Welle von App-Schließungen: Die gescheiterten zehn Jahre des Direktvertriebs von öffentlichen Fonds

Liu Ping still remembers the time when he "tried to sell his app to every person he met and waited for people at certain places to get them to scan the code".

In 2014, he had only been in the industry for a short time and was working in the internet finance department of a public investment fund in southern China. To achieve the target number of downloads of the company's app (mobile application), he and his colleagues adopted the original method of "street marketing". They stood in front of office buildings and offered their app to the passing office workers. Those who scanned the code got small gifts such as tissues, USB sticks or umbrellas.

At that time, the entire industry was caught up in the wave of mobile internet. In 2013, Yu'E Bao emerged. Tianhong Asset Management jumped from an insignificant small investment fund to a well - known provider with a single product, like a thunderous bolt that woke up all the public investment funds that were still waiting. The motto "Whoever has the app has the direct sales" was widely spread in the industry. Various investment funds began to focus on their own apps to attract customers, collect data and break away from distribution channels such as banks.

The company where Liu Ping worked was no exception. The number of app downloads, the number of registered users and the number of monthly active users became the central KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for the internet finance department. The company even put forward the motto of "company - wide marketing", and even colleagues from the research and investment department were asked to help with "acquiring new customers".

Who would have thought that this exciting "battle for customers in the mobile field" would look completely different 10 years later. According to incomplete statistics from economic observation, from 2025 to June 4, 2026, seven public investment funds such as Guoshou Anbao, Qianhai Kaiyuan and Ping An Asset Management successively shut down their apps. If we extend the time span to the past five years, this "shutdown wave" has already hit more than 20 investment funds.

Liu Ping said that his investment fund had spent more than ten million yuan in total on the development and maintenance of its own app, and the annual costs for updating and maintenance were also several million yuan. Looking at the returns of this direct sales channel now: only one to two thousand people log in every day, and the corresponding sales volume is several hundred billion yuan, which accounts for less than 2% of the company's total managed volume.

"The strategic direction in which various companies once invested 'huge sums' now seems to be more of a heavy financial burden. If we only consider the economic aspects, the direct app is not worth it at all, even for leading institutions." said Liu Ping.

01

From the "Development Frenzy" to the "Shutdown Wave"

From 2013 to 2015, the wave of mobile internet swept through the financial industry, and investment funds started an app - development boom.

Liu Ping recalled: "At that time, the motto 'Whoever has the app has the direct sales' was widely spread in the industry. Various investment funds began to actively develop direct apps to develop and strengthen their own customer groups, break away from distribution channels, reduce sales costs and achieve long - term growth."

In 2013, E Fund established its own internet finance department and began to experiment in the field of internet finance. In January 2014, its e - commerce app "e Wallet" was officially launched.

At the end of June 2014, the new version of the "Cash Bao" app of Huatai - PineBridge Asset Management, which was developed over six months, was officially launched. This marked the company's strategic reorientation towards mobile devices. Chen Canhui, the then deputy general manager and chief operating officer, said: "Only when one conquers the mobile field can one really have close contact with users."

In the same year, Xiao Wen, the then deputy general manager of GF Fund, also clearly stated that mobile finance would surely be the future direction and that GF Fund would focus on investment and orientation in the mobile field.

An employee of a medium - sized public investment fund in Shanghai told reporters that the early investment funds that developed their own apps mainly followed the logic of "disintermediation". In this way, they could reduce sales costs, strengthen customer loyalty and collect valuable user data to improve brand presence and service.

Liu Ping recalled: "At that time, the number of app users was included in the central evaluation indicators of relevant departments and personnel, including the number of downloads, registered users and monthly active users." To achieve the goals, he recommended the app to every person he met, and almost all his friends and relatives were made to download the company's app.

In the trend where public investment funds were actively developing apps, official statistics showed that in 2018, among the 100 public investment funds with the largest non - money - market fund volume, nearly 70 had their own direct apps.

Under the evaluation orientation, investment funds tried all possible methods to acquire "new customers". The core means was fee incentives. At that time, the discounts in distribution channels were still small, and investment funds even offered a 10% discount on acquisition fees on their direct apps. "This was actually an effective method to acquire customers. On the other hand, as licensed financial institutions, investment funds are highly regulated and cannot participate in large - scale new - customer acquisition programs like large internet companies. The methods they can use are nothing more than consumption vouchers, test funds, discount coupons, etc., so the effect was not particularly outstanding." said Liu Ping.

The turning point came in 2019. In September of the same year, Xinda Australia & Asia Fund announced the termination of the operation of the "Xinda Huilicai" app. Since then, the list of public investment funds that have shut down their apps has increased every year. Liu Ping did not expect that the withdrawal of public investment fund apps would come so quickly.

In 2022, investment funds such as Founder Fubon, Yingda Fund and Zhonghai Fund announced the suspension or termination of the operation and maintenance of their apps. In 2023, the number rose to more than ten. 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 seven investment funds such as Nuoyuan Fund, Orient Fund, Shenwan Hongyuan, Golden Eagle Fund, Ping An Asset Management, Qianhai Kaiyuan and Guoshou Anbao have stopped the operation and maintenance services of their apps.

02

A "Cost Calculation"

The interviewed employees of public investment funds said that there are mainly two factors behind the rise and successive decline of investment fund apps.

