In 2026, the A-share market started on a positive note. According to Wind data, as of January 14th, the total scale of ETFs has increased by over 220 billion yuan since the beginning of the year. Among them, broad-based ETFs have been particularly favored by capital inflows.
Data indicates that the total scale of broad-based ETFs has now reached 2.6 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 40% of the total ETF market. Since the start of the year, capital inflows into broad-based ETFs have accelerated, with products like the沪深300ETF and the中证500ETF each attracting over ten billion yuan in purchases. Currently, the total scale of the沪深300ETF has surpassed 1.2 trillion yuan, making it the champion among broad-based products; furthermore, the scale of the中证500ETF has also exceeded 210 billion yuan. In the author's view, there are three primary reasons why broad-based products have become the main driving force behind the overall growth in ETF scale.
First, the continuous optimization of the market environment, where policy and capital market dynamics resonate, is driving the innovative development of broad-based ETFs. In recent years, a dense series of capital market reform policies have been introduced, covering areas such as financial openness and the entry of long-term funds, effectively improving medium to long-term expectations for A-shares. Consequently, broad-based ETFs, as tools for "one-click allocation to China's core assets," have seen their attractiveness significantly enhanced. Simultaneously, amid a consensus that China's economic growth is stabilizing and valuations for various asset classes in the capital market are at historical lows, broad-based ETFs have become an ideal vehicle for capital to position at lower levels.
Second, broad-based ETFs have become a "bellwether" guiding capital, particularly the strategic allocation of institutional funds, which has injected core momentum into their innovative development. Since Central Huijin's first public purchases of broad-based ETFs like the沪深300ETF and the上证50ETF in 2023, medium to long-term capital has continuously flowed into broad-based index fund products. Subsequently, insurance funds, bank wealth management products, and others have adopted broad-based ETFs as a core component of their equity asset allocation, with several broad-based ETFs quickly joining the hundred-billion-yuan tier in a short period. To date, the tangible market entry actions of institutional investors continue to boost market confidence, while the phenomenon of retail investors accelerating their entry through fixed investment strategies is even more pronounced.
Third, broad-based ETFs have currently become a "defensive weapon" for various types of investors, with their irreplaceable product advantages becoming increasingly prominent. The sustained growth in the scale of broad-based ETFs is rooted in these unique advantages, including risk diversification, low costs, and operational convenience. For example, ETFs tracking indices like the沪深300 and中证500 cover leading stocks across multiple sectors, helping to diversify risks associated with individual stocks and industry cycles, making them the preferred tool for risk-averse capital. The management fees for broad-based ETFs have generally fallen to a low range of 0.15% to 0.3%, and when combined with transaction costs that are significantly lower than those for individual stocks and actively managed funds, they are more easily favored by various types of capital.
Over the past two years, the expansion rate of broad-based ETF scale has clearly surpassed that of other fund categories, becoming a key indicator of the healthy development of the capital market. The underlying logic is that capital entering the market via ETFs, through balanced asset allocation, significantly improves the structure of trading capital in the A-share market. Concurrently, the growth in broad-based ETF scale also promotes greater market efficiency and optimizes the efficiency of resource allocation.
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