CBN News 2026-10-26 11:30:08

Author: Gao Zhengyang

(The author of this article is Gao Zhengyang, a special researcher at Suzhou Commercial Bank.)

Since this round of bull market, the structural market trends in the A-share market have continued to unfold, and investors' demand for actively managed investment tools has been on the rise. At the same time, ETF within the market, with its efficient trading mechanism and transparent information disclosure, has become an important channel for investors to allocate their assets. However, previously, all ETF products within the market were passive index-based products, and actively managed products have been in short supply for a long time.

On October 19th, at the 2026 Financial Street Forum, the China Securities Regulatory Commission officially announced that the first batch of 18 active ETF funds had been approved. This marked a significant expansion to the A-share market's fund product system, filling the gap in actively managed equity products. In the current market environment, the launch of these active ETF funds is expected to bring in additional capital to the market and, in the long run, may effectively drive the public fund industry towards high-quality development driven by investment research.

I. Proactive ETF: Innovative products that integrate proactive management with the form of ETF

Before the active ETF was launched, the A-share fund market had a dual structure of passive ETF on-exchange trading and active fund off-exchange subscription and redemption. Passive ETF funds strictly track the underlying index, featuring continuous on-exchange trading, high transparency, and low costs, but they cannot actively select stocks or adjust their portfolios flexibly; traditional active funds rely on the fund manager's active management, offering potential for excess returns, however, they can only be subscribed to or redeemed based on the daily net asset value off-exchange, resulting in lower trading efficiency. Moreover, the portfolio holdings are disclosed quarterly, which leads to a noticeable lag in information availability.

Proactive ETF is an innovative form that combines the advantages of two types of products. Its core lies in integrating the ETF product platform with proactive management capabilities: it retains the advantages of ETF such as on-exchange trading, high transparency, and low entry barriers, while also granting fund managers the authority to proactively select stocks and make flexible configurations. This allows them to adjust their investment portfolios according to market conditions and research findings, with the aim of achieving excess returns.

The core advantages of proactive ETF are reflected in multiple aspects:

• Able to flexibly allocate assets to high-growth emerging sectors, overcoming the lag of passive indices. Passive ETF investments are required to strictly track the constituent stocks of the index, and some high-growth emerging companies that are still in their growth cycles have not yet been included in the index, making them difficult to cover by passive products; whereas active ETF investments allow fund managers to proactively research and make forward-looking allocations, capturing the growth dividends of emerging industries.
• Daily disclosure of positions helps to ensure consistency in investment. Investors can continuously track changes in their portfolios and verify whether fund managers are adhering to the established investment strategies, thereby effectively avoiding the issue of "style drift."
• Relying on the overall investment research platform of public funds, it receives systematic support in industry research, stock selection, risk control, etc., making its active management capabilities more sustainable.

Overall, compared to the passive ETF, the active ETF offers more flexible operational space; moreover, it has higher transparency and trading efficiency than over-the-counter active funds.

II. The Policy Background and Deep Significance of the Proactive ETF Initiative

The initial implementation of the first batch of ETF initiatives is expected to further improve capital market tools and promote high-quality development of the public fund industry.

Firstly, fill the gap in actively managed products within the market and improve the system of equity market allocation tools. Previously, China's on-exchange equity market consisted mainly of passive index products, which were relatively limited in variety and could not meet investors' needs for both on-exchange trading and active management. The introduction of actively managed products can effectively complement these shortcomings, forming a comprehensive range of on-exchange funds that cover both passive indices and active management. This will better accommodate the diversified investment needs in current market conditions, providing both institutional and individual investors with a wider range of on-exchange allocation options.

Secondly, by enhancing the transparency of product information, we lay a solid foundation for trust in the fund industry. We proactively implement a daily position disclosure system ETF, allowing investors to clearly understand the specific composition and changes of their investment portfolios. This helps to verify the consistency between the fund's investment strategy and its product positioning, effectively reducing agency costs and boosting investors' trust in public funds. Such a system design is also expected to encourage the fund industry to pay more attention to the standardization of investment operations, contributing to the continuous optimization of the industry ecosystem.

