The CSRC has made its first official statement on the launch of actively managed ETFs. What opportunities will this bring? Learn all about it in one article.

Active ETFs have received clear policy signals.

At the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, Wu Qing, the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, stated that efforts will be made to further enrich investment products and tools, and support the launch of active ETFs on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. According to information obtained by Cailian Press reporters from relevant parties, the promotion of active ETFs will follow a phased, step - by - step, and steady approach. Pilot products will be launched first, and at the same time, the supporting institutional system and ecological construction will be improved. After the smooth operation of the first - batch of pilot products, the product supply will be gradually expanded.

What is an active ETF? Active ETFs adopt the operation mode of ETFs, but their main goal is not to replicate or track a certain target index. Fund managers conduct asset allocation, industry selection, individual stock screening, and portfolio adjustment based on investment strategies in an attempt to achieve returns that exceed the performance benchmark.

Why is the market so looking forward to the launch of active ETFs? Compared with passive ETFs, active ETFs give fund managers more space for portfolio management. Compared with traditional off - exchange active funds, they retain the characteristics of on - exchange real - time trading, subscription and redemption mechanisms, and high information transparency. Active ETFs combine the active research and investment capabilities of fund managers with the on - exchange tool attributes of ETFs.

Currently, the domestic ETF market is still dominated by fully passive index products. Although index - enhanced ETFs introduce a certain degree of active management, they are still restricted by the target index and tracking requirements. After the launch of active ETFs, passive ETFs, index - enhanced ETFs, and active ETFs will form a sequence of on - exchange products with different degrees of active management.

Globally, as of the end of April 2026, the global assets under management of actively managed ETFs reached $2.33 trillion, hitting a record high and accounting for 10.6% of the total global ETF scale. Since the beginning of 2026, the cumulative net inflow has reached $311.66 billion, far exceeding the full - year net inflow of $176.4 billion in 2025.

What does an active ETF mean for fund management institutions?

For fund management institutions, active ETFs provide a new product carrier for their existing research and investment capabilities. The competition in the ETF business will further extend from index resources, product scale, channels, and liquidity to active research and investment, portfolio management, product design, and on - exchange operation capabilities. For long - term funds such as insurance and pensions, the combination of active management, on - exchange trading, and transparent operation also adds a new equity allocation tool.

Compared with passive ETFs, active ETFs no longer mechanically replicate the index. Fund managers can adjust industry allocations and individual stock holdings according to the market environment, and strive for excess returns through active stock selection and portfolio management. Compared with index - enhanced ETFs, fully actively managed products are less restricted by the index, and there may be more strategic space and greater product differences.

Compared with traditional off - exchange active funds, active ETFs have higher position transparency. The products disclose the subscription and redemption lists daily, allowing investors to more timely understand the fund's position exposure, industry allocation, and investment style, reducing the information gap caused by the time lag in the disclosure of regular reports.

What opportunities will active ETFs bring to investors?

For investors, active ETFs provide a type of product that combines active investment capabilities with the tool attributes of ETFs.

Currently, investors mainly participate in active equity investments through off - exchange funds for subscription and redemption. After the launch of active ETFs, fund shares can be bought and sold in real - time at market prices during trading hours. The transaction price and results are more timely, and the use of funds is more flexible.

In terms of fees, when buying and selling active ETFs on the secondary market, there are no subscription and redemption fees and sales service fees for off - exchange funds. The management fees and trading commissions are relatively low, which helps to reduce the comprehensive cost for investors to participate in actively managed products.

Active ETFs do not change the basic risk attributes of fund investments. The product performance still depends on the research and investment capabilities, investment strategies, and portfolio management levels of fund managers. On - exchange trading also involves factors such as liquidity, premium and discount, and trading commissions. When selecting products, investors need to not only focus on short - term performance but also examine the long - term research and investment capabilities, strategy stability, portfolio concentration, turnover rate, and on - exchange liquidity of the fund manager.

Launch pilot products first and gradually expand product supply

Reporters learned from relevant parties that in the future, the development will adhere to a phased, step - by - step, and steady approach. Pilot products will be launched first, and at the same time, the supporting institutional system and ecological construction will be improved. After the smooth operation of the first - batch of pilot products, the product supply will be gradually expanded, continuously enriching wealth management tools, introducing long - term incremental funds into the capital market, and injecting lasting impetus into the innovative development of the public fund industry.

