What is the investment strategy during the low-interest rate era when 50 trillion yuan in fixed deposits mature?

The curtain of the deposit era has quietly fallen, and the prologue to professional wealth management is gradually unfolding.

At a family gathering, a friend mentioned a new need in their capital planning: back in 2021, the interest rate on a five-year large-denomination certificate of deposit exceeded 4% that year, and the interest could cover their child’s extracurricular classes. Now, when asking about the rollover interest rate, it is only around 1.5%, and the returns have clearly been reduced. Finding a way to manage funds that is “safe and reasonably accretive” has become a shared demand for many families.

According to calculations by Huatai Securities, the amount of one-year-or-longer time deposits due in 2026 will reach 50 trillion yuan for the full year, mostly made up of household reserve funds deposited during the high-interest periods of 2020 to 2021. Over the past decade, the five-year fixed deposit rates at state-owned large banks have fallen from above 5% to 1.3%, and even the highest large-denomination CD rates have struggled to exceed 1.6%. Interest rate declines are a long-term trend under economic transition, and low rates may already have become the new norm of the times.

Currently, the yields of money market funds and cash-management-type wealth management products have continued to trend downward, while volatility in the A-share market has increased and the cost-effectiveness between stocks and bonds has returned to balance. After a surge, gold has seen larger trading-range fluctuations; bank wealth management yields are steady but still subject to net value volatility. As a result, a growing number of maturing funds are looking for more suitable allocation directions. Under the core needs of “stable base and reasonable appreciation,” low-to-mid volatility “fixed-income plus” (固收+) and FOFs (funds of funds), which aim to combine stability with yield upside, are expected to become excellent options for household asset allocation thanks to their balanced advantages between risk and return.

Low-to-mid volatility “fixed-income plus” seeks stability with progress

In recent years, more capital has been gradually flowing into low-to-mid volatility, interest-rate-bearing products. Wind data shows that as of the end of 2025, the scale of fund products such as first-tier bond funds, second-tier bond funds, debt-oriented hybrid funds, convertible bond funds, and more has reached 2.74 trillion yuan, with full-year growth of about 60%, and the total scale has hit an all-time high. Against this backdrop, leading fund companies represented by Industrial and Commercial Fund (ICBC? here: 工银瑞信) are important participants in this trend.

Taking the ICBC Dual Xi 6-Month Holding Period Bond (Class A: 011091) as an example, the product is steered by He Xiuhong, Chief Fixed-Income Investment Director of the fixed-income department at ICBC Credit Suisse? (here: 工银瑞信): this “old hand” has 18 years of securities practice experience and 14 years of investment management experience, and is adept at flexibly adjusting duration through macro outlook judgments. In credit bond allocation, they consistently adhere to risk-control bottom lines. The product follows the highlight of “stocks and bonds complement each other, driven by dual engines.” While controlling volatility, it also moderately allocates equity-type assets, striving to improve yield elasticity and aligning with capital’s core demand for “progress with stability.” Meanwhile, the product uses a distinctive design of “holding period + fixed-income.” It builds a relatively stable yield base with bond assets, and also reduces frequent subscription and redemption impacts through the 6-month holding period rule, using discipline to counter human weaknesses and help investors avoid interference from short-term volatility. The quarterly report shows that over the past year, the Class A yield of this fund was 4.05%, beating the performance benchmark by about 1.2 percentage points. At year-end, the total size reached 2.119 billion yuan, a significant increase from 167 million yuan at the end of 2024.

Focusing on the industrial bond market, ICBC Industrial Bonds (Class A: 000045), also managed by He Xiuhong. In an environment where credit bond supply is shrinking and demand is strong, the product selects bonds issued by high-quality industrial entities, while also moderately allocating quality “blue-chip” stocks across different industries. It seeks opportunities within certainty, aiming for equity enhancement with low turnover and high certainty. The quarterly report shows that as of the end of 2025, ICBC Industrial Bonds A has achieved a cumulative return of 109.51% since its inception, delivering more than 50% of excess returns versus the benchmark. In addition, over the past six months, over the past one year, and over the past three years, its returns have all achieved significant excess versus the benchmark.

