China Ping An: China's ETF assets exceed 6 trillion yuan, exploring a new ecosystem for index investment

What are the policy drivers behind the rapid growth of ETF scale?

“Domestic ETF development has come at the right time. From 2020 to 2025, the total market ETF scale in China has grown from one trillion to over six trillion yuan in six years,” said a related expert from Ping An Fund during the new session of the “Ping An Grand Lecture Hall” on March 20.

Currently, under the dual influence of global capital market reforms and China’s high-quality economic development, index investing is迎来 a historic opportunity. As a core asset allocation tool, ETFs have evolved from simple investment products to a comprehensive service capability and long-term brand value for financial institutions.

Against this backdrop, during this grand lecture, Ping An Fund and Ping An Securities jointly announced the launch of a brand refresh for Ping An ETFs, leveraging the group’s integrated financial services to build a one-stop index investment platform from product creation to trading services. Experts from funds, brokerages, and index institutions gathered in Shenzhen to explore the integration of index ecosystem construction and investment advisory services.

ETF scale surpasses 6 trillion yuan,

Why is the “new species” entering a period of rapid growth?

ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds), also known as “index stocks,” are a type of index investment tool that replicates the target index to construct a portfolio that tracks index changes, allowing investors to trade a basket of securities through a single product.

In recent years, thanks to advantages such as high transparency, low investment thresholds, and strong liquidity, ETFs have experienced explosive growth and are reshaping wealth management models. Notably, as a “new species” of investment, ETFs have not been in the Chinese mainland market for long. The first ETF was listed in late 2004, but the market scale remained sluggish for a long time, hovering around hundreds of billions. In October 2020, it首次突破1 trillion yuan, then entered a period of “狂飙” in the market.

Public data shows that as of December 26, 2025, China’s ETF scale突破6 trillion yuan, reaching 6.03 trillion yuan, accounting for 16% of public funds, setting a new record. Compared to the beginning of last year, this represents an increase of over 60%. Among them, stock ETFs account for more than 60%.

Analysts believe that this explosive growth is driven by significant policy推力. The pilot program for public fund investment advisory started in 2019, and in 2023, individual pensions entered the market, opening the door for index investing. Meanwhile, the “toolbox” has become more丰富, with products expanding from broad-based funds to thematic ETFs such as Sci-Tech Innovation 50, Carbon Neutrality, Robotics, and Gold, covering all asset classes including stocks, bonds, commodities, and currencies. According to incomplete statistics, by 2025, there will be over 80 million ETF investors in China, with more than 40% being post-90s.

“As one of the core tools for asset allocation, ETFs now surpass individual investment targets and have become an important benchmark for fund companies’ product布局,投研能力, and comprehensive service levels. ETFs are also a key focus for brokerages and fund companies transitioning to wealth management,” experts stated at the forum.

ETFs reshape wealth management models,

and push financial institutions to innovate their business models

So, how can brokerages and fund companies embrace the opportunities presented by the 6 trillion yuan market that is still in its “growth phase”?

At this grand lecture, Liu Gaopang, General Manager of Product and Wealth Management at Ping An Securities, believes that in the ETF era, the goal is to打造 a warm “ETF advisory service provider” and共同建立 an ETF win-win ecosystem.

Liu noted that Ping An Securities has developed advantages in education, trading, and asset allocation through years of practice. The combination of “investment” + “advisory” services enables专业化 asset allocation, safeguarding investors’ wealth. The “ETF Winner Studio” offers nine ETF strategies with different risk-return profiles, including “Investment Research Gold Selection,” “Dividend Treasure,” and “Global Gold Diggers,” providing一站式 asset allocation solutions.

Supporting this, Wind statistics show that as of early February this year, the number of securities investment advisors has突破 87,800, surpassing the net增人数 of over 7,000 since the end of 2024, setting a new record.

How to共同构建 an ETF advisory生态圈? Liu believes that a single机构 cannot meet all customer needs. Ping An Securities is building an open online platform that aggregates content and strategies from multiple fund companies, integrates data and tools from third-party service providers, and actively explores AI applications. They aim to打造 “Cai Xiao An - ETF Investment Expert,” an intelligent system that, under compliance, works with生态伙伴 to optimize ETF advisory services.

In fact, ETFs have shifted from a niche track to a trillion-level mainstream asset allocation tool,重塑 wealth management models and pushing金融机构 to革新 their business models, moving away from traditional profit models like trading commissions.

The reporter notes that Hu Ji, Assistant General Manager of Ping An Fund,提出 the concept of “investment陪伴.” He stated that through “主动赋能” and “科技赋能,” deep投研 can be transformed into温度ful investment陪伴. For example, the first domestic Smart Beta bond ETF—Corporate Bond ETF—is a result of deep合作 between Ping An Fund, Ping An Life Insurance, and ChinaBond Valuation Center, aiming to提供 investors with a unique信用债 index investment tool.

Hu believes that the foundation of this陪伴服务 lies in its独特 "主动投研赋能"模式 and “科技系统赋能,” which enable in-depth主动研究 to empower index product strategy development and ongoing tracking. On the operational side, their自主研发的 industry-first ETF智能投资运营平台 “Haitian System” automates the entire process of investment, risk control, and performance attribution, effectively controlling tracking errors and reducing operational risks.

Facing this new “ETF index investment ecosystem,” Hu坦言 he hopes to提供 a full-process,温度ful投研陪伴 service, so investors can truly feel that ETFs have become a “省心、省时、省钱” investment tool in asset management.

Written by: Lu Liang, Southern Metropolis Daily Finance Reporter