According to this arrangement, the first - batch of products will undertake the functions of market and institutional testing. The situations of investment operations, position disclosures, subscription and redemption, market - making mechanisms, liquidity management, and premium and discount control will also provide practical basis for the subsequent improvement of the system and the expansion of product supply.

The domestic ETF market has been continuously expanding in recent years, and the products have covered multiple asset classes such as stocks, bonds, cross - border assets, commodities, and currencies. As of the end of 2025, the total scale of domestic ETFs exceeded 6 trillion yuan, and the supporting mechanisms for trading, subscription and redemption, market - making, and information disclosure have been continuously improved.

However, currently, on - exchange ETFs are still mainly fully passive index products. Although the index - enhanced ETFs launched since 2021 have introduced a certain degree of active management, their investment operations are still restricted by the target index and tracking requirements, and there is still a gap in fully actively managed ETF products.

Three - fold significance of the launch of active ETFs

Reporters learned from relevant parties that the launch of domestic actively managed ETFs is of strategic significance for the high - quality development of both the capital market and the public fund industry.

First, it strengthens the foundation for the stable operation of the market. Actively managed ETFs give full play to the value - discovery ability of fund managers and enhance the long - term endogenous stability of the capital market.

Second, it improves the multi - level on - exchange product system. Actively managed ETFs integrate the characteristics of transparency, low cost, and flexible strategies, and can precisely match the active investment needs of long - term funds such as insurance and pensions, as well as on - exchange individual investors.

Third, it strengthens the supervision of active investments. The institutional constraint of mandatory disclosure of PCF lists for ETFs will significantly improve the transparency of active investments, promote active fund managers to strictly abide by investment disciplines and stabilize investment styles, and effectively curb industry pain points such as style drift.

From the perspective of the product system, active ETFs will fill the gap in fully actively managed on - exchange products. Fund managers will have more space in industry allocation, individual stock selection, and portfolio adjustment, and the strategic levels and differentiation degrees of on - exchange equity products will be further improved.

For the capital market, the research pricing and value - discovery capabilities of professional institutions can play a greater role through on - exchange products, guiding funds to more effectively allocate high - quality assets. The transparency and tool - like characteristics of active ETFs also provide a new allocation vehicle for long - term funds such as insurance and pensions to participate in the equity market.

For the public fund industry, the competition in the ETF business will further extend from index resources, product scale, channels, and liquidity to active research and investment, portfolio management, product design, and on - exchange operation capabilities. The continuous disclosure of subscription and redemption lists will also subject the actual positions, contract positioning, and investment styles of products to more timely market tests.

Global active ETFs are expanding rapidly

From the perspective of overseas markets, active ETFs have become one of the fastest - growing segments in the global asset management industry.

According to ETFGI data, as of the end of April 2026, the global assets under management of actively managed ETFs reached $2.33 trillion, hitting a record high and accounting for 10.6% of the total global ETF scale. Since the beginning of 2026, the cumulative net inflow has reached $311.66 billion, far exceeding the full - year net inflow of $176.4 billion in 2025.

The trend of ETF - ization of active products in the US market is more obvious. In 2025, the capital inflow into US ETFs exceeded $1.4 trillion, of which the capital inflow into active ETFs exceeded $470 billion, a year - on - year increase of 59%, accounting for 32% of the total capital inflow into ETFs. Among the newly issued ETFs in the US that year, actively managed products accounted for 83%, and the assets under management of active ETFs increased by 63% year - on - year, exceeding $1 trillion.

In 2026, active ETFs are still the main source of incremental growth in the US ETF market. As of the end of April, about 38% of the capital flowing into US ETFs this year has gone to active strategies, and active ETFs account for 79% of the newly issued ETFs this year.

In addition to the issuance of new products, the conversion of traditional mutual funds to ETFs is also accelerating. According to data from JP Morgan Asset Management, in 2025, the number of ETF conversions in the US reached a new high. A total of 60 products under 31 companies were converted from traditional mutual funds, all but one of which were actively managed products. After the conversion, the assets under management of the ETFs reached $38 billion, and they received a capital inflow of $3.6 billion.

The development of overseas markets shows that active ETFs have gradually grown from an early - stage innovative product to an important source of growth in the global ETF market. The combination of active research and investment capabilities with the trading mechanism and fee structure of ETFs is also promoting the transformation of traditional actively managed products to the ETF form.

This article is from the WeChat official account “GEM Observation”. Author: Wu Yuqi. Republished by 36Kr with permission.