Another “long-distance runner” fund co-managed by He Xiuhong—ICBC Quarterly Income Bond A (164808)—also performs exceptionally well. Since its transformation in February 2014, it has undergone multiple market cycles and has demonstrated very strong volatility resistance and return-generation capability. Performance data confirms its strength: according to the quarterly report, as of the end of 2025, since its transformation on February 10, 2014, the fund’s Class A cumulative return has reached 94.07%, far outperforming the benchmark of 61.67%. Over the past year, its return was 2.87%, exceeding the benchmark by 1.12 percentage points; over the past five years, its return ranking among peers has been relatively in the top range. At the same time, Wind data shows that as of the end of 2025, the fund’s maximum drawdowns over the past one year, three years, and five years were all better than the peer average.

Behind these performance figures is the ICBC Credit Suisse? (here: 工银瑞信) fixed-income team’s clear understanding of the macro trend and forward-looking grasp. The ICBC Credit Suisse? fixed-income team led by He Xiuhong observes that some investors favor products with dividend mechanisms and can meet daily cash needs in addition to wealth management. Other investors place greater emphasis on long-term returns built on low volatility; therefore, the low-to-mid volatility “fixed-income plus” products led and managed by her have different strategic and operational emphases, achieving precise matching to different needs. Overall, from pure fixed income as a base to equity enhancement, the “fixed-income plus” product matrix of ICBC Credit Suisse? provides diversified allocation options for maturing certificate-of-deposit funds, much like a “wealth ark” tailored to the capital of different needs, supported by differentiated positioning and solid performance.

FOF—easy and tailored

This year, FOF fund issuance has been booming. Wind data shows that as of March 20, 2026, the newly issued scale of FOFs has reached 65.125 billion yuan. The allocation value of FOFs is being rapidly recognized and accepted. For ordinary investors, FOFs are “fund selection” handled by professional teams—convenient and efficient—making them a good allocation choice after deposit maturities.

Among the leading FOF institutions with a scale exceeding 6 billion yuan at the end of 2025, four public fund managers including ICBC Credit Suisse? saw full-year scale growth of more than 100%, with the fourth-quarter increase even surpassing 60%. If 2022–2025 returns above 10% are used as the screening standard, ICBC Credit Suisse? has 8 funds that qualify, ranking first in the industry by number. ICBC Value Steady 6-Month Holding FOF (Class A: 013300) is one of the core representatives.

This fund is co-managed by Zhao Zhiyuan, General Manager of the FOF Investment Department, and Xu Xinyuan, the fund manager. It is positioned as a medium-risk fixed-income plus strategy, with 25% as the upper limit for risk assets. It adopts a “strategic + tactical” two-layer allocation framework: at the strategic layer, stocks and bonds are the core, supplemented by low-correlation assets such as commodities to build a diversified hedging portfolio while strictly controlling drawdowns; at the tactical layer, it uses quantitative models to dynamically adjust and selects funds with the ability to deliver consistent excess returns. The quarterly report shows that the fund’s return over the past year was 7.27%, exceeding the performance benchmark of 4.63%. Drawdown control has been good, and the 6-month holding period design fits the “progress with stability” needs of deposit-maturing funds.

For investors with lower risk tolerance and shorter capital usage horizons, ICBC Zhiyuan Allocation FOF with a 3-month holding period (Class A: 008144) offers a flexible option. This fund is managed by Zhou Zheng, a fund manager with 12 years of securities practice experience and 9 years of investment management experience. The product is positioned as low risk. It uses bond funds as the core holding and seeks capital preservation and value appreciation through diversified multi-asset allocation across stocks, bonds, commodities, QDII, and more, while strictly controlling volatility. The 3-month holding period both reduces disruptions from frequent subscriptions and redemptions and provides the fund manager with a stable operating space, making it suitable for short-term transition needs of low-to-mid risk capital.

