Steady public mutual fund products frequently add new distribution partner institutions

Our Reporter Peng Yansong

On February 27, several public fund institutions, including Morgan Funds, Vanguard Funds, and Guohai Franklin Funds, announced the addition of new distribution partners, covering a wide range of products.

Notably, among the newly added distribution products, many are moderate-risk options such as low-volatility dividends, pure bonds, and stable fixed income+, while equity funds with high flexibility are relatively fewer. This structural characteristic reflects how, under the dual influence of market conditions and policy guidance, fund sales channels are quietly shifting their focus.

Frequent Appearance of Stable Products

Morgan Funds announced that Shanghai China Europe Wealth Fund Sales Co., Ltd. has been added as a distributor for its Morgan S&P Hong Kong Stock Connect Low-Volatility Dividend ETF Initiator Link C.

Vanguard Funds announced a partnership with Beijing Du Xiaoman Fund Sales Co., Ltd., signing a fund sales service agreement. Du Xiaoman Fund will start selling 14 Vanguard funds, including Vanguard JuLi A and Vanguard Daily Income A. A review of these 14 products shows that 10 are medium-risk, 4 are low-risk, and there are no high-risk products.

Guohai Franklin Funds announced that Teng An Fund Sales (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. will act as an agent for two of its funds, including Guo Fu Heng An 30-Day Holding Period Bonds A, and will also open periodic fixed investment services. Both products are considered medium-low risk.

Additionally, several public fund companies such as Invesco Great Wall Funds, Ping An Funds, and Huabao Funds have recently added new distribution partners for some of their products, which are generally rated no higher than medium risk (R3).

Overall, this round of new distribution products mainly focuses on low-volatility dividends, pure bonds, and stable fixed income+, rather than equity funds. Wang Fanglin, Assistant Analyst at Morningstar (China) Fund Research Center, told Securities Daily that this is mainly due to the combined effects of current market conditions and policy guidance. Currently, investors’ risk appetite is generally cautious, and products with lower volatility and more stable returns like low-volatility dividends, pure bonds, and stable fixed income+ are more aligned with residents’ current asset allocation preferences.

“Meanwhile, regulators continue to advocate for long-term and value investing, encouraging institutions to increase supply of stable products and guiding medium- and long-term funds into the market. This has become an important policy support for expanding channels for stable products. In contrast, equity funds tend to have higher volatility and risk, so they have not yet become the main focus of this expansion,” Wang Fanglin further explained.

Channel Value Expected to Increase

In fact, stable products and equity funds differ significantly in their marketing logic and assessment criteria at the channel level.

Fang Fang, Operations Manager of Public Fund Sales at Qianhai PaiPaiWang in Shenzhen, told Securities Daily that from a marketing perspective, low-volatility dividends and bond funds emphasize risk control and long-term returns, mainly targeting risk-averse investors. Their marketing core highlights asset stability, regular dividends, and low volatility, emphasizing their defensive role during market fluctuations to meet the asset allocation needs of conservative individual and institutional investors.

In contrast, equity funds focus more on growth potential and high-yield opportunities to attract aggressive clients, emphasizing industry prosperity, capital appreciation, and long-term growth in their marketing.

Regarding assessment criteria, the differences are even more pronounced. Fang Fang explained that stable products focus more on sustained growth in scale, customer satisfaction, and holding periods, with channel evaluations typically centered on sales stability, repurchase rates, and customer retention. Equity funds, on the other hand, are more concerned with relative performance rankings, trading activity, and new customer acquisition, with evaluations leaning toward realized returns and market trend responsiveness.

Many interviewees noted that the recent intensive addition of distribution channels by public funds, especially focusing on stable products, is not accidental. Under the backdrop of high-quality development of public funds, the standards for product selection by channels are changing.

Looking ahead, as investors’ risk awareness increases, the channel value of stable products is expected to further emerge. For fund companies, continuously optimizing stock selection strategies for low-volatility dividends, enhancing the yield of fixed income products, and improving risk control systems for stable fixed income+ will be key to capturing channel resources.

Meanwhile, channels need to continue efforts in product screening, investor suitability management, and after-sales services to truly shift from “sales-driven” to “allocation-driven” strategies. Fang Fang emphasized, “The expansion of stable products through channels is essentially a process of fund companies and sales institutions jointly guiding investors to establish long-term investment concepts and optimize asset allocation structures.”