China's first batch of 18 actively managed exchange-traded funds began raising money on October 23, according to 新华网客户端, marking a new product category for the country's public fund industry. Several of the offerings, including products from E Fund and Fullgoal Fund, reached their 2 billion yuan initial fundraising ceilings and closed to subscriptions within the first day.
The new funds combine active portfolio management with the trading convenience and transparent holdings that come with the ETF structure. According to 新华网客户端, several fund companies disclosed plans in advance to subscribe with their own capital, a step intended to signal confidence in the new products.
Industry participants cited by 新华网客户端 said active ETFs offer both the return potential of active stock selection and the flexibility and controlled costs of on-exchange trading, widening the range of tools available to household investors. The outlets reporting on the launch also noted that manager purchases and strong first-day demand point to institutional and investor recognition of the A-share market's medium- and long-term value, which could help draw longer-term money into the market.
Coverage of the launch varied on the scale of manager commitments: finance.sina.com.cn reported that five companies, including E Fund, ChinaAMC, Fullgoal and China Universal, announced 1.3 billion yuan in self-purchases, while ThePaper.cn put the figure at 900 million yuan across five fund houses. The discrepancy was not explained in the available reporting.
Watch for the final fundraising totals across all 18 products and the timing of their listing on exchanges.
