[Introduction] There are nearly 200 bank wealth management products, and bank financing products frequently fail to raise funds.
China Fund News reporter Li Shuchao and Zhang Ling
Affected by the mismatch of supply and demand and product homogeneity, bank financial products have frequently failed to raise funds since this year, and closed-end fixed-income products have become the "hardest hit area."
Industry insiders said that frequent failures in raising funds for wealth management products indicate that the bank wealth management market has entered the "buyer's era." Against this background, financial management companies need to actively transform to meet customer needs and enhance product attractiveness by optimizing product structure, strengthening investor companionship, and establishing issuance evaluation mechanisms.
194 financial products failed to raise funds during the year
Recently, a number of financial management companies such as Hua Xia Financial Management and Guangyin Financial Management issued announcements announcing that the issuance of related products would be terminated because the total amount raised did not reach the lower limit of the issuance scale stipulated in the product instructions. Taken together, most of the products that failed to be issued were closed-end fixed-income products, and the reason for failure was mostly that "the fund-raising scale did not reach the lower limit."
Data from a leading third-party research institution shows that as of March 25, the number of financial products that have failed to raise funds this year has reached 194 (different shares are calculated separately), an increase of 17.58% compared with the same period last year.
"The increase in failed fundraising for financial products against the background of deposit relocation reflects the mismatch between investors' risk preferences and product supply." Lou Feipeng, a researcher at the Postal Savings Bank of China, said that the decline in deposit interest rates has pushed funds to seek higher returns. Coupled with the recent large fluctuations in many types of assets, bank financial management yields have declined, and investors have a wait-and-see attitude towards new products.
Tian Lihui, a professor of finance at Nankai University, believes that the increase in failed fundraising for financial products reveals structural changes in capital flows. The deeper reason is that wealth management companies are still issuing homogeneous fixed-income products in a "scale-oriented" manner, and investors have a more rational judgment on the balance between income and liquidity after experiencing net worth fluctuations.
It is worth noting that most of the financial products that failed to raise funds this year were closed-end fixed-income products.
In this regard, the Smart New Rainbow Financial Management Research Institute stated that in a market environment where interest rates are falling and volatility is increasing, investors' tolerance for the lock-up time of funds has been significantly reduced, and they are more inclined to have flexible allocations that can be accessed at any time. On the other hand, as bond yields continue to fall, the performance comparison benchmarks of newly issued closed-end fixed-income products have generally been lowered. Compared with deposits and cash management products in the same period, their income advantages are no longer obvious, and even inverted. "The dual disadvantages of income and liquidity make investors generally wait-and-see or avoid such products."
The financial management market shifts to the "buyer era"
Industry insiders said that the increase in failed fundraisings for wealth management products reflects the mismatch between market supply and demand and changes in investor risk and liquidity preferences, marking a shift in the wealth management market from sellers to the "buyer era."
Lou Feipeng said that the increase in failed fundraising for wealth management products reflects, first, a significant decline in investor risk appetite and reduced tolerance for net worth fluctuations; second, an imbalance in the supply and demand structure of the wealth management market, with serious product homogeneity and lack of appeal; third, the market has divergent judgments on economic recovery and interest rate trends, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment; fourth, wealth management companies' product designs and marketing strategies do not adapt to the new market environment, and it is difficult to meet diversified needs solely by relying on fixed-income products.
Tian Lihui believes that the above-mentioned phenomenon sends a clear signal: the financial management market has entered the "buyer's era", and the past extensive model of "every product has been bought by people" has ended.
In Tian Lihui’s view, the increase in fundraising failures is a concentrated expression of the mismatch between supply and demand. In the context of the full implementation of net worth and the continued decline of interest rates, investors' income expectations for financial products are returning to rationality, while financial companies still have deviations in their grasp of customer needs. The success rate of product issuance ultimately depends on how deeply a financial management company understands and serves customers.
In the future, financial management companies need to shift from "scale-oriented" to "demand-oriented" and make three adjustments in product layout: first, enrich the product spectrum and increase the layout of hybrid, equity and "fixed income +" products; second, optimize the product term structure, add flexible term designs such as minimum holding periods and regular openings, and balance income and liquidity; third, strengthen investment research drive, and form features in credit mining, interest rate bands, and asset allocation.
In order to improve the success rate of product issuance, Lou Feipeng suggested that financial management companies should make adjustments in product layout: first, increase the supply of open-ended, short-term products to enhance liquidity attraction; second, optimize the "fixed income +" strategy to control equity positions and fluctuations; third, strengthen investor education and transparently disclose product operations and risks; fourth, explore differentiated products, such as linking to specific indexes, thematic investments, etc., to meet the needs of market segments.
Smart Xinhong Financial Management Research Institute believes that financial management products need to shift from "channel-driven" to "customer demand-driven". The first is to reduce the issuance density of pure fixed-income closed-end products and optimize the term structure; the second is to vigorously develop "rights-containing" and "passive strategy" products; the third is to strengthen the "liquidity management" product line and use cash management, daily opening, and minimum holding period products as scale growth The fourth is "precision issuance", establishing a pre-issuance evaluation mechanism for products, combining channel feedback, customer position structure, market interest rate trends and other factors to prudently determine the lower limit of issuance scale and performance benchmarks; the fifth is to abandon the "listing" mentality and return to the interests of customers.
