Summary of Key Points
In the first half of 2026, although the scale of the bank wealth management market continued to grow, the growth rate slowed down. Products are increasingly concentrated in wealth management companies, with longer maturity periods. The average return on investments decreased slightly, but the number of investors remained stable. Some products suffered losses due to market fluctuations, reflecting a divergence in investor risk preferences, with both more conservative and more aggressive investors.
1. Wealth Management Market Scale: Slowing Growth, with Smaller Banks Gradually Withdrawal
As of the end of June, the total scale of wealth management products amounted to 33.66 trillion yuan, an increase of only 1.11% from the beginning of the year, far lower than the growth rates in 2024 (11.75%) and 2025 (2.4%). However, there was a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.75 trillion yuan, indicating a gradual recovery in the market.
In terms of structure, the proportion of products issued by wealth management companies is on the rise (31.18 trillion yuan, up 13.46% year-on-year), while the product scale of smaller banks has significantly decreased (2.48 trillion yuan, down 22.26% year-on-year). This is because smaller banks that do not have wealth management subsidiaries under regulatory requirements are clearing their existing wealth management products by the end of 2026, leading to a market concentration in professional wealth management firms. Analysts predict that lower deposit interest rates will encourage more people to shift their funds from deposits to wealth management products, and the market size could increase by more than 3 trillion yuan this year.
2. Product Structure: Fixed Income Remains Dominant, with Longer Maturity Periods for Stability
Fixed-income products account for 96.49% of the total, still dominating the market (with hybrid products accounting for only 3.18% and equity products even less). Among closed-end products, those with a maturity of more than one year make up 74.1%, higher than at the beginning of the year and the same period last year.
Why are longer maturity periods chosen? Institutions aim to stabilize the net value of their products; longer terms help mitigate the impact of short-term market fluctuations and prevent significant fluctuations in net values. Products with medium to low risk levels account for 94.68%, indicating that most products are designed to be conservative.
3. Return Performance: Slight Decline in Average Returns, with Some Products Losing Money
The average annualized return on wealth management products in the first half of the year was 2.05%, slightly higher than the full year of 2025 (1.98%) but lower than the same period last year (2.12%). These products generated a total profit of 305.2 billion yuan for investors, 84.4 billion yuan less than in the previous year.
The recent weakness in the bond market and sharp declines in the stock market have resulted in negative returns for many “fixed-income+” products over the past month or even six months, making the actual performance for investors much worse than the average return. Analysts warn that “fixed-income+” products are not traditional fixed-income instruments; they are subject to stock market fluctuations, and investors should treat them accordingly. It is possible that the benchmark for evaluating wealth management product performance will gradually drop to around 2% in the future.
4. Changes in Investors: Growing Number of Investors, with Divergent Risk Preferences
As of the end of June, there were a total of 151 million wealth management investors, an increase of 5.59% from the beginning of the year, including 7.59 million new individual investors.
Interestingly, there is a divergence in investor risk preferences: both the proportion of conservative (Level 1) and aggressive (Level 5) investors has increased by 0.98 percentage points compared to the same period last year, while the proportion of more moderate investors (Level 32.63%) remains unchanged. This suggests that some investors are seeking stability (to avoid losses), while others are willing to take greater risks in pursuit of higher returns.
5. Asset Allocation: Increased Investment in Funds and Reduced Investment in Certificates of Deposit, with a Rise in Bond Holdings
Within wealth management assets, the proportion of bonds has increased from 39.7% at the end of 2025 to 41.6%, while the proportion of public funds has risen from 5.1% to 7% (a historical high). The proportion of interbank certificates of deposit has decreased from 12.2% to 8.6%. Analysts believe that in order to meet performance benchmarks, wealth management products may increase their investment in bonds and extend the holding period of these assets.
Overall, the wealth management market is adapting to a low-interest-rate environment: growth is more modest, products are focusing on long-term stability, and investors are becoming more accustomed to fluctuations in returns. There is a need for a new understanding of wealth management products, as some investors prefer conservatism while others are willing to take greater risks for higher returns.