Soaring ETFs — Then Sold Off Harder? Broad-Based ETFs Added ¥320 billion RMB ($44.44 billion USD) in Q1–Q3, Yet Shares Fell by 224.15 Billion

Key Points

Broad-based ETFs in China saw AUM rise while issued shares plunged in Q1–Q3 2025.

Quick summary

Through the first three quarters of 2025, China’s broad-based (wide‑base) ETF market saw total assets rise from ¥2.19 trillion RMB ($304.17 billion USD) to ¥2.51 trillion RMB ($348.61 billion USD).

That represents an increase of about ¥320 billion RMB ($44.44 billion USD).

At the same time, total issued shares of broad-based ETFs dropped by roughly 2,241.5 hundred‑million units (224.15 billion shares).

Two main forces explain the paradox: NAV gains pushed AUM higher even as investors took profits, and investors rotated into higher‑alpha industry/theme ETFs and bond ETFs.

What happened: big NAV gains masked heavy net redemptions

Major A‑share broad indexes rallied in Q1–Q3 2025.

The CSI 300 Index (Hushen 300 沪深300) rose about 17.94%.

The SSE 50 Index (Shangzheng 50 上证50) was up 11.33%.

The CSI A 500 Index (Zhongzheng A500 中证A500) climbed 21.91%.

Growth‑style boards outperformed the broad market.

The ChiNext Index (Chuangyeban 创业板指) jumped ~51.2%.

The ChiNext 50 (创业板50) gained ~58.77%.

The STAR/innovation composite (科创创业50) surged about 63.04%.

Against that backdrop, total market assets for broad‑based ETFs reached ¥2.51 trillion RMB ($348.61 billion USD) as of September 30, up from ¥2.19 trillion RMB ($304.17 billion USD) at the start of the year.

Yet issued shares for broad‑based ETFs fell by about 2,241.5億份 (224.15 billion shares), leaving total shares at ~9247.77億份.

Analysts interpret this as a NAV effect plus money‑flow rotation.

NAV appreciation lifted AUM even while investors redeemed units to lock in profits.

At the same time, industry and thematic ETFs, cross‑border products and a revival of bond ETFs attracted capital away from plain broad‑based allocations.

In short, the market is shifting from “buy a broad ETF and hold” toward more targeted, hotspot‑driven allocations.

Broad-based ETFs remain a portfolio anchor, but they are no longer the only destination for incremental flows.

Winners: more than 20 broad ETFs climbed over 60% YTD — mostly growth style

As of Sept. 30, Wind data show 24 broad‑based ETFs had year‑to‑date gains exceeding 60%.

Leading the pack was the Guotai ChiNext 50 ETF (Guotai Chuangye 50 国泰创业板50ETF) with a reported gain of ~74.44%.

Close behind were funds tracking STAR/innovation and ChiNext related indexes: Huaxia SSE STAR 200 ETF (Huaxia Shangzheng Kechuangban 200 华夏上证科创板200ETF) and Wanjia ChiNext 50 ETF (Wanjia 创业板50ETF), which rose ~69.3% and ~67.65% respectively for Q1–Q3.

The top‑performing broad ETFs came mainly from two camps: ChiNext‑related and STAR/innovation‑related indexes.

Among the top 20 performers, products tracking the 科创创业50 index (Sci‑Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship 50, Kechuang Chuangye 50 科创创业50) were especially prominent — 13 of the top 20 were from this index family.

Most of these high‑return winners were still mid‑to‑small in scale.

For example, the E Fund CSI Sci‑Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship 50 ETF (E Fund, Yifangda 易方达中证科创创业50ETF) had roughly ¥122.26亿元 RMB ($1.70 billion USD) in assets and was the only product in the high‑performer group with assets above ¥100亿元.

Huaxia’s and Southern Asset’s versions of similar indexes had about ¥52.97亿元 RMB ($736.0 million USD) and ¥38.88亿元 RMB ($540.0 million USD) respectively.

Nine of the top‑20 winners had assets under ¥5亿元 RMB (¥500 million RMB / $69.44 million USD).

Interpretation: Q1–Q3 favored growth exposure — high‑beta, high‑momentum segments (ChiNext, STAR) achieved a three‑way resonance of strong sector fundamentals, growth style, and index construction.

If the core drivers (AI compute, innovative drugs, core parts for new energy vehicles, etc.) remain intact, that style may continue into Q4 — but expect meaningful dispersion.

Only broad ETFs that actually concentrate exposure on the core growth leaders are likely to keep outperforming.

Big players: 29 broad ETFs above ¥100亿元 — but over half saw net redemptions

At the large‑cap end, as of Sept. 30 there were 29 broad‑based ETFs with assets above ¥100亿元 RMB.

These “giants” together held about ¥2.21万亿元 RMB ($306.94 billion USD), roughly 88% of all broad‑based ETF assets.

