Insurance Funds Balance Tops RMB 40 Trillion for First Time, Equity Allocation Hits Record 16.23%

As of the end of the second quarter of 2026, the balance of insurance funds in use in China exceeded the RMB 40 trillion mark for the first time, reaching RMB 40.82 trillion, a record high. The balance grew 6.1% from the beginning of the year and 12.7% year on year, with the pace of expansion steadily accelerating. As an important long-term institutional investor in the capital market, insurance funds surpassing RMB 40 trillion in scale marks a further enhancement of their capacity to serve the real economy and the capital market.

In terms of asset allocation structure, as of the end of the second quarter of 2026, the share of bond allocation remained high and stable at 50.52%, unchanged from the end of the first quarter, making it the largest allocation category. Bank deposits fell to 7.7%, and long-term equity investments accounted for 7.62%, both slightly down from the end of the first quarter.

The scale of insurance funds in use has shown a pattern of accelerating growth by stages. It surpassed RMB 10 trillion in 2015, RMB 20 trillion in the second quarter of 2020, RMB 30 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, and successfully crossed the RMB 40 trillion threshold in the second quarter of 2026. From 2020 to 2025, China's original insurance premium income expanded steadily for several consecutive years, reaching RMB 4.5 trillion, RMB 4.49 trillion, RMB 4.7 trillion, RMB 5.12 trillion, RMB 5.7 trillion, and RMB 6.12 trillion respectively. In the first half of 2026, the industry's original insurance premium income reached RMB 3.86 trillion, providing continued support to the asset side. In addition to core premium income, incremental funds such as new payments from policyholder investment accounts and new contributions to separate accounts for investment-linked insurance have also continued to broaden the sources of insurance funds.

Regulators have continuously optimized the regulatory framework for insurance fund investment and orderly expanded investment boundaries. In 2020, they lifted industry restrictions on financial equity investments by insurance funds and implemented negative list management, while also allowing insurance funds to participate in treasury bond futures trading specifically for hedging interest rate fluctuation risks. In 2021, investment in public infrastructure REITs was formally opened, providing standardized tools for insurance funds to allocate to real estate and infrastructure. In 2022, the compliant path for insurance funds to invest in affordable rental housing through multiple channels was clarified. In 2025, a pilot for insurance funds to invest in gold business on the Shanghai Gold Exchange was launched, and the scope of industries eligible for major equity investment was further expanded to cover emerging tracks such as technology and big data. A series of policy implementations have driven insurance funds to gradually shift from a traditional fixed-income-dominated allocation model to a diversified, all-round asset allocation system.