Recent international geopolitical tensions and Middle East conflicts have heightened expectations for rising energy prices, further underscoring the strategic value of core segments within the new energy industry chain, such as lithium batteries and rare metals. Concurrently, the gold market has shown signs of recovery amid fluctuations between bullish and bearish forces. After a significant correction in March, gold prices experienced a technical rebound by the end of the month. Wind data indicates that on March 31, the global spot gold price was reported at $4,880.365 per ounce. Meanwhile, silver prices, after an 18.20% decline during the month, reached a high of 18,599.0 yuan per kilogram (approximately $69.35 per ounce) on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on the same date. Against a backdrop of intertwining macroeconomic uncertainty and industrial certainty, the value of diversified asset allocation has become increasingly prominent.
The 2026 Government Work Report emphasized efforts to build a new-type power system, accelerate the construction of smart grids, develop new energy storage, and expand the application of green electricity. For the first time, the report placed "new-type energy storage" on par with the national energy strategy, indicating its potential evolution from an "optional auxiliary technology" to a core component of a stable energy system during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period. Prior to this policy tailwind, ICBC Credit Suisse had already completed forward-looking product layouts in key sectors such as rare metals, gold, and lithium batteries, clearly demonstrating its deep industry insight and systematic investment research capabilities.
Policy and Market Dual Drivers During this year's Two Sessions, "new-type energy storage" once again became a hot topic, with its strategic role in constructing a new-type power system further clarified, injecting strong development momentum into the lithium battery industry. Globally, the energy transition is accelerating, and the application scope of lithium batteries continues to expand from new energy vehicles to emerging fields such as new-type energy storage and the low-altitude economy. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that by the end of 2025, China's cumulative installed capacity of new-type energy storage had reached 144.7 GW, a year-on-year increase of 85%. From a global perspective, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in major markets like Europe and the United States continues to rise. According to data released by the European Environment Agency in November 2025, approximately 2.2 million new electric vehicles (including pure electric and plug-in hybrids) were registered in the European Union in 2024, with a market penetration rate of about 21% (13.6% for pure electric vehicles and 7.3% for plug-in hybrids). However, regional disparities are significant, leaving room for growth in some markets. Recent geopolitical tensions have intensified volatility in traditional energy prices, significantly increasing global emphasis on new energy. Consequently, the growth logic of lithium batteries is shifting from domestic power battery-driven to a dual-driven model of "global power + new-type energy storage," with the industry chain still possessing broad development prospects.
If lithium batteries are the "heart" of the new energy era, then rare metals are the "blood" that powers this heart. At the beginning of 2026, A-share market hotspots were concentrated in cyclical and resource sectors, with the CSI Rare Metals Theme Index performing notably well. Some institutions have indicated that the booming development of cutting-edge industries such as new energy, the low-altitude economy, and quantum technology all rely on the foundational support of key metals like copper, aluminum, and rare earths.
Optimizing supply-demand dynamics are also driving a revaluation of sector value. According to the National Bureau of Statistics' monitoring of market prices for 50 important means of production across nine major categories in the national circulation field, the overall performance of the commodity market was active in early March 2026 compared to late February. The number of monitored products experiencing price increases rose significantly, with price hikes in non-ferrous metals and chemical products becoming mainstream.
Against a backdrop of rising global macroeconomic uncertainty, gold prices have experienced sharp fluctuations. In March 2026, international gold prices corrected from historical highs but staged a consecutive rebound from late March onwards. Persistent global geopolitical tensions and volatility in the US dollar system have collectively driven the repricing of gold allocation demand in the market. Repeated escalations in regional situations such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Middle East, coupled with trade tariff frictions, have provided significant support for gold prices. Simultaneously, the trust foundation of the global credit currency system, centered around the US dollar, continues to weaken, accelerating the global de-dollarization process. Central banks' enthusiasm for gold purchases remains unabated—data from the World Gold Council shows that annual net gold purchases exceeded 1,000 tons for three consecutive years from 2022 to 2024. Despite high gold prices in 2025, global central banks still recorded net purchases of 863 tons. By the end of March 2026, the People's Bank of China's gold reserves were reported at 74.38 million ounces, marking the 17th consecutive month of increases. Improved liquidity combined with inflation expectations has led many international institutions to maintain a positive outlook on gold's medium to long-term trajectory. In the long run, gold remains an important choice for asset allocation.
