Regulator Reopens 63-Month Amortised-Cost Bond Funds for 15 Small Managers

Fifteen small and mid-sized public fund managers have been approved to file for amortised-cost-method bond funds, all structured as 63-month closed-end bond funds. The institutions include Shangzheng Fund, Hongtu Innovation Fund, Baijia Fund, Zhuque Fund, Guorong Fund, Huaxi Fund, Yimi Fund, Xinghe Fund, Xinghua Fund, Peng'an Fund, Caixin Fund, as well as foreign-owned public funds BlackRock Fund, Neuberger Berman Fund, AllianceBernstein Fund, and Allianz Fund. This approval marks the reopening of such filings after a five-year hiatus, following a full suspension of registration for this product type in 2021.

Amortised-cost-method bond funds use the amortised cost method for valuation, typically operating on a closed-end or periodically open basis, spreading the bond purchase cost evenly over the remaining term and accruing income daily. These products, known for relatively stable returns, low volatility and tax-exempt features, experienced explosive growth from 2019 to 2020. Regulatory requirements were subsequently tightened, with a cap of two funds per company and a fundraising ceiling of RMB 8 billion per fund, until approvals were fully suspended in 2021. As of end-2025, the outstanding scale of amortised-cost-method bond funds stood at RMB 2,079.921 billion, up from RMB 1,458.235 billion at end-2020.

In June 2026, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said in a keynote speech at the Lujiazui Forum that a package of measures would be introduced to support the sound and standardised development of small and mid-sized fund managers, adhering to category-based supervision and highlighting distinctive features, with appropriate support in product layout and business access to promote differentiated development. The 15 fund managers in this batch each had public fund management scale below RMB 30 billion as of the end of the second quarter of 2026.

For the approved products, the single-fund fundraising cap follows existing rules at RMB 8 billion. The products are closed-end with a 63-month term, terminating at maturity without reopening or renewal. Bank channels including China Construction Bank, China CITIC Bank and Industrial Bank will participate in distribution, and the financial market departments of several custodian banks have committed to a certain proportion of co-investment.