Another product managed by Zhou Zheng—ICBC Steady Retirement One-Year Holding A (009335)—focuses on long-term allocation scenarios. With a steady asset allocation strategy, this product can absorb long-term allocation needs after deposit maturities, especially making it suitable as a choice for retirement funds and other long-term planning.

From short-term flexible allocation to long-term retirement planning, the ICBC Credit Suisse? FOF product line, with its differentiated positioning and solid performance, is like a “wealth expressway” mapped from the present to the future—smooth and efficient—providing diversified allocation choices for maturing deposit funds.

Building research and risk control at the foundation

The long-term stability of the products comes from ICBC Credit Suisse?’s full-chain professional support covering “research & investment—risk control—products.” On the research side, ICBC Credit Suisse? builds a three-tier research system of “macro—meso—micro,” integrating a “top-down + bottom-up” strategy to support fund managers in dynamically adjusting duration and asset allocation, calmly responding to market volatility. On the risk control side, ICBC Credit Suisse? equips dedicated credit research teams; internal rating standards are stricter than external ones. It builds a comprehensive risk-control system covering multiple types of risk, and uses methods such as duration management and diversified investing to strictly control volatility, always placing the safety of capital first. On the product side, supported by the system, ICBC Credit Suisse? constructs a product matrix covering multiple strategy types, precisely matching differentiated allocation needs of investors with different risk preferences.

From the research system to the risk-control mechanism to the product matrix, ICBC Credit Suisse? replaces reliance on a single manager with a “platform-based, team-based, integrated, multi-strategy” system. It uses institutional certainty to counter market uncertainty, like a calm and reliable “wealth steward” that silently safeguards every portion of capital, becoming a holder for maturing deposit funds.

Conclusion:

With 50 trillion yuan of capital being reallocated, this represents a profound transition of household wealth management in China from “single reliance” to “multiple balanced.” It is a “century migration” concerning the future of wealth. The era when you could easily beat inflation by relying on deposits is already gone. Professionalism, discipline, and long-termism are becoming the core codes for preserving and growing wealth.

For ordinary investors, rather than constantly timing the market amid market noise, it may be better to use professional, systematic tools to achieve a steady transition of wealth. With “fixed-income plus” and FOF product lines spanning short, medium, and long terms, with clearly defined risk gradients, and with drawdown control as a prerequisite, aiming for a reasonably moderate, predictable return, they align precisely with the core need of maturing deposit funds to “make progress with stability.”

As a seasoned investor once said: “True peace of mind about wealth isn’t a sudden surge in the numbers in your account—it’s knowing how your money is being handled.” In an era of falling interest rates and recurring volatility, perhaps the smartest “moving” method is to hand your funds to managers who respect and fear risk, honor the cycle, and are willing to deliver commitments using professionalism and time—ICBC Credit Suisse? is one of the practitioners.

Data notes:

1. Fund ranking data sources from Galaxy Securities; data as of December 31, 2025. The specific ranking of the last five years’ returns of ICBC Quarterly Income Bond is 65/186, in the same category: bond funds—ordinary bond funds—ordinary bond funds (can invest in convertible bonds) (Class A).

2. Performance data of various funds are sourced from fund periodic reports; data as of December 31, 2025.

ICBC Quarterly Income Bond A was established on February 10, 2011. He Xiuhong began managing the fund on February 10, 2011, and Huang Yangli began managing it on December 24, 2024. The fund’s net value growth rates for each year 2021–2025 were 7.01%, 1.08%, 3.17%, 5.36%, and 2.87%, respectively; over the same period, the benchmark return rates were 4.22%, 2.59%, 4.36%, 4.34%, and 1.75%, respectively.