Precise Layouts in Three Key Sectors In the product layouts across these three key sectors, leading fund companies provide investors with effective pathways to precisely capture opportunities in细分 segments through refined index tools.
Taking ICBC Credit Suisse as an example, its ICBC CSI New Energy Vehicle Battery ETF feeder fund Series C is a representative product. Fund quarterly report data shows that this fund achieved a net value growth rate of 18.23% over the past three years, outperforming its 16.88% benchmark during the same period. A review of its top ten holdings reveals a complete new energy vehicle battery industry chain—encompassing upstream resources, midstream materials and manufacturing, and downstream vehicle assembly—essentially including the most competitive leading enterprises in the sector. Notably, this fund demonstrated strong resistance to declines during market downturns, smoothing volatility through appropriate position management and stock selection strategies. It achieved excess returns without amplifying risks, reflecting robust risk control capabilities.
In the rare metals sector, ICBC Credit Suisse has also made deep inroads. Quarterly reports show that in 2025, the net value growth rate of the ICBC CSI Rare Metals Theme ETF feeder fund Series C reached 85.54%, outperforming its 83.88% benchmark. An noteworthy detail is that the longer the time horizon, the more significantly this fund outperforms its benchmark. Since inception, its net value growth rate is 71.77%, exceeding the benchmark by 3.33 percentage points. In terms of holdings, the top ten权重 stocks are uniformly concentrated in the materials industry, highly focused on strategic metals like rare earths, lithium, and cobalt. This pure thematic positioning enables it to accurately capture returns from rare metals'景气 cycles while demonstrating more stable volatility control compared to the benchmark.
On the gold front, the positioning of the ICBC Gold ETF feeder fund Series E is equally clear. Quarterly reports indicate that in 2025, this fund achieved a net value growth rate of 56.34%, outperforming its 55.10% benchmark. More commendable is its tracking efficiency—the difference between the standard deviation of the net value growth rate across various periods and the benchmark remains between 0.01% and 0.02%, indicating near-perfect synchronization. This means that during gold bull cycles, investors can achieve returns highly consistent with the gold index through this product, neither amplifying volatility nor lagging behind market trends, truly fulfilling the promise of "close tracking."
Professional Strength Safeguards Long-Term Value Behind the impressive performance lies the fund manager's long-term dedication and systematic布局 in the field of index investing. ICBC Credit Suisse has currently established index products across "five major families": broad-based indices, sector themes, Hong Kong stocks, diversified allocation, and enhanced indices, achieving a comprehensive layout from A-shares to Hong Kong stocks and from domestic to international markets. This provides investors with diversified tools for asset allocation. Concurrently, a rich product line requires a solid investment research team as its backbone. ICBC Credit Suisse Fund has built a完善的 ETF investment management process and a liquidity provider system, cultivating a professional index investment team with outstanding backgrounds,领先 investment research capabilities, and profound operational experience. Team members average over ten years of investment management experience, with complementary skill sets, safeguarding every investment with professional capability.
Regarding fee structures, several of ICBC Credit Suisse's ETF products maintain low fees, consistently benefiting investors. Taking the ICBC Gold ETF and its related feeder funds as an example, the combined management and custody fee is only 0.20%, the lowest tier among similar products. The management and custody fees for rare metals and new energy vehicle ETF products also reflect a degree of benefit to investors. Against the backdrop of public fund fee reforms, the company optimizes the investor experience through fee reductions while relying on its "platform-based, team-oriented" investment research system to ensure the long-term stable operation of products, providing investors with cost-effective allocation tools.
From gold's value preservation attributes to the strategic value of rare metals, and further to the industrial wave of new energy batteries, ICBC Credit Suisse consistently relies on its platform-based investment research system,协同 leveraging both active and passive strategies. By planting seeds early within the era's mineral veins, it aims to harvest fruits when the tailwinds arrive. This asset management institution, established for over two decades, is committed to helping investors more accurately grasp structural opportunities within the long-term prospects of the resource sector,共享 the growth dividends brought by industrial innovation and high-quality development, through its steady resolve and forward-looking vision.
