Boshi Fund, etc. have all upgraded their direct - sales Apps, and their functional attributes are also gradually shifting towards investment advisory services.

Tianxiang Investment Consulting previously pointed out that from the current industry development, serving investors and enhancing investors' sense of gain have gradually become the business goals of fund sales channels. Public fund industry insiders interviewed believe that in the future, fund companies' investment in direct sales may be more focused, shifting from focusing on sales to focusing on service.

04

A systematic correction

In fact, the withdrawal or transformation of public fund direct - sales Apps reflects that the underlying sales logic and business model of the public fund industry are undergoing profound reshaping.

In 2022, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the High - quality Development of the Public Fund Industry", kicking off the reform. In May 2025, the CSRC issued the "Action Plan for Promoting the High - quality Development of Public Funds" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), promoting the transformation of fund sales from the past "scale - oriented" to "investor - interest - oriented", bidding farewell to the "scale carnival" and starting a new stage of "in - depth service".

On the one hand, the "Action Plan" clearly puts forward the requirement of "cost - reduction and efficiency - improvement". Public fund industry insiders analyzed that this plan encourages fund companies to optimize resource allocation and reduce inefficient investment, directly accelerating the process of App shutdowns. The industry is transforming from "heavy - asset direct sales" to "lightweight operation".

In this year, Guoshou Anbao with a scale of over 300 billion yuan and Ping An Fund with a scale of 660 billion yuan also chose to shut down their Apps. For many public fund institutions, the ratio of maintenance cost to output has long been seriously unbalanced.

On the other hand, the assessment "baton" of sales channels is shifting from assessing "how much has been sold" to "how much customers have earned". The service model of fund companies is also shifting from one - time sales to providing continuous full - cycle companionship from pre - investment to in - investment to post - investment.

After the release of the "Action Plan", a series of supporting institutional arrangements have been promoted simultaneously, such as the effective implementation of the rate reform, the gradual improvement of the performance comparison benchmark, the continuous optimization of performance assessment, and the strict implementation of the new sales regulations. A series of reform measures have advanced step by step.

In September 2025, the CSRC issued the "Regulations on the Administration of Sales Fees of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds (Draft for Comments)", aiming to further reduce the costs of fund investors, standardize the order of the public fund sales market, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of fund investors; in October, the CSRC issued the "Guidelines on the Performance Comparison Benchmark of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds (Draft for Comments)", making regulatory institutional arrangements for the selection and use of the performance comparison benchmark of public funds, promoting fund managers to improve internal control and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors; in December, the "Guidelines on the Performance Assessment Management of Fund Management Companies (Draft for Comments)" and the "Code of Conduct for the Sales of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds (Draft for Comments)" were issued successively, regulating the industry's assessment mechanism and fund sales behavior respectively.

In 2026, the relevant institutional construction has entered the formal implementation stage from the draft - for - comments stage. On January 2