China's public offering fund industry is stepping into the era of 40 trillion yuan, with bond funds contributing the largest increment while equity funds are dragging behind?

Today (the 17th), the fund industry has another piece of good news: the total public offering scale has reached a new historical high.

The latest public offering fund market data released by the Asset Management Association of China shows that the total scale of China's public offering funds reached 39.48 trillion yuan at the end of May, a month-on-month increase of 122.754 billion yuan, hitting a new historical high. Previously, the total scale of public offering funds exceeded 39 trillion yuan for the first time at the end of April this year.

Looking at different fund types, the scale of bond funds increased by more than 274 billion yuan in May, contributing the largest scale increment. Industry insiders pointed out that the share of bond funds also increased in May, indicating strong willingness for fund issuance and capital subscription. In addition, fixed-income plus products also contributed a lot to the scale growth of bond funds.

In addition, the scale of hybrid funds increased by more than 120 billion yuan in May. QDII and money market funds also had a slight increase, but the scale of equity funds decreased by more than 317 billion yuan in May.

The total public offering scale reaches 39.48 trillion yuan, just one step away from 40 trillion yuan

The latest data from the Asset Management Association of China shows that as of the end of May 2026, there were a total of 165 public offering fund management institutions in China, including 150 fund management companies and 15 asset management institutions with public offering qualifications.

The total net asset value of public offering funds managed by the above institutions was 39.48 trillion yuan, an increase of 122.754 billion yuan compared with the end of April, hitting a new historical high.

At the end of March this year, affected by market fluctuations, the total scale of public offering funds experienced a short-term decline. However, after entering April, the total public offering scale quickly recovered and rebounded strongly, exceeding 39 trillion yuan for the first time at the end of April, fully demonstrating the strong development resilience of the public offering industry.

Previously, the total scale of China's public offering funds exceeded 35 trillion yuan for the first time at the end of July 2025, exceeded 36 trillion yuan for the first time at the end of August of the same year, exceeded 37 trillion yuan for the first time at the end of November of the same year, and exceeded 38 trillion yuan for the first time at the end of February 2026. Achieving multiple breakthroughs in less than a year reflects the strong development momentum of China's public offering fund industry.

The scale of bond funds increases by more than 270 billion yuan, contributing the largest scale increment

Looking at different fund types, the scale of bond funds was 11.67 trillion yuan at the end of May, an increase of 274.126 billion yuan compared with the end of April. The total share of bond funds was 9.55 trillion units at the end of May, an increase of 184.132 billion units compared with the end of April.

The increase in the share of bond funds reflects the growing willingness for new bond fund issuance and capital subscription. Industry insiders pointed out that fixed-income plus strategy products are an important source of the scale growth of bond funds. Affected by the decline in deposit interest rates, the effect of deposit migration is prominent. Coupled with the increasing risk aversion demand of investors under market fluctuations, fixed-income plus products with both stability and return enhancement ability are widely favored.

In addition to bond funds, the scale of hybrid funds also increased in May. At the end of May, the total scale of hybrid funds reached 4.28 trillion yuan, an increase of 120.76 billion yuan compared with the end of April.

However, the share of hybrid funds is decreasing. At the end of May, the total share of hybrid funds was 2.56 trillion units, a slight decrease of 45.037 billion units compared with the end of April. This means that the scale growth of hybrid funds is mainly contributed by the increase in net value. The market fluctuated upward in May, and some investors may have redeemed their funds after making a profit.

In addition, the total scale of money market funds also increased slightly in May. Data shows that the scale of money market funds was 16.27 trillion yuan at the end of May, an increase of 39.66 billion yuan compared with the end of April.

The scale of QDII funds also increased slightly, reaching 1.09 trillion yuan at the end of May, an increase of 33.485 billion yuan compared with the end of April. Multiple overseas markets fluctuated upward in May, driving a slight recovery in the scale of QDII funds.

The scale of equity funds decreases by more than 317 billion yuan, and the scale of FOF also decreases slightly

In May, both the scale and share of equity funds decreased. Data shows that the scale of equity funds was 4.96 trillion yuan at the end of May, a decrease of 317.45 billion yuan compared with the end of April. The share was 3.62 trillion units, a decrease of 153.583 billion units compared with the end of April.

Industry insiders analyzed that the volatility of the equity market increased in May, and the performance differentiation of A-share sectors intensified, which may have led some investors to be more cautious about the short-term outlook of the market, resulting in a double decline in the scale and share of equity funds.

In addition, considering the phenomenon of the double increase in the scale and share of bond funds, some investors may be withdrawing funds from more volatile equity funds and turning to more stable pure bond funds, fixed-income plus products, etc.

The scale and share of FOF products also decreased slightly. The total scale of FOF was 336.037 billion yuan at the end of May, a decrease of 7.043 billion yuan compared with the end of April. The share was 306.314 billion units, a decrease of 7.306 billion units compared with the end of April.

Industry insiders believe that the slight decline in the scale of FOF this time is only a short-term phenomenon caused by market fluctuations. The multi-asset balanced allocation strategy of FOF products is still highly recognized by medium- and long-term wealth management funds. Currently, the penetration rate of the domestic FOF industry is relatively low. With the increasing demand for diversified asset allocation among residents, the long-term development space of this track is still very broad.

This article is from the WeChat public account “GEM Observation”. Author: Li Di. Republished by 36Kr with permission.