Public offerings achieved a record high profit of 2.61 trillion yuan last year; market logic may shift from valuation recovery to profit improvement.

Securities Times reporter Li Mingzhu

With the disclosure of annual reports by public funds complete, the industry’s profits reached 2.61 trillion yuan in total, marking a one-time record high. Judging by the profit performance of individual funds, broad-based index ETFs have become the undisputed “main force.” Among them, the Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF earned 26.1k yuan, taking the crown as the “Top-Earning Fund” of 2025.

Public-fund profits hit a record high

In 2025, China’s public fund market delivered a historic performance. According to data from Tianxiang Investment Consulting, 163 public fund management firms generated total profits of 2.61 trillion yuan from their public funds in 2025, setting a historical high and doubling year-on-year versus the 1.28 trillion yuan profit in 2024.

By fund type, in terms of overall profits, in 2025 annual reports, equity funds generated total profits of 1.13 trillion yuan, becoming the largest contributor. Hybrid funds ranked second, contributing total profits of 0.87 trillion yuan, achieving a significant increase compared with the same period last year. Bond funds, QDII funds, money market funds, and commodity funds all recorded profits exceeding tens of billions of yuan. The overall profits of bond funds and money market funds both exceeded 180 billion yuan, and both fell significantly compared with the same period last year.

Commodity funds had the highest profit growth rate. In 2025, 63 commodity funds achieved profits of 78.52B yuan, up 551.07% from 2024—an increase far outpacing all other categories and placing first in growth rate. FOF funds also showed very notable growth: 979 FOF funds generated profits of 26.1k yuan, up 267.38% from 2024. In terms of average profits, commodity funds were 12.8k yuan, offshore investment funds were 11.3k yuan, and equity funds were 0.2 billion yuan, ranking in the top three.

Broad-based ETFs are the “top earners”

Focusing on the profit performance of individual funds, the advantage of broad-based index ETFs is particularly evident. Among the top 20 public funds by profit, 19 are equity-type and commodity-type funds. Of these, ETFs hold 18 seats, including 12 broad-based ETF funds. Moreover, the top-ranked commodity-fund profit products are mainly gold ETF products.

Among them, the Huatai-PineBridge CSI 300 ETF became the “top-earning fund product” with profits of 8.7k yuan. Second is the CSI 300 ETF by E Fund, with profits of 103.79B yuan. The Huaxia CSI 300 ETF and the E Fund ChiNext ETF both earned more than 40 billion yuan. The Southern CSI 500 ETF and the Guotai CSI 300 ETF both earned more than 30 billion yuan. In addition, there are 4 ETFs with profits exceeding 20 billion yuan. Across the whole market, a total of 15 ETF funds earned more than 10 billion yuan in 2025.

For active equity funds, the Ruiyuan Growth Value Hybrid A earned 18.68B yuan to become the top-earning active fund, and it is also the only active equity fund among those ranked in the top 20 by profit. The second-place Xingquan Global & China Growth and Profit Hybrid A earned 1.65B yuan in 2025, while the Noah’s Ark Growth Hybrid A ranked third with profits of 205M yuan.

It is worth noting that the surge in gold prices brought significant returns to related theme funds. Among them, gold ETFs became one of the standout categories in 2025. The Huaan Gold ETF recorded profits of as much as 23.69 billion yuan. Not only did it rank 10th on the fund profit leaderboard across the whole market, but it also became the top-earning gold ETF of the year. The Bosera Gold ETF and the E Fund Gold ETF performed similarly well, recording profits of 78.52B yuan and 55.99B yuan respectively, jointly demonstrating the strong profit-generating ability of gold-themed funds.

Fund managers collectively bullish on A-shares

Based on the disclosed 2025 annual reports, most public fund managers hold an optimistic view of the 2026 A-share market. They believe the market as a whole has an upward foundation and that the full-year performance is worth期待.

傅鹏博, fund manager at Ruiyuan Fund, said that although recent changes in the Middle East geopolitical situation and the East Asia situation following Japan’s election have put certain pressure on A-share risk appetite, this has not changed the trend that China’s domestic economy has strong resilience and investors’ confidence continues to recover. Looking ahead to the market, expectations of improvement in liquidity are somewhat positive at present. However, under the combined effects of accelerating credit expansion, household savings gradually shifting toward investment, and the policy push in the “15th Five-Year Plan’s opening year,” A-shares still have a solid performance foundation.

柳军, fund manager at Huatai-PineBridge Fund, said that the mid-term allocation value of China’s assets in 2026 is expected to continue rising, and the upward trend in A-shares is likely to persist. Against this backdrop, the market’s driving logic this year may gradually shift from valuation repair in 2025 to improvements in earnings, with core assets potentially becoming the dominant force guiding market performance. On one hand, as the domestic economy steadily recovers and corporate earnings gradually improve, the earnings and growth resilience of core assets are expected to become even more evident. On the other hand, under the leadership of “industrial technology + expanding domestic demand,” core assets that have advantages in core technologies and are deeply tied to the domestic-demand market are expected to continue receiving key allocations of global capital and domestic institutional capital, and may become one of the core engines of market performance.

谢治宇, fund manager at Xingzheng Global Fund, believes that in 2026, the main focus remains the non-linear growth brought by AI. After the macro economy stabilizes and recovers, the differentiation and rebound of traditional industries is also worth期待. In terms of international circumstances, “black swan” events occur from time to time, causing large fluctuations in commodity prices and shifts in market risk appetite. But unlike 2022 when the global economy was in a downturn, 2026 is in a dividend period supported by the wave of technological revolution and industrial policy. The “black swans” in international circumstances are more of short-term trading disturbances. Looking at the full year, the main thread will be AI development and the macro economy’s stabilization and recovery.

许之彦, fund manager at Huaan Fund, said that in 2026, the global macro economy will present favorable conditions characterized by fiscal expansion and looser monetary liquidity, giving major asset classes good opportunities. Specifically regarding the performance of gold assets, the key focus should be on three main pricing lines. First, the traditional U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy cycle. Second, the issue of U.S. dollar credit and the gold-purchase rhythm it triggers among global central banks. Before mid-term elections, geopolitical conditions and tariff policies may still contain uncertainty, thereby stimulating demand for gold’s safe-haven allocation. Third, gold shows low correlation with stocks and bonds. In the current low interest rate environment, gold allocations are attracting increasing attention from both institutional and individual investors, and the influence of this capital on gold pricing is also growing day by day.