The delisting mechanism for listed open-end funds (LOFs) on the exchange is about to undergo a major adjustment. On August 7, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges released a public consultation on the LOF delisting system, clarifying that three types of products must terminate their listings.
According to Wind data, as of August 7, the entire market had 402 listed LOFs (calculated separately for different share classes), with an on-exchange total scale of approximately 54.97 billion yuan. Among them, the new rules affect about 34 LOFs in the QDII and commodity futures categories that are subject to mandatory delisting, with an on-exchange scale of about 24.638 billion yuan.
Within the mandatory delisting list, there are currently 33 QDII LOFs, involving 18 fund companies including E Fund, Hwabao, Harvest, Southern, China Universal, and Dacheng. E Fund leads with 8 products, with a combined scale of over 9.4 billion yuan, facing significant pressure to dispose of existing products.
Among E Fund's QDII LOFs, the S&P Information Technology LOF, managed by Liu Yishan, has performed most prominently. As of August 11, the fund's on-exchange scale reached 3.251 billion yuan, with a total scale of 4.268 billion yuan, achieving a cumulative return of over 577% since inception. During the same period, another product managed by her, the S&P 500 LOF, had an on-exchange scale of 782 million yuan, a total scale of 1.667 billion yuan, and a cumulative return of 218.56% since inception.
The Crude Oil LOF E Fund, managed by Yin Chuntao, had an on-exchange scale of 724 million yuan. Affected by international geopolitical situations, the fund achieved a return of 17.88% since July and a year-to-date return of 53.9%. Due to excessive premiums, the fund has issued 20 risk warning announcements since July and has been suspended from trading 8 times.
In stark contrast, another product managed by Yin Chuntao, the Gold Theme LOF, has a year-to-date return of -2.93%. The sharp rise in the Crude Oil LOF and the sluggish performance of the Gold LOF are highly consistent with international market trends of surging oil prices and falling gold prices, reflecting the severe divergence among commodity LOFs.
Song Zhaoxian focuses on investments in the healthcare sector. The S&P Biotech LOF, managed by him, has an on-exchange scale of 138 million yuan and a year-to-date return of 22.22%. Another product, the S&P Healthcare LOF, has a smaller on-exchange scale of only 95 million yuan and a year-to-date return of 8.28%.
The performance of the Hong Kong Small-Cap LOF has been less than satisfactory. The fund has an on-exchange scale of only 57 million yuan, a total fund scale of 78 million yuan, a year-to-date return of -18.78%, and its cumulative return since inception remains negative. Such small-scale, underperforming products face a particularly prominent risk of delisting under the new rules.
It is important to emphasize that the notice has set a sufficient transition period for commodity futures LOFs and QDII LOFs, stipulating that the latest termination of listing is December 31, 2027. During the transition period, risk warnings for related products will be further strengthened. From the implementation of the rules until the termination of listing, the on-exchange abbreviations of commodity futures LOFs and QDII LOFs will be prefixed with a "*" mark. Fund managers must also disclose termination risks and related arrangements at key milestones, reminding investors that they can choose to sell, redeem, or transfer on-exchange shares to off-exchange via cross-system custody. The relevant funds must submit termination documents to the exchange by November 12, 2027, at the latest.