In addition, it aims to guide public funds back to their core role in investment research and promote high-quality transformation of the industry. As the public fund industry shifts from scale expansion to quality improvement, the ability of active management has increasingly become the core competitiveness of fund companies. The performance of actively managed funds depends on the stock selection capabilities of fund managers and the research strength of their investment teams. The introduction of such measures will force fund companies to strengthen their investment research systems, enhance their abilities in active stock selection and risk control, and drive the industry to transform from being channel-driven to being investment research-driven.

In addition, it is expected to bring incremental funds to the market and facilitate the entry of long-term capital. According to the approved arrangements, the maximum fundraising amount for each of the first batch of 18 products is 2 billion yuan, with a total maximum fundraising of 36 billion yuan, which is expected to bring considerable incremental funds to the A-share market. At the same time, the active in-market trading nature of these products will help to increase market activity, attract more trading funds and long-term allocation funds to participate in the equity market, and strengthen the capital foundation for the medium- to long-term development of the capital market.

III. Global Active ETF Development Status and Experience Sharing

From a global market perspective, actively managed ETF has become an important growth driver in the global ETF industry, with relatively mature product forms and operational models. According to ETFGI data, as of the end of August this year, the total scale of globally active managed ETF reached 2.72 trillion US dollars, representing a 42.6% increase from 1.91 trillion US dollars at the end of 2025.

The active ETF development in mature overseas markets exhibits several characteristics:

• The product coverage is comprehensive, encompassing multiple asset classes such as stocks, bonds, and multi-assets. Strategy types include value, growth, dividend, quantitative, hedging, and various other styles, which can meet the investment allocation needs of investors with different risk preferences.
• Clear core selling points, generally featuring proactive management of excess returns, ETF trading efficiency, and high transparency as its core advantages. This has not only attracted many investors from traditional active funds but also gained recognition from funds engaged in on-exchange trading.
• With a well-established regulatory system, there are clear regulatory requirements for proactive disclosure of information related to ETF, diversification of holdings, and liquidity management, ensuring the stable operation of the product.

Experience in developing overseas markets provides important references for the domestic active ETF. On one hand, comprehensive information disclosure and strict compliance supervision are the foundations for the healthy development of active ETF. The first batch of domestic products fully incorporate this experience in their institutional design, implementing daily position disclosures and strict position constraints. On the other hand, the long-term development of active ETF relies on a mature investment research system; only by continuously enhancing active management capabilities can the core value of the products be truly reflected. In the future, as the domestic market gradually matures, active ETF is expected to further expand in strategy types and asset categories, forming a more diverse product portfolio.

IV. Features of the First Batch of 18 Proactive ETF Products

The 18 approved ETF funds this time are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in equal numbers, with 9 funds listed on each exchange. From the overall framework of product design, the first batch of products focuses on a stable investment strategy, and the regulatory authorities have also set strict risk constraints, reflecting a regulatory approach of 'steady start, risk prevention.'

From the perspective of strategy distribution, balanced strategies are the main force, with a collaborative coverage of diverse styles. Among the first batch of products, there are the most balanced strategy products, totaling 9; followed by value strategies with 4, and dividend strategies with 3; in addition, there is 1 quality strategy and 1 large-cap growth strategy. The overall strategy layout leans towards diversification and stability, with a wide-based style configuration as the core, avoiding concentrated risks in a single sector. This approach is well-suited to the current market environment of volatility and aligns with the regulatory guidance towards long-term value investment.

From a performance benchmark perspective, the first batch of products mainly targets broad-based style indices, including the CSI 800, CSI A500, CSI A100, CSI 300 Growth, CSI Dividends, and other broad-based and style indices. Among them, the number of products tracking the CSI 800-related benchmarks is the largest, covering various strategies such as balanced, value, and quality. Overall, this reflects the product positioning of the fund companies, which is based on selecting stocks from the entire market and aims for stable styles, which is conducive to reducing portfolio volatility.

From the perspective of position holding regulations, the rules are strictly detailed, with a focus on ensuring diversification and liquidity. To fully prevent and control investment risks, the exchange has set clear position holding constraints for the first batch of actively ETF.

