Another wave of fund company self-purchases: Where is the 3.2 billion "real money" going?

A-share adjustment, fund companies use their own funds to inject confidence into the market. On July 14, Guojin Fund announced that it would use company funds and senior executives' own funds to purchase its equity funds, totaling no less than 15 million yuan, with a holding period of no less than one year. In the same July, Lan Xiaokang, fund manager of the China Europe Fund Value Team, and his members purchased more than 8 million yuan themselves. As of July 14, the total scale of equity fund self-purchases by industry fund companies this year reached 3.226 billion yuan, approaching the full-year total of 3.243 billion yuan in 2025. Based on the current pace of self-purchases, the self-purchase scale for the full year of 2026 is expected to reach a new high. From the perspective of fund company allocation, self-purchase funds for equity are mainly flowing to ETFs and other index products, semiconductor and other technology growth tracks, as well as long lock-in period active equity products. Multiple fund companies make frequent moves In July, the dual innovation index continued to adjust, and many institutions increased their investment substantially. Guojin Fund issued an announcement stating that, based on firm confidence in the long-term healthy and stable development of China’s capital market, Guojin Fund invested its own funds and senior executives' funds in the company’s equity funds, with a cumulative investment of no less than 15 million yuan, and promises that the holding period of the purchased fund shares will not be less than one year. China Europe Fund Value Team collectively increased holdings at the same time. Fund manager Lan Xiaokang personally increased holdings in three funds including China Europe Dividend Enjoyment, totaling 3 million yuan. The other five fund managers in the team invested in parallel, with the team self-purchasing over 8 million yuan in this round. This year, only in April did self-purchase announcements appear: On April 7th and 8th, Orient Red Asset Management used its own funds to subscribe 10 million yuan each in its Orient Red Dinghong Bond Fund and Orient Red Growth Pioneer Hybrid Fund A. On April 15, Anxin Fund announced it would invest not less than 5 million yuan to subscribe to Anxin Yixiang Dual-benefit Six-month Holding Hybrid Fund, locking in for one year. On April 20, Xinghua Fund used 1.4 million yuan in company funds to purchase Xinghua Jingcheng Hybrid Fund A. Whenever the market enters an adjustment phase, fund company self-purchase announcements often signal the release of market confidence. These two rounds of self-purchases both occurred during periods of market adjustment, especially when the dual innovation index was under pressure, and self-purchase announcements became intensive. Industry insiders say that self-purchasing does not in itself mean short-term market trends will change, but fund companies increasing positions against the trend during periods of weak market sentiment usually reflect their judgment of medium and long-term investment value and show their confidence in their own product investment capability. Three main investment directions for equity fund self-purchases Breaking down the destinations of equity fund self-purchases this year, three main threads are evident. First is index products, especially broad-based ETFs. Index products have become a key focus area. Guotai Fund's largest self-purchase this year was in January, buying Guotai CSI A500 ETF in three installments totaling nearly 467 million yuan, almost the entire annual equity self-purchase. Bank of Shanghai Fund heavily self-purchased its CSI Shanghai-Hong Kong-Shenzhen Internet Index product, Tianhong Fund bet on the North Stock 50 Component Index Enhanced, while Yinhu Fund invested in the Robot ETF Linkage. According to industry, the increased weight of broad-based ETFs and sector index funds among self-purchases reflects institutions’ recognition of index tools under the wave of passive investing. Second is using initiated funds to deploy in the technology growth track. Wind data shows that this year, 207 initiated funds were newly established, accounting for 22.6% of all new funds. Regulatory rules require each initiated fund to be subscribed with no less than 10 million yuan of institutional own funds, with a lock-in period of up to three years. These products cover a wide range, including Hong Kong stocks, semiconductors, chips, new materials, innovative medicines, and other tech growth sectors. Fund companies use initiated products to arrange tracks in advance during market adjustments, with locked capital demonstrating long-term optimism for tech growth. Third is products with long lock-in periods. These funds set mandatory holding years and have become a vehicle for fund companies to convey long-term confidence and align interests. For example, this year, all of Ruoyuan Fund’s 102 million yuan of self-purchase capital was invested in hybrid funds, of which 100 million was heavily invested in Ruoyuan Yanyuan Balanced Three-Year Holding Fund, concentrating over 90% of self-purchase capital in long lock-in period products. This represents a commitment to share profits and losses with holders in the long term, showing the company's confidence in mid- to long-term market trends and its product research and investment capabilities. Deconstructing equity self-purchase data Structurally, self-purchase funds show a concentration in leading institutions. Self-purchase funds congregate highly in top institutions. Guotai, Orient Red, and BOCOM combined for 1.257 billion yuan in self-purchases, accounting for nearly 40% of the industry’s total scale. The top ten institutions account for more than 70%, while more than a quarter of fund companies almost did not conduct equity self-purchases, showing clear differences in institutional willingness to deploy. Faced with the same market environment, institutions’ judgments and actions vary greatly. From the funding source, repositioning-style self-purchases send a clearer signal. Only looking at net subscription scale can easily misinterpret fund companies' attitudes. For example, E Fund’s net subscription total this year was -1.279 billion yuan, which seems to indicate overall reduction, but after breaking it down, the net subscription for equity funds was a positive 161 million yuan, with reductions concentrated in money market funds. This does not mean pessimism about the market, but rather shifting low-risk capital into the equity market—a signal of optimism for the equity market. Conforming to regulatory requirements, public fund self-purchases are becoming routine. On May 7, the CSRC’s “Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Public Funds” incorporated equity self-purchases into the fund company evaluation system, increasing the weighting of mid- to long-term performance and self-purchase scale indicators by 50%. Self-purchasing is turning from voluntary expression to a systematic action, urging the industry to shift from “scale-oriented” to “return-oriented,” strengthening the alignment of interests between fund companies and investors. In 2026, A-shares are expected to maintain a structurally slow bull market. Investors should objectively view institutional self-purchase activities. Self-purchase only conveys mid- to long-term market confidence; long-term fund returns are still determined by market environment and investment research strength. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market has risks and investment needs caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not consider the particular investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should determine whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Investment based on this is at your own risk.