The equity market strengthened after the holiday period, with sustained positive sentiment boosting investor risk appetite once again. From the perspective of public fund issuance, the number of new funds launched in the first week post-holiday surged by 223.08% week-over-week, reaching a three-week high.

So far this year, the number of newly issued Cohen & Steers Closed-End Opportunity Fund (FOF) products has reached 77, with an issuance size of 87.558 billion units and a subscription size of 87.564 billion units. Both figures have already surpassed the full-year 2025 levels.

From an industry perspective, the continuation of structural market trends has strengthened investors' willingness to participate in fund investments. FOF products, aligning more closely with current demands for stable, multi-asset investment, are experiencing robust issuance momentum.

Multiple FOFs Gain Over 5% in a Week, Some See Drawbacks Exceeding 3% Last week (May 4-10), the A-share market rose significantly, with many active equity funds recording single-day gains exceeding 5% on multiple occasions. Concurrently, the weekly performance of FOF funds was also noteworthy. Several funds saw their net asset values increase by over 5% for the week, with top-performing products exceeding 5% gains for consecutive weeks in recent statistics.

Specifically, among broad market indices, the Shanghai Composite Index closed at 4179.95 points, up 1.65%; the Shenzhen Component Index closed at 15563.80 points, up 3.02%; and the ChiNext Index closed at 3796.13 points, up 3.24%. Sector-wise, communications, electronics, and machinery equipment performed strongly.

Furthermore, the margin trading and securities lending balance has been trending higher since early April, with the pace of increase accelerating notably on May 6 and 7, once again setting a new historical record. Analyzing the fund flow structure from the low point on April 3 to May 7, net margin buying was concentrated in sectors like electronics, communications, machinery equipment, electrical equipment, and non-ferrous metals. Capital focused on sub-sectors such as semiconductors, communication equipment, batteries, consumer electronics, and components, highlighting significant structural allocation characteristics.

Evidently, against the backdrop of a warming market, investor risk appetite and liquidity conditions have continued to improve, contributing to substantial performance gains for FOF funds. Last week, equity-oriented FOFs generally exhibited a high success rate, although some products experienced significant drawdowns.

Among the top-performing products, BOCOM Smart Selection Starlight A recorded a weekly gain of 5.30%, making it the best-performing public FOF fund last week. Based on recent weekly performance, among the heavily held funds disclosed in Q1 reports, five products including China Southern CSI China-Hong Kong-Shenzhen Gold Industry Stock Index C, Invesco Great Wall Steady Return C, and Rongtong Industry Trend Select C gained over 7% in the past week.

Tongtai Active Allocation 3-Month Holding A recorded a weekly gain of 4.24%, making it the best-performing equity-oriented FOF. According to its Q1 report, among its heavily held funds, Sino-Korea Semiconductor ETF Huatai-PineBridge and Guotai Asia Opportunity C both gained over 10% in the past week. The related investment themes are also aligned with the recently active chip and semiconductor industry direction.

Of course, some funds experienced notable drawbacks last week. For instance, Guotai Sector Rotation A recorded a weekly performance of -3.47%, the largest decline among equity-oriented FOFs. Among its heavily held funds, the best performer was Gold Stock ETF Yongying, with a weekly gain of 8.26%. However, other major holdings like Energy ETF ChinaAMC and Coal ETF Guotai saw declines exceeding 5% in the past week.

New Fund Issuance More Than Doubles in First Post-Holiday Week As market conditions continue to heat up, new fund issuance has also been relatively active recently. The first week after the holiday saw a wave of enthusiasm for new public fund launches, with some FOF funds even completing their fundraising within a single day.

Statistics show that from May 4 to May 10, 2026, a total of 42 new funds entered fundraising across the market, with an average subscription period of 15.52 days. The number of new fund launches increased by 223.08% week-over-week, hitting a three-week high.

Equity funds dominated this issuance round. Among the 42 new funds launching fundraising this week, 30 were equity products, comprising 23 stock funds and 7 equity-biased hybrid funds, accounting for 71.43% of the total. Within equity funds, passive index products were predominant. Among the 30 equity funds, passive index stock funds numbered 22, constituting 73.33% of the newly issued equity funds.

Notably, new FOF issuance has regained momentum. The number of newly issued FOF products this year has reached 77, with an issuance size of 87.558 billion units and a subscription size of 87.564 billion units. Not only has this achieved oversubscription, but both the issuance and subscription sizes have already surpassed the full-year 2025 levels.

On May 8, E Fund Management announced that its E Fund Ruyi Anhui 6-Month fund would conclude fundraising ahead of schedule. The fund began fundraising on May 8 and ended on the same day.

Li Chunyu, an FOF fund manager at Rongzhi Investment under the Group, stated that the heated issuance of FOF products is primarily due to several reasons: First, during a phase of generally declining interest rates, FOFs further diversify risk through fund portfolios, aligning their risk-return profile with the demand for stable allocation among some investors.

Second, in an environment where market styles change rapidly and fund selection becomes more challenging, FOFs, with professional managers handling selection and allocation, offer investors an alternative participation method. Third, sales channels also promote FOFs as a key tool when advocating asset allocation services. Additionally, more flexible product design elements, such as holding periods, have collectively driven increased market enthusiasm for these products.