First, the "scale - reducing attack" of third - party platforms. With the rise of platforms such as Ant Fortune and Tiantian Fund, these platforms have almost reshaped the investment fund distribution ecosystem with their huge traffic advantage and rich product portfolio. In comparison, the difficulties and costs of acquiring customers for the self - developed apps of investment funds have increased.

A research report from Industrial Securities has shown that the proportion of the volume of direct sales channels of public investment funds has dropped from 61.3% from 2018 to 2023 to 36.7%. Among the distribution channels, the market share of independent investment fund distribution companies has increased rapidly with the rise of internet distribution platforms such as Ant Fund and Tiantian Fund. From 2018 to 2023, the proportion of the sales amount has risen from 9.6% to 32.1%, and the proportion of the volume has risen from 7.8% to 25.8%.

Second, the expensive reality of "burning money". Developing and maintaining a compliant and well - functioning app requires considerable investment, but the biggest costs lie in continuously acquiring new users. For most investment funds, it is more worthwhile to invest the funds in building research and investment capabilities or improving product performance than to continuously invest in this area.

A public investment fund in Shanghai shut down its own app at the end of 2024 and migrated the relevant business capabilities to the WeChat Mini - Program. An employee of this investment fund told reporters: "In addition to adapting to the usage habits of customers and migrating core functions to the WeChat Mini - Program, the company shut down the app mainly for cost reasons. Although the functions of the Mini - Program are relatively simple and the app can carry more complex functions and more information, the difference in investment between the two is very large." According to him, the development and maintenance costs of the app are about 3 to 7 times higher than those of the Mini - Program.

The high maintenance costs of apps are a common phenomenon in the industry. Liu Ping told reporters that generally, the annual maintenance costs of direct apps of public investment funds in the industry amount to several million yuan. Among them, technical development and system construction, maintenance and security protection, iteration and update, compliance adaptation and personnel expenses form the fixed basic costs. But more importantly, there are the costs of customer acquisition and operation. "Since one has already incurred sunk costs, one still wants to try to increase the 'volume' through operation, but this also means that it requires continuous financial investment." said Liu Ping.

Several interviewed employees of public investment funds said that the early investment funds that built their own apps intended to control customers and data and break away from third - party distribution channels. However, the high costs of technical maintenance, user acquisition and compliance compared with the limited direct sales have created an imbalance, forcing the entire industry to focus on a more cost - effective operation strategy.

In addition to the problem of high operating costs and the imbalance between investment and return, Zhu Runkang, the product manager for public investment funds at PaiPaiWang Wealth, analyzed to reporters that public investment funds that downsize their direct business also consider two aspects: First, it is difficult to acquire and retain users because the product variety and user - friendliness of a single company's app usually lag behind those of large distribution platforms. Second, when resources are limited, some institutions choose to prioritize securing core capabilities such as research and investment capabilities and delegate volume expansion to distribution channels to focus on the core business of investment.

It is noteworthy that all these investment funds that have shut down their apps have migrated their businesses to their own websites, WeChat official accounts or WeChat Mini - Programs. From self - building platforms and self - managing traffic to integrating into the WeChat ecosystem and using platform traffic for direct sales, the direct sales of public investment funds have developed into a lighter form.

According to statistics from economic observation based on public information, there are currently about 40 still - operating direct apps of investment funds (excluding the apps of asset management companies of investment funds and other asset management institutions with public investment fund licenses), and they are mainly leading public investment funds or medium - sized companies with strategic strength.

03

From the "Marketing Entrance" to the "Service Place"

In recent years, many investment funds have maintained their own app positions despite the competition for traffic and cost pressure. However, they have all silently transformed.

The investment fund where Liu Ping works has also continuously sought ways to transform the app. He said: "The internal positioning and expectation of the direct app in the company have changed profoundly: from the previous sales - oriented 'new - customer acquisition' to the service - oriented accompanying function."

Liu Ping has observed that many investment funds are currently actively exploring the buyer - advisory model for their own apps. "With the research and investment competence and professional expertise of the investment fund, the app has already taken on functions such as portfolio strategies, intelligent portfolio management and behavior guidance to strengthen customer loyalty."

In addition, the company's app also has important value at the level of customer data. "The biggest problem that investment funds are currently facing is the limited number of their own customers and the high dependence on distribution channels. By analyzing and researching data assets such as the behavior of users of their own app, investment funds can better understand the needs of customers and thus offer services tailored to the needs of customers." said Liu Ping.

The above - mentioned employee of the medium - sized public investment fund in Shanghai also said: "Both the shutdown wave of investment fund apps and the self - transformation of apps reflect the development of public investment fund marketing from focusing on volume to focusing on service."

The employee said that his company had improved the infrastructure of the official direct sales platform in line with the development trends of the industry. Taking the establishment of the advisory business as an opportunity, it had developed the advisory business on its own platform and transformed loyal customers into advisory customers. "The direct sales platform is naturally 'closer' to customers. Investment funds can fully utilize these advantages by offering high - quality customized services to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty."

In the context of the accelerated transformation of investment fund direct sales platforms, several leading institutions are moving from a simple product sales channel to a "center for asset allocation solutions".

For example, E Fund has renewed its one - stop financing platform "e Wallet" and transformed the original direct customers into E Fund Wealth customers. The platform supports trading of all market funds and offers professional investment advisory services.