Data Notes: Data sourced from respective fund periodic reports,截至 December 31, 2025. 1. ICBC Gold ETF feeder fund Series E was established on January 6, 2024, managed by Zhao Xu since inception. The net value growth rates for the E share class in 2024, the past year, and since inception are 24.21%, 56.34%, and 94.20% respectively. The corresponding benchmark returns were 26.92%, 55.10%, and 96.85%. 2. ICBC CSI Rare Metals Theme ETF feeder fund was established on September 22, 2023, managed by Shi Baohuang since inception. The net value growth rates for the C share class in 2024, the past year, and since inception are -3.88%, 85.54%, and 71.77% respectively. The corresponding benchmark returns were -6.00%, 83.88%, and 68.44%. 3. ICBC CSI New Energy Vehicle Battery ETF feeder fund was established on July 4, 2022, managed by Liu Weilin since inception. The net value growth rates for the C share class in 2023, 2024, the past year, and since inception are -30.08%, 7.73%, 56.95%, and -10.49% respectively. The corresponding benchmark returns were -30.67%, 5.89%, 59.20%, and -16.13%.
Fee Information: 1. ICBC Gold ETF feeder fund Series E: Subscription Fee: For subscription amount M, the rate for ordinary investors is 0%. Redemption Fee: Holding period < 7 days, fee 1.50%; Holding period >= 7 days, fee 0.00%. Sales Service Fee: 0.35%. Annual Management Fee: 0.15%, Annual Custody Fee: 0.05%. 2. ICBC CSI Rare Metals Theme ETF feeder fund Series C: Subscription Fee: For subscription amount M, the rate for ordinary investors is 0%. Redemption Fee: Holding period < 7 days, fee 1.50%; Holding period >= 7 days, fee 0.00%. Sales Service Fee: 0.10%. Annual Management Fee: 0.45%, Annual Custody Fee: 0.07%. 3. ICBC CSI New Energy Vehicle Battery ETF feeder fund Series C: Subscription Fee: For subscription amount M, the rate for ordinary investors is 0%. Redemption Fee: Holding period < 7 days, fee 1.50%; Holding period >= 7 days, fee 0.00%. Sales Service Fee: 0.30%. Annual Management Fee: 0.45%, Annual Custody Fee: 0.07%.
Risk Disclosure: Fund managers manage and utilize fund assets based on principles of due diligence, honesty,信用, prudence, and diligence, but do not guarantee that the fund will necessarily be profitable, nor do they guarantee a minimum return. Past fund performance does not predict future results. The performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not constitute a guarantee of the fund's performance. The ICBC Gold ETF feeder fund primarily invests in the ICBC Credit Suisse Gold ETF. Its investment objective is to closely track the spot gold price trend. The expected risk and return levels are similar to those of gold prices. Investors will face risks specific to the fund, such as deviation between the fund's investment portfolio and the domestic spot gold price, and performance differences from the target ETF. The ICBC CSI Rare Metals Theme ETF feeder fund primarily invests in the ICBC Credit Suisse CSI Rare Metals Theme ETF. The target ETF is an equity fund; therefore, this fund's long-term average risk and expected return levels are higher than those of混合 funds, bond funds, and money market funds. The ICBC CSI New Energy Vehicle Battery ETF feeder fund primarily invests in the ICBC Credit Suisse CSI New Energy Vehicle Battery ETF. It is an equity fund, with long-term average risk and expected return levels higher than those of混合 funds, bond funds, and money market funds. ETF feeder funds track the performance of the target index by investing in the target ETF, possessing risk-return characteristics similar to the target index and the securities market it represents. Investing in ETF feeder funds involves risks specific to such funds, including fluctuations of the target index, deviation of the fund's portfolio return from the target index return, and performance differences from the target ETF. Investing in equity assets carries significant return volatility risks. Funds carry risks. Before investing, investors should carefully read the "Fund Contract," "Prospectus," "Fund Product Summary," and other legal fund documents. After comprehensively understanding the product's情况, fee structure, fee standards of various sales channels, and considering the suitability opinions of sales institutions, investors should choose investment products suitable for their own risk tolerance. Fund investment requires caution.
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