Savings treasury bonds have recently been formally included in the personal pension product pool. Several banks, including Postal Savings Bank Of China Co.,Ltd. (PSBC), Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Industrial Bank, China CITIC Bank, and China Minsheng Bank, have added a savings treasury bond purchase entry in the personal pension section of their mobile apps. Although savings treasury bonds have not yet been issued, some banks offer a reservation reminder function.
Postal Savings Bank Of China Co.,Ltd.'s app reminds investors that electronic savings treasury bonds are typically issued on the 10th of each month in April, June, July, September, and November. According to ChinaBond's website, the last issuance period for electronic savings treasury bonds was from April 10th to April 19th, with two series issued. The first series had a 3-year term with a coupon annual interest rate of 1.63%; the second series had a 5-year term with a coupon annual interest rate of 1.7%.
Based on a joint notice previously issued by the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China regarding the inclusion of electronic savings treasury bonds in the scope of personal pension products, operating institutions are required to commence the electronic savings treasury bond business for personal pensions starting from June 2026.
Fixed-Income Products Outperform Mixed Products
The personal pension product directory published by the National Social Security Public Service Platform shows that four categories of products are currently available: savings, wealth management, funds, and insurance, with quantities of 281, 39, 320, and 521 respectively. The inclusion of savings treasury bonds will further diversify the investment options within personal pensions.
Personal pension investment products have generally performed well. Data from NBD Wealth shows that as of June 5th, the 39 personal pension wealth management products have achieved an annualized return of 3.57% since inception, with a year-to-date annualized return of 3.07%. Among these, fixed-income wealth management products performed better. The 33 fixed-income products have an average annualized return of 3.68% since inception, primarily consisting of "fixed-income plus" strategies. The six mixed-type wealth management products showed relatively average performance, with an average annualized return of 2.94% since inception, mostly comprising bond-biased hybrid products.
Among public funds included in the personal pension product directory, index funds have shown stronger performance. Wind data indicates that as of June 5th, equity index funds have achieved an average return of 11.52% year-to-date, outperforming FOF funds' average of 5.23%. Looking at performance since inception, personal pension funds have an average annualized return of 14.43%.
Divergent Performance in Pension Wealth Management This Year
Investors who have not opened personal pension accounts can also consider pension-specific wealth management products. There are currently 51 such products, most with investment cycles exceeding three years. Data from NBD Wealth shows that as of June 5th, these 51 pension wealth management products have an average annualized return of 3.8% since inception. However, performance this year has varied significantly among products. Nine products have achieved year-to-date annualized returns exceeding 5%, while two products have reported negative returns year-to-date.
Alternatively, investors may consider ordinary wealth management products with relatively shorter terms that are marketed with a pension focus. The following list highlights top-performing public "fixed-income plus equity" products issued by wealth management companies that have been established for over one year and have investment cycles of 1-2 years (inclusive), ranked by weighted annualized return. Some of these products feature pension-specific characteristics.
Data Note: The product scope includes public "fixed-income plus equity" products issued by wealth management companies that have been established for over one year and have investment cycles of 1-2 years (inclusive).
To filter out products that may rank highly based solely on short-term gains but lack sustainability, the NBD Wealth research team employs a specific metric called "weighted annualized return" to identify products with genuine long-term return potential. The calculation formula for weighted annualized return is: 5% × (annualized return for the past month) + 10% × (annualized return for the past three months) + 15% × (annualized return for the past six months) + 30% × (annualized return for the past year) + 40% × (annualized return since inception).
Comments