China mutual fund sales dry up amid market gloom
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HONG KONG : Money managers in China are struggling to lure retail investors, with fundraising by mutual funds in the first five months of the year hitting the lowest in four years and few betting on a near-term rebound, amid diminishing returns and economic challenges.
More than 200 million Chinese retail investors, sitting on billions of yuan in savings, have turned bearish on equities and are instead doubling down on safer assets such as deposits and treasury savings bonds, amid a sputtering economic recovery and rising unemployment.
Newly launched funds raised a total of 432.1 billion yuan ($61 billion) in the first five months, the smallest amount since the same period in 2019, according to data complied by Z-Ben Advisors, a fund industry consulting firm.
The number is even lower than that of 2022 when many Chinese cities were under strict COVID-19 lockdowns, and is only one-third of the same period in 2021.
