16 Fund Managers Simultaneously File for ETFs on Two Major Hard-Tech Tracks
Sixteen fund managers have filed for two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on computing infrastructure and fintech on the ChiNext Board, marking a major expansion of the board's thematic index product line.
The filings were submitted on August 7, with 10 managers filing for the ChiNext Computing Infrastructure Index ETF and six for the ChiNext Financial Technology Index ETF. This represents a breakthrough from zero to one for ChiNext thematic ETFs and signifies a substantial step forward in building out the "Chuang Series" of specialized indices and ETF products.
Specifically, the 10 fund managers filing for the computing infrastructure ETF are E Fund Management, China Asset Management, China Southern Asset Management, GF Fund Management, Fullgoal Fund Management, Guotai Asset Management, Harvest Fund Management, Tianhong Asset Management, Penghua Fund Management, and Dacheng Fund Management. The six managers filing for the fintech ETF are Invesco Great Wall Fund Management, Penghua Fund Management, Wanjia Asset Management, Oriental Fortune Fund, Great Wall Fund Management, and CCB Principal Asset Management.
The Shenzhen Securities Information Co. had previously released multiple ChiNext industry thematic indices, including computing, fintech, batteries, healthcare, media, specialized and new (SMEs), communications, intelligent driving, and robotics. The filing of ETFs for the computing and fintech indices marks the beginning of a new phase in building the "Chuang Series" index and product matrix. Industry sources indicate that more product filings for other ChiNext thematic indices are expected soon, as the board's "indexed investment toolbox" rapidly expands.
Two New Thematic ETFs Target Core Industrial Upgrade Tracks
The index design deeply embeds the ChiNext Board's most distinctive industrial advantages. Computing infrastructure, as the core of new infrastructure in the digital economy, and fintech, as a key enabler of the real economy, are both areas where the ChiNext Board has a strong concentration of high-quality listed companies.
The computing infrastructure index focuses on the core new infrastructure track, selecting 50 stocks from the ChiNext Board with large market capitalizations and strong liquidity in computing-related fields, covering key areas like computing, networking, storage, and operations. Its constituent list includes industry leaders such as Changsha Jingjia Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (300474), a domestic GPU chip player, and global optical interconnect leaders Zhongji Innolight Co., Ltd. (300308) and Suzhou Tfc Optical Communication Co., Ltd. (300394). In short, this index maps out the autonomous upgrade path of China's digital infrastructure.
The fintech index, on the other hand, focuses on the "new finance" ecosystem of the digital economy, also selecting 50 ChiNext stocks with good liquidity. Its scope is broader, covering the entire value chain from underlying distributed technology and payment settlement, to mid-stream internet finance platforms, and upstream financial security and digital services. Representative companies from different segments, such as Oriental Fortune Information Co., Ltd., Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network Co., Ltd., and Rundu Software Co., Ltd., are included. This gives the index a distinct risk-return profile compared to traditional ChiNext broad-based indices, offering investors a purer allocation tool for the digital finance theme. One index targets the "hard infrastructure" computing base, while the other focuses on fintech leaders, providing investors a window into the ChiNext Board's hard-tech tracks.
Fourfold Significance: A Systematic Fill-in from Strategic Direction to Institutional Allocation
According to several fund managers, the concentrated filing of 16 products is not just a quantitative expansion but fills multiple gaps in the existing ChiNext index product matrix. The significance can be summarized in four aspects.
First, they align with national planning, precisely targeting major national development strategies. China is currently accelerating the buildout of new computing infrastructure and fintech, and the indices' constituents are deeply embedded in the country's 15th Five-Year Plan and medium-to-long-term strategic priorities. One fund manager noted that the launch of these ETFs can leverage the capital market's pricing and resource allocation functions, guiding social capital toward computing and fintech, supporting the "big articles" of tech finance and digital finance, and providing direct financing support for the modern industrial system.
Second, they deepen the ChiNext Board reform, strengthening its core function of serving growth-oriented innovative companies. The "Chuang Series" index now covers broad-based, thematic, and strategy indices, with tracked products totaling over 200 billion yuan. Broad-based and advantageous thematic indices have become key entry points for incremental capital allocating to growth-oriented innovation targets. "The concentrated filing of these sub-sector ETFs will help enrich the ChiNext thematic index product system, guide medium-to-long-term capital to more precisely allocate to the board's distinctive sub-sectors, and thus strengthen the ChiNext Board's role as a hub for nurturing innovative companies and empowering industrial upgrades," another fund manager stated.
Third, they meet the wealth management needs of residents, providing inclusive and convenient allocation tools. Computing and fintech are high-growth, high-valuation tracks, but stock-level research is difficult and volatility is high, making it challenging for retail investors. The launch of these ETFs allows investors to achieve one-click allocation at a lower cost and higher efficiency, sharing in the growth dividends of high-quality ChiNext companies. This aligns with the direction of inclusive finance and broadens the product choices for resident wealth management.
Fourth, they improve institutional allocation tools, facilitating the entry of medium-to-long-term capital. From an institutional perspective, the computing and fintech indices have unique industrial cycles, profit logic, and volatility characteristics different from the overall ChiNext index. They can effectively complement existing ChiNext broad-based and sector products. Once these ETFs are listed, they will provide differentiated allocation tools for institutional investors like social security funds, insurance funds, and pension funds, enabling them to build multi-strategy, multi-dimensional portfolios based on different growth and volatility profiles, optimizing asset diversification, and potentially bringing more stable incremental capital to the ChiNext market.
Overall, the filing of the first batch of 16 ChiNext thematic ETFs represents not only a quantitative expansion of the board's index product line but also a significant step forward in its ability to serve national strategies, meet retail investment needs, and accommodate institutional allocations. As more "Chuang Series" thematic ETFs are launched, the ChiNext Board's role as a key investment window for growth-oriented, innovative capital markets is expected to be further enhanced.
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