Multiple bank wealth management subsidiaries cut fees, some products drop to zero

Since September this year, the wealth management market has witnessed a renewed wave of fee reductions. Multiple wealth management subsidiaries have issued密集 announcements on fee concessions, lowering various charges such as fixed management fees and sales service fees. Some products have seen fees drop to 0.01%, with certain products even offering temporary zero-fee arrangements.

Wu Zewei, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, noted that this is a market-driven concession under the dual pressures of a low-interest-rate environment and intensified stock competition in the industry. It also represents an important step to optimize investor returns. However, most fee reductions are temporary promotional arrangements rather than long-term institutional price adjustments. While they can alleviate short-term pressure on product returns, the industry will ultimately move beyond fee-based competition and return to its core focus on investment research capabilities, forcing institutions to improve asset operations and refined management.

Revenue Pressure Drives Concessions

Recently, several wealth management subsidiaries—including ICBC Wealth Management, CMB Wealth Management, ABC Wealth Management, SPD Wealth Management, and Ningbo Bank Wealth Management—have issued密集 announcements on fee reductions, lowering sales service fees, fixed management fees, or custody fees for their products.

On September 20, China Post Wealth Management announced阶段性 fee concessions for multiple wealth management products. On the same day, BOC Wealth Management announced a gradual reduction in the fixed management fee for its "BOC Wealth Management – Huixiang Tiantian No. 44" product: from September 21 to October 20, the fixed management fee would be reduced from 0.15% (annualized) to 0.01% (annualized); from October 21 to November 20, it would be reduced from 0.15% (annualized) to 0.05% (annualized).

"Zero-fee" arrangements have also emerged. Ningbo Bank Wealth Management's "Ningxin Tiantian Liujin Cash Management Wealth Management Product No. 56" reduced its sales service fee from 0.40% to 0%. Similarly, ICBC Wealth Management's "Tiantian Xin Wenyue Private Banking Exclusive Interbank CD and Deposit Fixed Income Open-ended Wealth Management Product" also lowered its sales service fee to 0%.

The concentrated fee reductions are driven by the dual pressures of shrinking wealth management returns and intensifying competition among peers. According to the China Banking Wealth Management Market Semi-Annual Report (First Half of 2026) released by the Banking Wealth Management Registration and Custody Center, wealth management products generated a total of 305.2 billion yuan in returns for investors in the first half of the year, with an average annualized return of 2.05%. Both figures were lower than those for the same period in 2025, with the total return for investors declining by 21.66% year-on-year.

At the same time, the scale of the market remains high. The report shows that as of the end of June this year, the total存续 scale of the bank wealth management market stood at 33.66 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.11% from the beginning of the year. The number of存续 wealth management products reached 51,200, up 10.58% from the start of the year and 22.49% year-on-year. Against this backdrop, lowering management fees has become a key tool for wealth management institutions to improve client experience and retain existing funds.

Wu Zewei told a China Business News reporter that the current market asset yields continue to decline, the underlying return space for fixed-income wealth management products is narrowing, and product net value performance is generally under pressure. By lowering various management fees, wealth management institutions can directly increase investors' actual returns and effectively improve their holding experience.

Returning to the Core of Capability Competition

Experts say that fee reductions have a two-way impact on wealth management institutions and investors, reshaping the industry's profit structure and competitive logic.

Industry insiders believe that this round of fee cuts is a differentiated measure introduced by wealth management subsidiaries based on their product portfolios and client retention needs. The duration of the优惠 periods varies, with many products offering only a few months of优惠 windows. From an industry perspective, after years of net value transformation, the competition for existing clients in the wealth management market has become increasingly fierce. Against the backdrop of limited room for asset-side yield increases, fees have become a direct tool for institutions to retain clients. However, the sustainability of price-based measures is constrained by institutional profitability.

"For wealth management institutions, fee reductions may cause short-term revenue disruptions, but in the long run, they could drive the industry toward value-driven transformation, forcing institutions to strengthen their investment research capabilities and differentiated product offerings," said Gao Zhengyang, a special researcher at Sushang Bank. "Large institutions can offset fee declines through economies of scale, while small and medium-sized institutions face greater profitability and competitive pressure."

According to the semi-annual reports of listed companies, the profitability of wealth management companies diverged in the first half of this year. CITIC Wealth Management's net profit increased by approximately 27% year-on-year to 1.518 billion yuan, while several institutions—including ABC Wealth Management, BOC Wealth Management, and Ping An Wealth Management—saw net profit declines of over 20% year-on-year. Scale competition is also fierce. CMB Wealth Management continued to lead with 2.74 trillion yuan in assets, while CITIC Wealth Management expanded by nearly 200 billion yuan in the first half of the year to take second place, pushing Industrial Bank Wealth Management to third. While fee concessions improve investor experience, they also accelerate the industry's shift from "competing on fees" to "competing on investment research, risk control, and service."

Gao Zhengyang noted that for investors, fee reductions can slightly increase net returns from the cost side. However, fees alone cannot determine the investment value of a wealth management product. Investors should still make comprehensive choices based on their own risk preferences, focusing on factors such as product risk levels, investment horizons, underlying assets, and net value fluctuations.

(Note: This article does not constitute any investment or financial advice.)