Top individual funds by size included:

• Huatai‑PineBridge CSI 300 ETF (Huatai‑PineBridge 华泰柏瑞 沪深300ETF) — ¥4,255.77亿元 RMB ($59.08 billion USD)
• E Fund CSI 300 ETF (Yifangda 易方达 沪深300ETF) — ¥3,047.96亿元 RMB ($42.33 billion USD)
• Huaxia CSI 300 ETF (Huaxia 华夏 沪深300ETF) — ¥2,280.61亿元 RMB ($31.70 billion USD)
• Harvest/China AMC CSI 300 ETF (Jiashi 嘉实 沪深300ETF) — ¥1,996.94亿元 RMB ($27.74 billion USD)

Those four “mega” CSI 300 ETFs each gained more than 20% in Q1–Q3 and delivered slightly positive excess returns versus the CSI 300 Index — a stable, large‑cap performance pattern.

In absolute scale changes, the largest year‑to‑date increases (Q1–Q3) were:

• Huatai‑PineBridge CSI 300 ETF — +¥659.48亿元 RMB ($9.16 billion USD)
• Huaxia CSI 300 ETF — +¥640.54亿元 RMB ($8.90 billion USD)
• E Fund CSI 300 ETF — +¥585.01亿元 RMB ($8.12 billion USD)

However, among the top‑10 largest broad ETFs, four recorded net redemptions during the period.

Notably, three high‑return broad funds — Huaxia’s 科创50 ETF (Huaxia Kechuang 50 科创50ETF), E Fund’s ChiNext ETF (易方达创业板ETF) and E Fund’s Kechuang 50 ETF (易方达科创50ETF) — each saw large net outflows despite big YTD gains.

Their net redemptions were roughly:

• Huaxia Kechuang 50 ETF — ¥518.8億元 RMB ($7.21 billion USD)
• E Fund ChiNext ETF — ¥228.17亿元 RMB ($3.17 billion USD)
• E Fund Kechuang 50 ETF — ¥118.9億元 RMB ($1.65 billion USD)

Across the 29 funds with assets above ¥100亿元, 17 showed net redemptions (about 58%), even though aggregate assets among them rose by ¥3991亿元 RMB over the period.

Total net redemption across those 29 was roughly ¥624亿元 RMB ($8.67 billion USD).

What this means for investors and fund houses

The patterns point to two investor behaviors.

First: “take‑profit” selling at high levels — investors harvest gains when funds spike.

Second: allocation refinement — investors rotate from plain broad exposure to higher‑alpha thematic/industry ETFs or to bond ETFs as risk profiles change.

Implications for fund managers:

• Investor education: emphasize the role of broad‑based ETFs as long‑term core allocations to reduce short‑term trading behavior.
• Product innovation: offer enhanced‑index or segmented broad strategies (for example, targeted “ChiNext/STAR 50” style broad funds) to match different risk appetites.
• Service improvements: expand regular investment tools (SIP/auto‑invest), clearer performance attribution and reporting to help investors understand long‑term value and discourage emotional chase/sell behavior.

Practical takeaways for investors

Broad‑based ETFs still provide a cheap, diversified core allocation for portfolios.

But if you want exposure to the current market winners, consider high‑conviction thematic or sector ETFs that actually concentrate on growth leaders — and be explicit about your time horizon.

Watch for volatility and potential redemptions when styles run hot — that can create short‑term price dislocations and rebalancing opportunities.

Fund houses that communicate clarity and offer segmented products are better positioned to capture both core and hotspot flows.

Linking opportunities

• Link technical readers to Wind Data & Research for index and fund-level data.
• Link ETF product pages for the named funds (Huatai‑PineBridge 华泰柏瑞, E Fund 易方达, Huaxia 华夏, Harvest/China AMC 嘉实).
• Link to market commentary on ChiNext (创业板) and STAR/科创板 to explain index drivers and constituent exposures.

Takeaway

The Q1–Q3 story is not a collapse of broad ETFs; it’s market maturation.

NAV gains lifted AUM while an active, more selective allocation mentality drove redemptions and rotations.

Broad ETFs remain a portfolio’s ballast, but capital is becoming more discriminating — rewarding products that either capture long‑term core exposure or that clearly concentrate on the highest‑conviction growth leaders.

For investors and product teams alike, the lesson is clear: balance simplicity with targeted exposure and improve communication to retain and attract flows into broad-based ETFs.

References

• 懵了懵了！涨得越猛被卖得越狠？这类ETF前三季度规模增超3200亿元，份额却狂掉2200亿份 – 每日经济新闻
• 懵了懵了！涨得越猛被卖得越狠？这类ETF前三季度规模增超3200亿元，份额却狂掉2200亿份 – 东方财富
• Wind Data & Research – Wind Information

Keyword: broad-based ETFs