Third-party fund distribution agencies are being cleared out at an accelerated pace; what was once a "golden license" is now as plain as water.

Small and medium-sized institutions in the fund distribution industry are experiencing a faster pace of market exit.

Recently, Invesco Great Wall, Hui Tian Fu, China Asset Management, and Pu Yin Fund issued announcements, successively terminating their fund sales business cooperation with Pu Ling Fund Sales Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Pu Ling Fund).

Prior to this, sincethe second quarter of 2026, Pu Ling Fund has issued notices stating that due to strategic business adjustments, it will stop its public fund sales related business and will officially cease all public fund sales services after August 31, 2026.

This also marks that the fund distribution license which many parties have been chasing is gradually returning to its intrinsic value, with business differentiation, and Pu Ling Fund's“exit” is not an isolated case.

Once a Medium-sized Distribution Institution

According to information, Pu Ling Fund Sales Co., Ltd. is an independent third-party fund sales institution approved by regulators fourteen years ago.

The company was established in Beijing in2012, with a registered capital of 80 million yuan. Previously known as Zhong Sheng Wealth and Wan Yin Wealth, it completed its name change and was approved as a financial institution in 2019.

At its peak, the institution distributed funds for more than50 fund companies, totaling over 3,000 fund products, ranking among domestic medium-sized third-party distribution institutions.

Annual Business Shrinkage in Recent Years

In recent years, the company's operations have gradually become hollow, with business scale continuously shrinking. As ofAugust 24, 2026, the number of funds it distributed had reduced to 503, covering only 19 fund managers, and its actual business capability was greatly weakened.

Related third-party business informationAPPs also show that the number of employees insured by Pu Ling Fund registered in 2016 was 592, but by 2024 only 8 remained, making it a “mini” fund distribution institution.

On the equity level, the company's second largest shareholder, Sichuan Lanrun Industrial Group, is deeply mired in a debt crisis and has become an enforced person, resulting in all its shares in Pu Ling Fund being judicially frozen. Furthermore, the company’s branches in Shenzhen and Guangzhou werecancelled at the beginning of 2025.

More Than 20 Public Funds Announce End of Cooperation

According to public announcements, sinceJune 2026, more than 20 public fund companies, including Southern, Guotai, Qianhai Kaiyuan, Tianhong, have issued notices terminating their public fund sales cooperation with Pu Ling Fund.

These announcements typically state that on a certain day of a certain month, Pu Ling Fund will suspend handling functions for its distributed funds, such as subscription, purchase, regular fixed investment, and conversion. It is recommended thatinvestors who hold the company's funds via Pu Ling Fund, pleasewithin thespecified timehandle fund share transfer custody or redemption themselves.

If relevant investors do not complete custody transfer or redemption, the fund company involved will usually directly transfer the investors’ remaining shares to the company’s direct sales platform, where investors can then carry out fund transaction inquiries and other business.

Market Exit of Tail-end Institutions Becomes Normalized

Pu Ling Fund's exit from the market is not an isolated case for the industry; currently, tail-end institutions in fund distribution are experiencing an accelerated market exit.

There are many similar cases:Since 2026, China Merchants Fund, Fullgoal Fund, Industrial Fund, Qianhai Kaiyuan, Guojin Fund, etc. have all announced the termination of cooperation with some distribution institutions.

According to incomplete statistics, since2024, more than ten institutions such as Fuxin Bank, Zhongmin Wealth, Magpie Wealth, Qingdao Lehong Fund have actively or passively cancelled their fund distribution licenses, and industry reshuffling continues.

Some experts' opinions believe that the “market exit” in the fund distribution industryis due to the rapid development of top third-party platforms in recent years, as well as shrinking market shares of certain distribution institutions, making it difficult for them to sustain.

With industryfee reform, higher compliancethresholds and otherfactorsimagined,the survival space for small and medium-sized distribution institutions at thetail-end of the industryis becoming increasingly cramped.

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