After a strong start in the first quarter, 87 funds in April are poised to launch. Will the issuance boom help drive a prolonged bull market?

Ask AI · How does the profit-making effect in the first quarter catalyze the surge in fund issuance?

After the Qingming holiday, A-shares’ second-quarter trading fully kicked off, and the public fund new issuance market also saw an explosive start. Public data shows that on April 7 alone, 27 funds were launched simultaneously, sparking a new peak in issuance for the year. In April, 87 funds have already confirmed their issuance schedules. From the perspective of product layout, sectors like technology, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods are flourishing. The recently concluded first-quarter public fund issuance data is also particularly impressive, with an issuance scale of over 324 billion yuan, up nearly 30% year-on-year, with equity products accounting for over 59%, indicating a clear trend of capital returning. Industry insiders believe that the rebound in new fund issuance this year is mainly related to profit-making effects and other factors. Looking ahead to the second quarter, short-term volatility remains unavoidable, but the market is expected to rebound. Additionally, the hot start of new issuances in April and the implementation of new short-term trading regulations will continue to inject incremental long-term capital into the capital market.

Strong start to April issuance

Entering April, the pace of public fund issuance has significantly accelerated, and the first wave of second-quarter issuance has also begun. Wind data shows that on April 7 alone, 27 funds started fundraising simultaneously, covering active equity, passive index, “fixed income +”, and public FOF products, making it one of the few trading days this year with more than 25 new launches. Looking at the entire April month, 87 funds have already confirmed their issuance plans, and the issuance atmosphere remains hot.

In terms of product structure, equity funds remain the main force of this issuance wave. Among the 87 products, 59 are stock and hybrid funds, accounting for over two-thirds, with active equity, passive index, and index-enhanced products making a strong appearance. Not only does the number of new launches stand out, but many equity funds also set high upper limits for fundraising, reflecting managers’ high expectations for initial scale. For example, five funds launched on April 7, such as Jianxin Consumer Select Stock, Dacheng Qiyuan Value Hybrid, and E Fund CSI Sub-industry Metal ETF, all set their fundraising cap at 8 billion yuan.

In terms of sector layout, technology-related themes remain a key focus for fund companies, with products like the East Money SSE Innovation 100 Index, Penghua SSE STAR Market 200 Index Enhanced, and Invesco Great Wall CSI Innovation & Entrepreneurship AI ETF connecting to current market themes. Meanwhile, under structural market conditions, fund managers are also actively promoting the issuance of products focused on consumption, pharmaceuticals, new energy, and dividends.

Industry insiders believe that the current wave of equity fund issuance in April is not simply about product launches but is driven by multiple favorable factors. Yang Delong, chief economist at Qianhai Kaiyuan Fund, stated that the market’s recovery in new fund issuance this year is mainly related to the market’s 17 consecutive days of gains in January and the resulting profit-making effects, coupled with the overall performance rebound of public funds in 2025, especially those investing in the tech sector, which have performed notably well, attracting residents’ savings to move into the market through subscriptions and purchases.

Highlights of new equity launches in the first quarter

As mentioned above, the hot scene of new launches this year is inseparable from the profit effects in the A-share market. Looking at the recently concluded first quarter, the public issuance market has already shown a significant rebound.

Wind data shows that, based on fund establishment dates, a total of 378 new public funds were established in the first quarter, with a total issuance scale of 324.03B yuan, up 27.27% and 29.62% respectively compared to the first quarter of 2025, which had 297 funds and 249.98B yuan. In terms of new issuance scale alone, this data also set a near five-year high since the first quarter of 2022, reversing the previous sluggish trend in public fund issuance and marking a true “good start.”

It is worth noting that, alongside the large increase in scale, the structure of new funds in the first quarter also tilted toward equity funds. The combined issuance scale of stock and hybrid funds exceeded 59%, a significant increase of 15 percentage points from the same period in 2025. This ratio also hit a five-year high for the same period, indicating that equity funds, which had been dormant for a long time, are once again becoming mainstream.

Financial commentator Guo Shiliang believes that the core driver of this capital return to the equity market is the continuous decline in deposit interest rates, increased activity in the stock market, and improved willingness of capital to convert deposits into investments.

In addition to the scale increase and structural optimization, the first quarter’s public fund issuance also exhibited many positive features. These include the frequent emergence of active equity blockbuster products with initial scales exceeding 5 billion yuan, with the highest surpassing 7.2 billion yuan; a booming period for FOF products, with record-high new issuance in a single quarter; and several new products ending fundraising early due to overwhelming subscriptions, highlighting a trend of market funds concentrating on top-tier public funds and high-quality new products.

Multiple factors drive incremental capital into the market

Overall, the hot issuance in April and the rebound in the first quarter form a perfect relay, providing more allocation tools for market funds aiming to invest in equity assets. However, it cannot be ignored that since the Iran-U.S. incident at the end of February, domestic equity markets have experienced significant volatility. Since March, the three major A-share indices have all declined by over 4%, market risk appetite has decreased, and volatile structured market conditions have become more prominent. As a result, how the equity market will perform in the future, whether the new wave of product issuance can attract more incremental funds, and whether it can further sustain a long-term bull market, are all market concerns.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, Dong Han, director of the Stock Investment Department at Invesco Great Wall and fund manager, said that the uncertainty of war is theoretically expected to become clearer by the end of April, and the market is likely to rebound. Short-term volatility remains unavoidable, as the intensity of the conflict exceeds the forecast framework of the capital market. Structurally, there is optimism about energy security and autonomous, controllable directions unaffected by the global economy.

Guo Shiliang believes that if the daily average trading volume of stocks remains above 20 trillion yuan for a long period and maintains certain profit-making effects, the demand for capital to shift from deposits to investments will also persist.

Yang Delong also pointed out that the influx of new funds from public fund issuance brings additional capital to the market, which is expected to support a market rebound in the second quarter.

Additionally, industry insiders believe that the new short-term trading regulations officially implemented today will help attract long-term incremental capital into the market. Yang Delong noted that the new regulations exempt public funds from certain trading restrictions, facilitating the entry of medium- and long-term funds. This will also boost the enthusiasm for fund issuance and capital inflow. At the same time, the new rules will encourage fund managers to focus more on fundamental research, allocate to industries and companies benefiting from economic transformation, and deliver good performance to investors.