ICBC Dual Xi 6-Month Holding Period Bond A was established on June 11, 2021. He Xiuhong began managing the fund on June 11, 2021, and Duan Wei began managing it on October 21, 2025. The fund’s net value growth rates for each year 2021–2025 were 2.37%, -3.04%, 1.58%, 7.82%, and 4.05%, respectively; over the same period, the benchmark return rates were 1.47%, 1.63%, 3.12%, 8.79%, and 2.72%, respectively.

ICBC Industrial Bonds Bond A was established on March 29, 2013. He Xiuhong began managing the fund on March 29, 2013, Gu Qingchun began managing it on December 25, 2023, and Zhang Weisheng began managing it on May 22, 2025. The fund’s net value growth rates for each year 2021–2025 were 4.92%, -2.74%, 0.65%, 6.62%, and 6.07%, respectively; over the same period, the benchmark return rates were 3.75%, 3.75%, 3.75%, 3.75%, and 3.75%, respectively. Over the past 6 months, the net value growth rates for the past year and past three years were 4.80%, 6.07%, and 13.83%, respectively; over the same periods, the benchmark return rates were 1.89%, 3.75%, and 11.25%, respectively.

ICBC Value Steady 6-Month Holding Hybrid (FOF) A was established on November 9, 2021. Jiang Huan began managing it on November 9, 2021, Xu Xinyuan began managing it on December 1, 2021, and Zhao Zhiyuan began managing it on April 1, 2025. The fund’s net value growth rates for each year 2022–2025 were -1.34%, -1.72%, 4.95%, and 7.27%, respectively; over the same period, the benchmark return rates were 0.71%, 3.23%, 8.30%, and 2.64%, respectively.

Fee notes:

The fees for ICBC Quarterly Income Bond A are as follows: management fee rate is 0.3% per year, and custody fee rate is 0.1% per year. Subscription fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.6%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 3 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.4%; when 3 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.2%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase/subscribe fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.8%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 3 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.5%; when 3 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.3%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Redemption fee (off-exchange): for holding period < 7 days, the fee rate is 1.50%; for 7 days <= holding period < 30 days, the fee rate is 0.75%; for 30 days <= holding period < 365 days, the fee rate is 0.10%; for 1 year <= holding period < 2 years, the fee rate is 0.05%; for holding period >= 2 years, the fee rate is 0.00%. Redemption fee (on-exchange): for holding period < 7 days, the fee rate is 1.50%; for holding period >= 7 days, the fee rate is 0.10%. The Class A of this fund does not charge a sales service fee.

The fees for ICBC Dual Xi 6-Month Holding A are as follows: management fee rate is 0.6% per year, custody fee rate is 0.1% per year. This fund sets a minimum holding period of 6 months and does not charge redemption fees. Subscription fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.40%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.20%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase/subscribe fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.50%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.30%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. The Class A of this fund does not charge a sales service fee.

The fees for ICBC Industrial Bonds Bond A are as follows: management fee rate is 0.6% per year, and custody fee rate is 0.2% per year. Subscription fee: for ordinary investor subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.6%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 3 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.4%; when 3 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.2%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase/subscribe fee: for ordinary investor subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.8%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 3 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.5%; when 3 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.3%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Redemption fee: for holding period < 7 days, the fee rate is 1.50%; for 7 days <= holding period < 30 days, the fee rate is 0.75%; for 30 days <= holding period < 365 days, the fee rate is 0.10%; for 1 year <= holding period < 2 years, the fee rate is 0.05%; for holding period >= 2 years, the fee rate is 0.00%. The Class A of this fund does not charge a sales service fee.

The fees for ICBC Value Steady 6-Month Holding FOF (Class A: 013300) are as follows: management fee rate is 0.6% per year, and custody fee rate is 0.15% per year. Subscription fee: for ordinary investor subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.6%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.4%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase/subscribe fee: for ordinary investor subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.8%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.5%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. For ordinary investors, this fund sets a minimum holding period of 6 months for each fund share. This fund does not charge redemption fees. The Class A of this fund does not charge a sales service fee.

