ETFs Face "Equities and Bonds Double Blow"! 50 Billion Yuan in Funds Withdraw, Yet This Sector Quietly Counterattacks | ETF Scale Weekly Report

From March 9 to March 13, the A-shares continued their volatile pattern, with major indices showing divergence. The Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index rose 0.19% for the week, while the CSI A500 Index fell 0.25%. The ChiNext Index increased by 2.51%, but the STAR Market 50 Index dropped 2.88%. Hong Kong stocks experienced wide fluctuations this week, with the Hang Seng Index down 1.13% and the Hang Seng Tech Index up 0.62%.

This week, both the A-shares and Hong Kong stocks maintained their volatile trend, and the ETF market also entered a “difficult mode.” The “double kill” of stocks and bonds caused the total ETF market scale to evaporate by over 50 billion yuan, with most leading management firms shrinking significantly.

However, amid the widespread decline, some winners emerged: commodity ETFs continued their strength due to their hedging properties, and Hang Seng Tech-related products saw a rare rebound, quietly achieving counter-trend growth. This article will review the data of the week, showing how funds precisely captured those rare bright spots in a sluggish market.

Stocks and bonds both decline! The total ETF market shrank by over 50 billion yuan this week

The market remained sluggish overall this week. Aside from commodity ETFs, which grew by 3.691 billion yuan, all other major ETF categories shrank across the board. Against this backdrop, the total ETF market size decreased by 52.966 billion yuan over the week, falling to 5.25 trillion yuan. According to Wind data, as of March 14, three new ETFs were launched this week—two stock ETFs and one cross-border ETF—bringing the total listed ETFs to 1,448.

In terms of scale changes, stocks and bonds suffered a “double kill,” with stock ETFs shrinking by 32.179 billion yuan and cross-border ETFs by 10.633 billion yuan, continuing the outflow of funds. Bond ETFs and money market ETFs did not sustain last week’s good momentum, shrinking by 11.393 billion yuan and 2.451 billion yuan respectively. Commodity ETFs, defying the trend, increased by 3.691 billion yuan, making them the only major ETF category to grow in size this week.

Since the beginning of the year, as of March 14, stock ETFs have shrunk by over 780 billion yuan, and bond ETFs by 94.392 billion yuan. Meanwhile, commodity ETFs have grown by over 100 billion yuan, reaching 109.467 billion yuan, while cross-border ETFs and money ETFs slightly shrank by 3.734 billion yuan and 2.16 billion yuan respectively.

Hang Seng Tech Index-linked ETFs defy the trend, growing over 20 billion yuan this year

Regarding ETFs linked to major indices, most shrank this week, with only five of the top 20 index ETFs seeing growth.

In terms of weekly changes, the Hang Seng Tech Index-linked ETF grew by 2.717 billion yuan, narrowly leading the “growth king” title this week. The SGE Gold 9999 Index ETF, though not topping the list, continued to grow by 2.453 billion yuan, maintaining a strong inflow trend this year. Additionally, dividend low-volatility, China Internet 50, and Hong Kong Stock Connect Technology Index ETFs grew by 1.645 billion yuan, 412 million yuan, and 267 million yuan respectively.

On the other hand, major broad-based indices continued to shrink, though the decline was less severe than last week. Only the CSI A500 and CSI 500 index ETFs shrank by over 5 billion yuan, with decreases of 6.328 billion yuan and 5.044 billion yuan respectively. The CSI 300 and STAR Market 50 index ETFs shrank by 4.327 billion yuan and 3.996 billion yuan.

Year-to-date, the CSI 300 index ETF has shrunk by 613.046 billion yuan, with the latest size at 572.511 billion yuan. The CSI 1000 and SSE 50 index ETFs shrank by 135.663 billion yuan and 108.113 billion yuan this year. Conversely, the SGE Gold 9999, segmented chemical, and Hang Seng Tech ETFs grew by over 20 billion yuan each, at 90.209 billion yuan, 35.917 billion yuan, and 20.496 billion yuan respectively.

Only 3 of the top 20 managers saw ETF size growth this week

In terms of management firms, only three of the top 20 managers saw ETF size increases this week, with most continuing to shrink. The top 20 rankings saw little change, with China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) rising two spots to 13th, while Penghua Fund and Harvest Fund each fell one position.

Specifically, the three firms with growth this week—HFT Fund, Huatai-PineBridge, and Tianhong Fund—each saw ETF sizes increase by over 1 billion yuan, with increases of 2.372 billion, 1.526 billion, and 1.182 billion yuan respectively, performing relatively well against the trend.

Meanwhile, Southern Fund and E Fund saw ETF sizes shrink by 8.337 billion yuan and 6.83 billion yuan respectively, with significant outflows. BOC Fund and Jiashi Fund also saw declines exceeding 4 billion yuan this week.

Year-to-date, Guotai Fund, Hua’an Fund, and BOC Fund saw ETF size increases of 441.65 billion, 250.34 billion, and 238.63 billion yuan respectively, ranking top in growth. Additionally, HFT Fund, Penghua Fund, and Tianhong Fund each grew by over 100 billion yuan. Conversely, China Asset Management, E Fund, and Huatai-PineBridge saw declines exceeding 200 billion yuan, at 231.605 billion, 216.048 billion, and 201.399 billion yuan respectively. Southern Fund and Jiashi Fund shrank by 117.673 billion and 105.667 billion yuan.

3 Hong Kong tech-related ETFs defy the trend with growth

Looking at leading products, the top ETFs continued to decline overall this week, though slightly better than last week. Besides four gold ETFs that kept growing, three Hong Kong tech-related ETFs also saw increases. The top 20 product rankings saw minor adjustments, such as the ChinaAMC Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet ETF surpassing the ChinaAMC STAR Market 50 ETF to rank 7th, but the overall pattern remained stable.

Specifically, the three standout Hong Kong tech ETFs—Hua Xia Fund’s Hang Seng Tech Index ETF, Huatai-PineBridge’s Hang Seng Tech ETF, and China Concept Internet ETF—grew by 0.771 billion, 0.758 billion, and 0.412 billion yuan respectively. All four gold ETFs also grew this week, though their growth was smaller than last week, with the largest, Hua An Gold ETF, increasing by 0.748 billion yuan.

Although most top products shrank, the overall decline was modest. Only the CSI 500 ETF and CSI 300 ETF from Huatai-PineBridge shrank by over 2 billion yuan. The ChiNext ETF from E Fund and Hua Xia Fund’s STAR Market 50 ETF shrank by 1.916 billion and 1.597 billion yuan respectively.

Year-to-date, the four gold ETFs have each grown by over 100 billion yuan, with Hua An Gold ETF, Guotai Gold ETF, Bosera Gold ETF, and E Fund Gold ETF increasing by 34.036 billion, 17.906 billion, 14.145 billion, and 11.809 billion yuan respectively.

Meanwhile, five products have shrunk by over 100 billion yuan this year, including the CSI 300 ETF from Huatai-PineBridge, E Fund’s CSI 300 ETF, Hua Xia’s CSI 300 ETF, the SSE 50 ETF from Hua Xia Fund, and the CSI 300 ETF from Jiashi, with declines of 216.458 billion, 156.704 billion, 135.556 billion, 106.652 billion, and 100.935 billion yuan respectively.