75 Trillion in Deposits Seek a Way Out: "Fixed Income+" Becomes the New Favorite, Individual Investors Turn into the Main Growth Force

Source: 21st Century Business Herald Author: Pang Huawei

“An average of 1 billion yuan of funds flows in daily.” At the beginning of 2026, a scene of the flagship product in the “Fixed Income+” fund manager’s words is being played out simultaneously by many fund companies.

Against the backdrop of deposit interest rates entering the “1” range and bank wealth management yields continuing to decline, a large-scale migration of residents’ deposits totaling 75 trillion yuan is unfolding. One of the core battlegrounds for this flood of funds is the “Fixed Income+” product line under public funds. This time, the incremental funds are shifting from institutions to ordinary individual investors.

“Fixed Income+” Gaining Favor

The fund issuance market in 2026 shows a different scene from previous years.

Wind data shows that as of March 9, 2026, 31 new “Fixed Income+” funds have been established this year, with a total issuance scale of 35.9 billion yuan. Among them, six products, including Southern YiXiang Stable Profit, E Fund YueHeng Stable, Bank of China Zhaoxiang 6-Month Holding, Southern HuiYi Stable Profit, have initial offerings exceeding 2 billion yuan. Notably, Southern YiXiang Stable Profit reached nearly 5 billion yuan. The newly issued bond funds this year amount to about 40.7 billion yuan, with over 70% belonging to “Fixed Income+” funds.

This momentum did not start suddenly in 2026. CICC data shows that by the end of 2025, the scale of “Fixed Income+” products continued to rise, with a total of 2,292 funds, an existing scale of 3 trillion yuan, up 9% month-on-month, and a 56% increase compared to the same period in 2024. This data has surpassed the historical peak of 2.7 trillion yuan in 2022, setting a new high.

The resurgence of “Fixed Income+” is no accident. Reviewing the past five years, “Fixed Income+” has experienced ups and downs. CITIC Securities divides it into three phases: the scale growth dividend period (2020-2021), the market adjustment period (2022-2024), and the recognition recovery period (since 2025).

An industry insider told reporters that in the first three quarters of 2025, many equity funds faced redemption waves, but the total fund holdings did not decrease. “Most of the new funds went into ‘Fixed Income+’.” A sales staff member from a joint-stock bank revealed: “50% to 70% of monthly sales are ‘Fixed Income+’ products.”

In the fourth quarter of last year, bond funds also experienced a significant redemption wave. An industry analyst explained: “From the redemption structure at that time, pure bond funds were redeemed en masse, while mixed bond funds actually saw net subscriptions, reflecting investors’ pursuit of ‘Fixed Income+’ products—after risk appetite increased, there was a demand for higher yields.”

Since 2025, whether it was the redemption wave of equity funds or the concentrated redemption of pure bond funds, “Fixed Income+” has not been affected—instead, it has become a recipient of funds.

From Institution to Retail Dominance

More noteworthy than the scale growth is the change in fund structure.

“Unlike in the past when institutional funds played the leading role, we clearly feel that ordinary individual investors are becoming the new main force in subscriptions,” said a public fund market department official.

CICC’s fixed income team also pointed out this trend: entering 2026, retail funds—mainly from bank channels and internet channels—may become an important source of incremental funds for “Fixed Income+” funds. Among them, “Line Drawing” style “Fixed Income+” funds that emphasize good holding experience are expected to see a significant increase in market share.

Data from Jiashang Fund researcher Jiang Rui shows that individual holdings of hybrid bond funds account for nearly 80%, making them the absolute main force. Secondary bond funds and primary bond funds are still mainly held by institutions, but the proportion held by individuals is rapidly increasing.

“‘Fixed Income+’ funds’ individual investors have become the absolute main force in scale growth, accelerating the shift from institutional dominance to retail dominance,” Jiang Rui pointed out.

Fangfang, an operator at Pashupin Wealth Public Fund Products, also said that since the beginning of 2026, continuous inflows from bank and internet channels’ individual funds suggest that individual investors are likely to replace institutions as the main subscribers.

She explained that looking ahead to 2026, institutional positions are already relatively high, and incremental demand may slow down. Meanwhile, low-risk preference funds such as bank wealth management and individual investors from banks and internet channels are relatively lagging in entering the market, which could become an important source of incremental funds for “Fixed Income+” funds in 2026.

The driving force behind this wealth migration is the large amount of low-interest deposits maturing simultaneously.

CICC estimates that in 2026, residents’ fixed-term deposits maturing will total about 75 trillion yuan, with about 67 trillion yuan of deposits of one year or more maturing—an increase of 10 trillion yuan year-on-year, a 17% rise. Meanwhile, medium- and long-term fixed deposit rates have generally fallen below 1%. As residents face maturing deposits and declining interest rates, they are forced to seek alternatives. In this asset reallocation, “Fixed Income+” has become one of the core battlegrounds to absorb this flood of funds.

