China's public fund assets near 40 trillion yuan in August, hybrid funds lead rebound with over 250 billion yuan monthly gain

September 18 — According to data released by the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), the total scale of China's public funds reached 39.63 trillion yuan as of the end of August, increasing by nearly 530 billion yuan in a single month, once again approaching the historical high of 40 trillion yuan.

Mixed Funds Lead the Rebound

Driven by a recovery in the secondary market, mixed funds became the primary driver of the scale rebound. However, a divergence between the scale and net value of equity funds suggests that some investors chose to lock in profits during the rebound. Meanwhile, money market funds continued their role as a "safe haven," extending their upward trend for several consecutive months.

Mixed Funds Surge by Over 250 Billion Yuan

As of the end of August 2026, there were 165 public fund management institutions in China, including 150 fund management companies and other institutions with public fund qualifications.

Compared with 39.11 trillion yuan at the end of July, the overall scale of public funds rebounded by approximately 529.309 billion yuan in August, a month-on-month increase of 1.35%. After a brief decline in July, the market quickly stabilized and rebounded, once again approaching the historical high of 40 trillion yuan.

Specifically, mixed funds were the main driver of the August rebound:

• Net asset value reached 4.08 trillion yuan at the end of August, up from 3.83 trillion yuan at the end of July.
• This represents a month-on-month increase of approximately 256.793 billion yuan, or 6.70%, accounting for nearly half of the total increment.

Despite the significant increase in net value, the shares of mixed funds decreased slightly:

• Total shares stood at 2.48 trillion shares in August, down 0.21% month-on-month, a reduction of approximately 5.263 billion shares.
• This indicates that the scale increase was mainly driven by the strong rebound in the secondary market — the Shanghai Composite Index rose over 4%, the Shenzhen Component Index rose over 3%, and the STAR Composite Index surged over 8%.
• The slight decline in shares suggests that some fund investors chose to take profits during the rebound.

Equity Funds See Similar Trends

As of the end of August, equity funds had a scale of 5.03 trillion yuan, an increase of approximately 49.661 billion yuan from 4.98 trillion yuan at the end of July, a month-on-month increase of 1.00%. However, shares decreased by 78.915 billion shares in the month.

Among key components of equity funds, several ETFs saw significant share reductions in August:

• Hua Bao CSI Medical ETF: decreased by approximately 7.3 billion shares
• E Fund CSI 300 Medical ETF: decreased by over 5 billion shares
• More than 30 ETFs, including Southern CSI 1000 ETF and Fullgoal SSE Composite ETF, each saw monthly share reductions exceeding 1 billion shares

Money Market Funds Continue Growth

In the fixed-income category, regardless of secondary market volatility, money market funds continued to serve as a "safe haven" for investors and maintained their growth momentum.

• Net asset value of money market funds reached 16.30 trillion yuan in August.
• This represents an increase of 147.68 billion yuan compared with the end of July, a month-on-month increase of 0.91%.

A public fund manager from a South China-based firm noted that the continued growth in money market fund scale is partly due to the ongoing downward trend in macro interest rates.

Bond Funds See Stalled Growth

In contrast, bond funds experienced a stagnation in scale growth in August:

• Scale stood at 11.96 trillion yuan at the end of August, a marginal increase of only 15.681 billion yuan from the end of July.
• Shares declined by 54.225 billion shares.

Institutional analysis suggests that for the bond market, the "weak reality" fundamental has not undergone a substantial reversal. Inflation recovery is mainly driven by external factors, while monetary policy remains moderately accommodative. The medium-term bullish outlook for the bond market remains unchanged, but in the short term, the market is expected to be more volatile due to fine-tuned liquidity management and rising trading congestion. Attention should also be paid to oil prices, the Federal Reserve, exchange rates, and global liquidity.

Other Fund Categories

• QDII funds: Scale reached 1.03 trillion yuan at the end of August, an increase of 13.836 billion yuan (up 1.36%) from the end of July. Similar to equity funds, QDII fund shares declined by 0.63% month-on-month.
• FOFs (Fund of Funds): This was the only category to see a decline in both scale and shares in August. Net asset value fell by 3.397 billion yuan month-on-month, dropping to 327.183 billion yuan.

(Source: Securities Times China)