The fees for ICBC Zhiyuan Allocation 3-Month Holding FOF (Class A: 008144) are as follows: management fee rate is 0.5% per year, and custody fee rate is 0.2% per year. Subscription fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.8%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.6%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase/subscribe fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 1%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.8%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Redemption fee: for holding period < 180 days, the fee rate is 0.50%; for holding period >= 180 days, the fee rate is 0.00%. The Class A of this fund does not charge a sales service fee.

The fees for ICBC Steady Retirement One-Year Holding A (009335) are as follows: management fee rate is 0.6% per year, and custody fee rate is 0.15% per year. Subscription fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.6%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 3 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.4%; when 3 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.2%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Purchase/subscribe fee: for subscription amount M, when M < 1 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.8%; when 1 million yuan ≤ M < 3 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.5%; when 3 million yuan ≤ M < 5 million yuan, the fee rate is 0.3%; when M ≥ 5 million yuan, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Redemption fee: for holding period >= 1 year, the fee rate is 0.00%; for ordinary investors, this fund does not charge redemption fees. The Class A of this fund does not charge a sales service fee.

Risk warning:

The fund manager manages and uses fund assets in accordance with the principles of diligent duty, honesty and trustworthiness, and prudent and diligent practice, but does not guarantee that the fund will definitely generate profits or guarantee a minimum return. Past performance of the fund does not predict future performance, and the performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not constitute a guarantee of the fund’s performance. ICBC Quarterly Income Bond, ICBC Dual Xi 6-Month, and ICBC Industrial Bonds are bond funds; their expected return and risk levels are lower than stock funds and hybrid funds, but higher than money market funds. Specifically: ICBC Quarterly Income Bond mainly invests in bonds issued by corporate institutions such as corporate bonds, enterprise bonds, short-term financing bills, financial bonds of commercial banks and subordinated bonds, asset-backed securities of enterprises, and convertible bonds (including convertible bonds with separated issuance). Its long-term average risk level and expected yield are higher than those of ordinary bond funds. ICBC Industrial Bonds can allocate to secondary-market stocks, so its expected return and risk levels are higher than those of bond funds that do not include secondary-market stocks in their investment scope. ICBC Dual Xi 6-Month Holding Period Bond sets a minimum holding period of 6 months for each fund share; during the minimum holding period, that share cannot be redeemed. ICBC Value Steady 6-Month Holding Hybrid (FOF), ICBC Zhiyuan Allocation 3-Month Holding, and ICBC Steady Retirement One-Year Holding A are fund-of-funds (hybrid fund of funds). Their expected return and risk levels are lower than those of stock funds and stock fund-of-funds, and higher than those of bond funds, bond fund-of-funds, money market funds, and money-type fund-of-funds. For ICBC Value Steady 6-Month Holding Hybrid (FOF), a minimum holding period of 6 months is set for each fund share; for ICBC Zhiyuan Allocation with a 3-month holding period, a minimum holding period of 3 months is set for each fund share; and for ICBC Steady Retirement One-Year Holding A, a minimum holding period of 12 months is set for each fund share. Investors can only submit redemption applications on open days after the minimum holding period expires, and face the risk that they may not be able to redeem during the minimum holding period. If the product invests in overseas securities, in addition to bearing general investment risks similar to those faced by domestic securities investment funds—such as market volatility risks—it also faces special investment risks in overseas securities markets, such as exchange-rate risk. If the fund invests in stocks accessible via the Hong Kong Stock Connect (Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect), it will need to bear specific risks arising from differences in the investment environment, the investment target, market systems, trading rules, and so on under the Hong Kong Stock Connect mechanism. Funds involve risk; before investing, investors should read carefully the legal documents including the “Fund Contract,” “Prospectus,” “Fund Product Information Summary,” and related updates. After fully understanding the product details, fee structure, the fee standards of each sales channel, and listening to the suitability opinions of sales institutions, investors should choose investment products appropriate to their own risk tolerance. Fund investment involves caution.

Source: Securities Times Fund Research Institute

Proofread by: Liu Xingying