Top Public Fund Distributor Shows Cliff-Like Lead, Tianfeng Securities and Guodu Securities Exit Top 100

The China Securities Investment Fund Industry Association (hereinafter referred to as “the Association”) recently announced the top 100 public fund distributors for the second half of last year, revealing the latest rankings in the public fund distribution industry.

By the end of 2025, the total assets of the top 100 distribution institutions holding equity funds reached 6 trillion yuan, with non-money market fund holdings totaling 11.7 trillion yuan, and stock index fund holdings reaching 2.42 trillion yuan. All three indicators showed significant growth compared to the previous period, with stock index funds being the main driver of growth. The top 100 institutions’ holdings of such products increased by over 20% quarter-on-quarter.

Ant Fund maintained its leading position in all three metrics, with its equity fund holdings rising from 822.9 billion yuan in the first half to 1.02 trillion yuan, officially surpassing the 1 trillion yuan mark. It became the only distributor in the market with equity fund holdings exceeding one trillion yuan.

From the channel perspective, securities firms, banks, and third-party independent distributors still form the “three pillars” of the industry. The top 100 list saw slight adjustments from the first half: securities firms occupy 57 spots, with Open Source Securities and Bohai Securities newly listed, while Tianfeng Securities and Guodu Securities dropped out. Among banks and third-party institutions, Dongguan Bank entered the list, while Ledong Fund exited.

Ant Group has become a trillion-yuan giant, with China Merchants Bank making efforts but still facing industry challenges.

In the second half of 2025, the overall trading activity in the A-share market was vibrant, with the three major indices rising significantly, leading to a noticeable expansion in public fund scale. Data disclosed by the Association shows that by the end of the year, the total size of the public fund market reached 37.71 trillion yuan.

The assets held by the top 100 distributors also increased accordingly. For non-money market funds, banks and third-party institutions each held over 4 trillion yuan in the second half. Although securities firms remain in the third tier, their non-money market fund holdings grew by 24.34% quarter-on-quarter, ranking first among the three main channels.

In terms of equity fund holdings, third-party sales channels expanded rapidly. By the end of 2025, the 16 listed third-party institutions held a total of 1.8 trillion yuan in equity funds, up 22.44% quarter-on-quarter, with their market share increasing to 29.95%.

Among them, the leading platform Ant Group achieved a “cliff-like” lead: its equity holdings in the second half reached 1.02 trillion yuan, accounting for 16.98% of the top 100 institutions’ equity market share.

Following closely is China Merchants Bank (600036.SH), with equity fund holdings of 610.5 billion yuan by the end of 2025, representing 10.18%. The Cathay Securities Research Institute’s banking team pointed out that the bank’s “TREE Changying Plan” was the core driver of its active equity fund growth in the second half. According to their statistics, the incremental growth contributed by this plan for China Merchants Bank’s active equity funds even exceeded the total second-half incremental growth of the other 21 listed banks.

However, despite China Merchants Bank’s prominent efforts, the overall channel performance shows that banks still face severe challenges in the fund distribution market. Data indicates that the equity and non-money market fund holdings of bank channels among the top 100 distributors have declined for three consecutive reporting periods.

The “main battlefield” remains stable, with securities firms maintaining a dominant position.

In recent years, stock index funds have grown rapidly due to advantages such as risk diversification, high transparency, and low fees, becoming the “main battlefield” for various distributors.

Faced with competition from third-party institutions and securities firms, banks have started to increase their efforts in this area. In the second half of 2025, bank-distributed stock index funds totaled 357.8 billion yuan, a 34.16% increase quarter-on-quarter. Notably, four institutions—Construction Bank, Minsheng Bank, WeBank, and Nanjing Bank—saw their index fund holdings double; Industrial Bank and Pudong Development Bank also entered the “billion-yuan club” for this product.

However, despite these efforts, banks still find it difficult to challenge the absolute dominance of securities firms in this field in the short term.

In the second half of 2025, securities firms’ stock index fund holdings reached 1.32 trillion yuan, accounting for half of the top 100 institutions. CITIC Securities, Huatai Securities, and Guotai Haitong Securities remain the top three among securities firms. Notably, Guotai Haitong Securities’ index product holdings surpassed 100 billion yuan, reaching 118.8 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 56.94% quarter-on-quarter.

Third-party institutions also share a portion of this market. In the second half, third-party institutions’ stock index fund holdings totaled 731.3 billion yuan, accounting for over 30% of the market share. Ant Group alone holds 482.5 billion yuan in stock index funds, nearly 20% of the total holdings of the top 100 institutions.