The total amount of ETF funds issued in mainland China in the first four months of this year decreased by nearly 54% compared to the same period last year. The overall ETF market size has shrunk by 910 billion yuan, indicating a clear sign of capital exiting through ETFs. Analysts believe that this trend indicates investors are cashing out to secure profits.
According to data from Wind, as of April 30, 2026, a total of 121 ETF products have been issued in the mainland Chinese market this year, all of which are stock ETFs, with a total issuance of 42.092 billion shares. In comparison, during the same period in 2025, there were 114 ETFs issued with a significantly higher total issuance of 91.317 billion shares, showing a nearly 54% decrease in ETF issuance in the first four months of this year.
The average issuance size per product is 348 million shares, a significant drop of over 56% from 801 million shares in the same period last year. Additionally, the total ETF market size has shrunk by 910 billion yuan in the first four months of this year.
ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of “passively tracked index” fund traded on a stock exchange. It is like a basket of stocks or bonds that allows investors to hold shares of many companies by buying one ETF.
The “ETF issuance amount” refers to the total number of fund units issued by fund management companies to investors. A larger issuance amount indicates higher investor recognition of the index or the ETF.
Regarding the ETF market data mentioned above, a report from “Daily Economic News” on Monday, May 4, suggests that the domestic ETF issuance market is no longer experiencing “increasing volume and price” but has entered a phase of product homogenization and internal circulation.
The ETF market is transitioning from the “new product land grab dividend period” to the “survival of the fittest stock circulation period.” The blind deployment of homogenized products by fund companies is being challenged by the market, and the future issuance of ETFs will increasingly test genuine research capabilities and resource endowments.
Another set of data from Wind shows that the stock ETFs and cross-border ETFs in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets experienced a combined net outflow of 263.836 billion yuan in April. Broad-based index ETFs saw a net outflow of 213.6 billion yuan, with ETFs like Huatai Bairui for the SSE 300 Index, Huaxia for the SZSE 50 Index, Nanfang for the CSI 500 Index, Huaxia for the ChiNext 50 Index, and Yifangda for the ChiNext ETF all experiencing net outflows exceeding 10 billion yuan each.
Cross-border Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) allow investors to directly trade stocks or securities in foreign markets through their domestic securities accounts using the yuan. For instance, investing in the NASDAQ 100ETF means holding shares of tech giants like Nvidia, Apple, and Tesla simultaneously.
Broad-based index ETFs aim to replicate the overall performance of an entire market or specific market sectors, such as the SSE 300 Index ETF, ChiNext ETF, or CSI 1000 ETF. The SSE 300 Index ETF consists of the top 300 core stocks based on market value and liquidity in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets.
It’s not just in April; the ETF market has been experiencing fund outflows throughout the first quarter of this year. According to a report by “Blue Whale News” on April 2, the ETF market size decreased from 6 trillion yuan at the end of 2025 to 4.99 trillion yuan by the end of the first quarter.
Regarding the significant net outflows in the ETF market, Dai Jingxia, a senior analyst at Morningstar (China) Fund Research Center, mentioned to “Securities Times” in mid-April that the outflows in the ETF market this year are related to the counter-cyclical adjustments in market intervention funds. Furthermore, regulatory measures increasing margin requirements have limited leverage opportunities, combined with fund reallocations from broad-based to sector-themed funds leading to an overall shrinkage in ETF size.
Financial blogger “Bai Ben Cai Fu” believes the main reason for the outflows is investors cashing out to secure profits.
Using the ChiNext board as an example, by mid to late April 2026, the ChiNext Index had risen by 14.81% for the year. However, related ETFs saw a staggering net outflow of 67.7 billion yuan for the year. When the ChiNext ETF index reaches a peak, investors who have gained profits (especially short-term funds) are more inclined to sell ETFs, turning paper gains into real profits, indicating a clear sign of capital withdrawal.