Witness History: Birth of the First "Trillion-Level" Equity Distribution Giant, Public Fund Sales Landscape Shocked

How have the industry patterns of public funds changed dramatically over the past year?

The latest data from the Asset Management Association of China can tell you.

In the highly influential fund sales sector, there are now sales organizations with over 1 trillion yuan in equity assets.

This is an unprecedented sign in history.

On the asset management side, there is currently no public fund management organization managing over 1 trillion yuan in assets.

If we include proprietary trading, the Central Huijin Investment, which also acts as a stabilizer fund, may be another institution with over 1 trillion yuan in capacity.

Huijin’s unparalleled market influence has already been seen by the investing public. Will a sales organization holding over 1 trillion yuan in client assets create a new ecosystem or even become another “too big to fail”?

This is truly a fascinating topic.

First trillion-yuan equity sales organization emerges

According to the latest list of public fund sales organizations’ holdings in the second half of 2025 released by the Asset Management Association, the industry has for the first time seen a sales organization with equity fund holdings exceeding 1 trillion yuan.

Based on relevant statistics, Ant (Hangzhou) Fund Sales Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Ant Fund) has become the first in the industry to reach over 1 trillion yuan in equity fund sales, with holdings of 1.0178 trillion yuan.

The second is China Merchants Bank with 610.5 billion yuan in equity fund holdings.

The third is Tiantian Fund Sales (a subsidiary of East Money), with 400.2 billion yuan.

However, the gap between the top three is widening.

If we include total non-money market fund holdings, Ant Fund and China Merchants Bank are the only two institutions in the industry with holdings exceeding 1 trillion yuan.

Ant Fund’s total non-money market fund holdings reach 1.8 trillion yuan, while China Merchants Bank’s reach 1.25 trillion yuan, both far ahead of Tiantian Fund’s 724 billion yuan.

State-owned banks, leading securities firms, and top life insurers follow closely

Returning to the scope of equity fund holdings.

After the top three, the first tier of the entire industry (the top ten) is composed of seven “seats,” all occupied by large state-owned financial institutions.

Among the six major banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and Agricultural Bank of China occupy the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 10th positions respectively. Their equity fund holdings range from 379.6 billion to 145.3 billion yuan.

The 8th and 9th positions are held by CITIC Securities and China Life Insurance.

Both are industry leaders—CITIC Securities as the largest securities firm, and China Life as the top life insurance company.

Additionally, this is the first time since the association disclosed sales holdings that an insurance company has entered the top ten in equity fund holdings. As of mid-2025, China Life’s related holdings increased by 44.7 billion yuan, making it the second-largest incremental growth after Ant Fund, China Merchants Bank, and Tiantian Fund, indicating significant growth potential.

Different strengths among institutions

Specifically, each sales organization has its own core strengths.

The top three—Ant, China Merchants Bank, and Tiantian—are all comprehensive, but Ant’s index fund holdings are particularly large, approaching 500 billion yuan.

As a non-securities firm sales organization, Ant’s ability to reach this scale with index funds is remarkable.

From the 4th to 10th positions, CITIC Securities also has a large index fund portfolio, exceeding 100 billion yuan, second only to Ant and Tiantian. This is due to the company’s unique securities industry background.

Among the state-owned banks, Bank of Communications, ICBC, and Agricultural Bank have particularly high proportions of equity fund holdings, much higher than CCB and BOC, which are also expected to have strong fixed-income product capabilities.

How do leading institutions grow their scale?

Overall, the pattern of public fund sales holdings among leading sales organizations remains relatively stable.

However, in the second half of 2025, Ant Fund’s growth trend continues to accelerate. For an institution managing over 10 trillion yuan, its incremental holdings in equity funds, non-money market funds, and stock index funds are all industry-leading, which is astonishing.

This is related to Ant’s flexible product mechanisms, user-friendly trading interfaces, and low transaction costs.

It’s also worth noting that community groups and influential online personalities within communities—previously considered to have little impact—are expected to be important drivers of Ant Fund’s growth. This has also caused some unusual fluctuations in sales scale, attracting attention in Q1 2026.

In any case, Ant has seized market opportunities, stimulating growth through various means, and has effectively achieved this goal.

Whether this is the most beneficial long-term sales model for investors remains to be seen.

Differentiation in core sales scales

In terms of non-money market fund holdings, Ant Fund again leads with 1.8098 trillion yuan, followed by China Merchants Bank with 1.2484 trillion yuan, and Tiantian Fund with 724.2 billion yuan.

Other top ten institutions in non-money market fund holdings include ICBC, Industrial Bank, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Tencent An Fund, CITIC Securities, and Jiyu Fund.

It’s noteworthy that although bank-affiliated institutions remain key players in public fund sales, the changes in the second half of the year show uneven growth.

Industrial Bank’s non-money market fund holdings decreased by 55.8 billion yuan, showing a counter-trend decline different from the industry average, possibly indicating some pressure in non-fund holdings. Several other banks exhibited similar patterns.

Guotai Haitong actively promotes index fund holdings

In terms of stock index fund holdings, the competition pattern is even more interesting.

Ant Fund continues to lead with 482.5 billion yuan, followed by CITIC Securities with 148.6 billion yuan, and Huatai Securities with 137.3 billion yuan. Guotai Haitong and Tiantian Fund are also among the top.

Notably, Guotai Haitong’s growth momentum is strong. In the second half of 2025, its stock index fund holdings increased by 43.1 billion yuan, ranking second only to Ant Fund among all market comparables, with a high growth rate among top securities firms. This demonstrates its rapid expansion in index funds and ETFs.

Additionally, in the second half of 2025, China Construction Bank, CITIC Securities, Huatai Securities, Tiantian Fund, Guosen Securities, Galaxy Securities, China Merchants Bank, and Tencent An Fund all saw significant increases in stock index fund holdings.

With passive investment products continuing to expand, index funds have become a key battleground for channel competition. Securities firms leverage ETF trading ecosystems, client investment habits, and trading demands to strengthen this advantage; while some banks and internet platforms compete for long-term funds through wealth management and client operations.

As market competition intensifies, those who understand clients better and can offer long-term allocation solutions are more likely to gain the upper hand in the next phase of public fund sales. The competition among sales organizations continues.