Who is the Biggest Winner?

Behind the influx of funds is the trust built by “Fixed Income+” products through performance.

Jiang Rui introduced that as of March 9, the average return of “Fixed Income+” funds was 1.28%, outperforming pure bond funds.

Wind data shows that as of March 9, four “Fixed Income+” funds in the market had returns exceeding 10% for the year, including ICBC Add Wealth A, Golden Eagle Annual Postal Benefit One-Year Holding A, China Merchants AnDing Balanced 1-Year Holding A, and Huashang Ruixin Fixed Term Open.

Looking at a three-year long-term cycle, Wind data shows that among 1,380 “Fixed Income+” funds with complete three-year performance records, 1,341 achieved positive returns, with a positive rate of over 97%. Among them, 55 products achieved returns exceeding 30%, with Hua’an Zhiliang A reaching as high as 76.36%.

“‘Fixed Income+’ funds have continued steady growth this year,” Jiang Rui said. The reasons are twofold: on one hand, low interest rates are prompting residents to move their deposits; “Fixed Income+” funds, with moderate volatility, have become an alternative asset for residents’ savings. On the other hand, A-share corporate profits are recovering, and sectors like technology and cyclicals offer space for increased returns, while the convertible bond market also plays an important role in “plus” yields, supporting performance.

It is worth noting that high-yield “Fixed Income+” funds mostly belong to the “track” type with high volatility.

For example, Hua’an Zhiliang A, as of March 9, had an annual return of 8.79% and a three-year return of 76.36%. The fund holds about 40% in stocks, mainly in tech stocks like optical modules and storage chips; Fuguo Jiuli Stable A achieved a 3-year return of 61.09%, with about 26% stock holdings at the end of last year, mainly in pharmaceuticals, technology, and resources.

CICC’s research shows that these “track” style “Fixed Income+” funds, which have relatively obvious sector bets on stocks, saw more prominent growth in 2025, with significantly higher growth rates than “Fixed Income+” funds with balanced sector allocations.

Looking at the full-year performance of 2025, benefiting from the rebound in the equity market, the relatively high-positioned “Fixed Income+” categories performed well: convertible bond funds had a median return of 22.4%; hybrid funds with bias towards bonds had returns of 6.1% and 5.5%; secondary bond funds returned 4.6%; primary bond funds around 2.0%.

On the risk side, the average maximum drawdown of “Fixed Income+” products in 2025 was about 2.1%, with the median drawdown of primary bond funds at only 0.9%; secondary bond funds about 1.9%; convertible bond funds around 8.8%.

As “Fixed Income+” products become more diverse, “Line Drawing” low-volatility products are also favored by conservative investors.

What is “Line Drawing”? It refers not to a performance champion in a specific year but to products with smooth net value curves, clear drawdown boundaries, and predictable holding experiences. They rarely top the performance charts but hold the line during market corrections, allowing holders to “hold on and sleep well.”

Jiang Rui pointed out that the core goal of “Line Drawing” “Fixed Income+” funds is to provide a good holding experience; the core goal of “track” style is to achieve excess returns. Currently, most “Fixed Income+” clients have low risk tolerance, so “Line Drawing” products are more popular. However, as investors gain a deeper understanding of “Fixed Income+” funds and have some risk capacity, those seeking higher returns may choose “track” style products.

Fangfang also said that, based on fund preferences, in 2025, structural opportunities led to large inflows of institutional funds seeking flexibility, making “track” products with clear sector bets grow more rapidly. By 2026, with about 75 trillion yuan of residents’ long-term deposits maturing, these funds entering the market may favor “Line Drawing” “Fixed Income+” funds.

For investor allocation, Jiang Rui recommends that the explosive growth of “Fixed Income+” in 2025 was due to the resonance of fund demand and market environment. This logic will continue in 2026, but performance differentiation will become normal. In the future, the core indicators to distinguish products will be the stability of bond floors, stock-picking ability in equities, and drawdown control. Investors should choose products matching their risk preferences—low-volatility secondary bond funds for conservative investors, and higher-yield “track” products for more aggressive ones, paying attention to holding strategies to reduce timing risks.

Fangfang also suggested that, amid maturing residents’ deposits and low interest rates, the scale of “Fixed Income+” funds may continue to expand, with individual funds becoming an important incremental force in the market. For allocation, a “core-satellite” strategy can be adopted: allocate most funds to low-volatility “Line Drawing” products as the core to seek steady returns, while using a small portion for high-elasticity “track” products as satellites to pursue excess returns. In terms of timing, use dollar-cost averaging and phased building to smooth volatility, avoid chasing high on hot sector products, and focus on long-term holding.