1. The number of stocks held should not be less than 30 to achieve sufficient diversification of the portfolio.
2. The combined weight of the top 10 positions in the portfolio shall not exceed 60% of the net asset value of the fund, to avoid excessive concentration in individual stocks.
3. The average daily trading amount of stocks held in a fund's investment portfolio over the past year should be among the top 80% of all listed stocks on the securities exchange where they are traded, to ensure the liquidity of the investment portfolio.
4. Impose constraints on the investment turnover rate, adhere to the principle of stable and orderly position adjustment, and eliminate frequent short-term trading and concentrated large-scale position adjustments.

Strict regulatory rules have laid a solid foundation for risk prevention for the first batch of proactive ETF to operate smoothly.

V. Target Audience and Investment Options for Proactive ETF

As an innovative product that combines proactive management capabilities with in-market trading efficiency, ETF can meet the configuration needs of various types of investors. Investors can make rational choices based on their own risk preferences and investment objectives.

From the perspective of suitable investors, three types of investors can focus on actively ETF:

• Active management investors with a need for on-exchange trading. Previously, investors who preferred actively managed products could only participate through over-the-counter subscriptions and redemptions, resulting in relatively low trading efficiency. The newly supported real-time trading during market hours allows investors to flexibly adjust their positions in response to market fluctuations, while still retaining the potential for excess returns associated with active management.
• Investors who pay attention to product transparency and are concerned about style drift. Proactively ETF disclose their holdings daily, allowing investors to track portfolio changes in real-time and verify the implementation of fund managers' investment strategies, effectively avoiding the risks of delayed information disclosure and style drift associated with traditional active funds.
• Investors seeking diversified portfolios to adapt to structural market conditions. The first batch of actively managed ETF covers a variety of styles such as balanced, value, dividend, and growth. Investors can configure their portfolios according to their own judgment to build diversified investment portfolios.

In terms of specific product selection, investors can filter options from multiple dimensions.

1. Strictly configure and select strategies according to your own risk preferences and investment objectives. Avoid blindly chasing short-term hot topics or choosing products that do not match your risk tolerance.
2. Pay attention to the strength of fund managers and research teams. The core value of actively ETF lies in its proactive management capabilities. Investors should focus on examining the historical performance of fund managers, the stability of their investment styles, their industry research expertise, as well as the overall strength of the research platform of the fund companies they represent. It is advisable to choose products managed by fund managers who excel in research capabilities and have clear, stable investment styles.
3. Continuously track the consistency of investment strategies. Leveraging the advantage of daily position disclosure, investors can continuously monitor changes in product holdings to verify whether fund managers strictly adhere to the established investment strategies, thereby avoiding style drift and deviations from the product's positioning.

Overall, the official approval of the first batch of 18 active ETF funds marks a new phase in the coordinated development of passive and active management in the A-share fund market. In the short term, these initial products are expected to bring an additional 36 billion yuan to the market, enhancing market liquidity. In the medium to long term, the introduction of active ETF funds will improve the equity market's toolset and is expected to promote the upgrade of public fund industry's investment research capabilities, contributing to the long-term healthy development of the capital market.

In the future, as the active ETF market gradually matures, it is expected that more types of strategies and more asset classes of active ETF products will be launched, further enriching investors' options for asset allocation. At the same time, the development of active ETF will also force fund companies to continuously strengthen their investment research capabilities, return to the essence of active management, and create better investment returns for investors. For investors, it is important to fully understand the product characteristics and risk-return profiles of active ETF and make rational allocations based on their own needs.

First published exclusively by Yicai.com. This article represents solely the views of the author and does not constitute investment advice.

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Article title: 18 actively managed funds ETF raised approximately 15 billion yuan on their debut, with 3 products selling out in a single day. The article also mentions that on the first day of sale for the first batch of 18 publicly offered actively managed funds ETF, 3 products reached their fundraising targets ahead of schedule and began proportional allocation, while several fund companies simultaneously announced plans to purchase a total of 1.5 billion yuan worth of their own shares.