Direct sales channels will become standard for free; the era of "zero fee rate" in public offerings accelerates

Source: Economic Information Daily Author: Wu Lihua, Xie Dafi

The public fund industry fee rate reform is moving from “paper” to “ground.” Recently, CICC Securities Asset Management Co., Ltd. announced that all its public funds will waive subscription and sales service fees in direct sales channels (including online direct sales and direct sales counters) starting immediately; previously, Xingzheng Global Fund also announced the same policy.

This is the first batch of public fund institutions to fully implement “zero fee” after the “Regulations on the Management of Sales Expenses of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds” (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”) take effect on January 1, 2026, marking a shift in industry competition from price battles to service capability competition.

According to the “Regulations” issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, fund managers are not allowed to charge subscription (application) fees and sales service fees in direct sales, with a transition period of 12 months. This also means that all fund companies must complete fee adjustments in direct sales channels within 2026.

Currently, E Fund’s sales subsidiaries have fully implemented “zero subscription fees,” and system upgrades at other leading institutions are also underway. Industry insiders say that free direct sales channels will significantly reduce investor costs, reshape channel competition patterns, and promote the industry to shift from price competition to service competition centered on research capabilities, asset allocation, and customer engagement.

“This is not simply about ‘cutting profits’ to offer discounts, but about guiding the industry toward ‘return on investment’ and ‘long-term investing’ through mechanism optimization,” said a person related to a public fund. The direct sales platform, as a key channel for directly reaching holders, will continue to deepen its development and improve customer experience through digital tools. For investors, purchasing products via the fund company’s official website or app can save 0.8%-1.5% in subscription fees compared to agency channels like banks and brokerages.

Alongside fee rate reform, the industry is also increasing its efforts to return more to investors. For example, Xin Hua Youxuan Dividend A has paid dividends seven times within the year, and quantitative products like Western Lide’s specialized and innovative quantitative stock selection and Huatai Bairui’s dividend quantitative have also paid dividends multiple times, indicating that the dividend culture is spreading from traditional dividend strategy funds to more product types.

In terms of dividend structure, broad-based ETFs remain dominant. Data from Choice shows that in 2025, the annual dividend amounts of E Fund’s CSI 300 ETF, Huatai Bairui CSI 300 ETF, Huaxia CSI 300 ETF, and Harvest CSI 300 ETF all exceeded 5 billion yuan.

“The increased enthusiasm for dividends is closely related to regulatory guidance,” said a person in charge of a fund company. In recent years, regulators have repeatedly emphasized improving investor return mechanisms centered on cash dividends, promoting a shift in the industry from “focusing on scale and rankings” to “focusing on long-term returns.”

It is worth noting that fee rate reform and increased dividends are forming a policy synergy. The aforementioned person said that reducing sales expenses lowers investors’ transaction costs, while frequent dividends allow investors to feel tangible benefits from holding. This “low fee + high dividend” model is especially favored by long-term allocation funds.

However, the reshaping of the industry ecosystem also comes with pain points. The person admitted that for banks, brokerages, and other distribution channels, the significant reduction in trailing commissions will force them to change their business model of “prioritizing new issues and neglecting ongoing management”; for fund companies, operating costs in direct sales channels need to be amortized through scale effects, putting more pressure on small and medium-sized institutions. In the future, public fund channel competition will rely more on investment advisory service capabilities, and a model solely dependent on traffic distribution will be unsustainable.

(Edited by: Wen Jing)

Keywords: Fund