Information disclosure rules optimization to solidify the foundation for high-quality development of public offerings

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■ Wang Ning

Recently, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the “Guidelines for Content and Format of Information Disclosure for Publicly Raised Securities Investment Funds No. 2—Periodic Reports” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), which will officially take effect on May 1, 2026. This move is an important institutional arrangement for regulators to implement the “Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Public Funds,” and also a milestone in the development of China’s public fund information disclosure system. I believe that through this revision, we can see a clear trajectory of the regulatory authorities systematically advancing institutional modernization, as well as their careful efforts to protect investors, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the public fund industry.

First, strengthening the foundation of a unified system, effectively reducing industry compliance costs, and providing clearer institutional guidelines for industry development. For a long time, annual reports, semi-annual reports, and quarterly reports of public funds have each corresponded to three separate information disclosure standards, with many overlapping provisions. Similar information is repeatedly required in different reports, with varying formats, which not only imposes heavy compliance burdens on fund managers but also creates unnecessary barriers for investors’ comparative reading.

The “Guidelines” integrate these three sets of rules into a unified framework, with “periodic reports” as the overarching concept guiding the entire document. This is a deep reform that reshapes the institutional structure through systemic thinking. After integration, common clauses are standardized, eliminating potential conflicts between rules and providing fund managers with clear, stable, and predictable compliance guidelines.

Second, returning information to its “useful” essence. The “Guidelines” propose targeted, personalized disclosure requirements based on the functional positioning of annual, semi-annual, and quarterly reports. It is evident that fund reports will soon revert to their core function of “quick signals.” The emphasis on personalized requirements will help push fund managers to improve report quality, prevent “template copying and superficial compliance,” and make information more focused and easier to understand for small and medium investors, thereby more effectively safeguarding their right to know.

Third, easing restrictions and empowering the development of the public fund industry. The “Guidelines” explicitly delete some disclosure clauses that duplicate higher-level regulations, freeing industry resources from cumbersome compliance reporting and guiding focus toward core information disclosure and enhancement of research and investment services. For fund managers, this means more resources can be invested in product design, risk management, and investor services. Overall, this is a positive signal for shifting the industry toward “competency-based competition.”

Institutional optimization is the cornerstone of high-quality industry development, but implementation requires time to verify. How to guide fund managers to truly understand the essence of differentiated disclosure rather than merely meeting minimum compliance requirements will be a key focus in subsequent implementation. It is clear that the public fund information disclosure system is entering a new stage, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the public fund industry.

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Editor: Gao Jia