①At the end of the year, the scale of credit bond ETFs launched a new round of growth, increasing by more than 90 billion yuan in December to reach over 590 billion yuan, with sci-tech innovation bond ETFs contributing the main increment. ②Due to advantages such as T+0 trading, pledge eligibility, and low fees, institutions like wealth management and pension funds significantly increased their holdings of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs when the market strengthened.
Cailian Press, December 29 (edited by Yang Bin) At the end of the year, the scale of credit bond ETFs has initiated a new round of growth. According to Cailian Press’ analysis, since December, the scale of credit bond ETFs has increased by over 90 billion yuan, reaching more than 590 billion yuan, with the main contribution coming from sci-tech innovation bond ETFs.
Meanwhile, the trading activity of credit bond ETFs has been robust, with the premium/discount rates of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs recently shifting from a general discount of 10-20 basis points to a slight premium. Industry insiders expect that, under the influence of the new regulations on public fund redemptions, the scale of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs will continue to expand next year, with pension and wealth management institutions being one of the primary buyers of these ETFs.
According to the latest statistics from Wind data, the total scale of the current 35 credit bond ETFs is 590.8 billion yuan, occupying a dominant position within the broader bond ETF market, which exceeds 800 billion yuan.
In the past, industry insiders generally believed that the varieties of bond ETFs in China were relatively limited, with fewer credit bond-related products. However, this year can be described as a year of explosive growth for credit bond ETFs. At the beginning of 2025, eight benchmark market-making credit bond ETFs were approved and subsequently listed.
After the implementation of the 'technology board' new policy in the bond market in May, it laid the foundation for the introduction of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs, which entered the application process. On June 18, at the Lujiazui Forum, CSRC Chairman Wu Qing mentioned the acceleration of launching sci-tech innovation bond ETFs. In the afternoon of the same day, the first batch of 10 sci-tech innovation bond ETFs was submitted for approval. On July 17, the first batch of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs was listed, followed by the second batch of 24 sci-tech innovation bond ETFs on September 24.
In 2025, the number of credit bond ETFs expanded significantly from the original three (short-term financing ETF, urban investment bond ETF, corporate bond ETF) to 35, with their scale growing by more than tenfold from approximately 54 billion yuan at the end of last year.
Specifically, among the 32 newly listed credit bond ETFs this year, 26 currently have a scale exceeding 10 billion yuan. The Jia Shi sci-tech innovation bond ETF, which was listed in July, has already surpassed 40 billion yuan in scale, while the Yinhua sci-tech innovation bond ETF, E Fund corporate bond ETF, SSE corporate bond ETF, Zhaoshang sci-tech innovation bond ETF, Penghua sci-tech innovation bond ETF, Fuguo sci-tech innovation bond ETF, and Huitianfu sci-tech innovation bond ETF all have scales exceeding 20 billion yuan.
Figure: Scale and Latest Market Conditions of Credit Bond ETFs
(Source: Wind data, compiled by Cailian Press)
Since December, capital inflows into credit bond ETFs have accelerated, with the monthly increase in scale already surpassing 90 billion yuan.
According to statistics from Zhou Guannan, Chief Fixed Income Analyst at Huachuang Securities, the scale of credit bond ETFs increased by 19 billion yuan and 62.7 billion yuan over the past two weeks. Following the listing of the second batch of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs, the scale of credit bond ETFs has once again experienced rapid growth recently, with the sci-tech innovation bond ETFs contributing the majority of the increase.
In terms of trading indicators, the premium/discount rate of credit bond ETFs had remained in a discount state, generally within 10-20 basis points (BP), especially during periods of bond market adjustments. However, the premium/discount rate of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs has recently shifted to a slight premium on a large scale. Meanwhile, trading activity in sci-tech innovation bond ETFs has been robust, with the average monthly turnover rate of several such ETFs exceeding 60% in December, and the turnover rate for Yongyingda’s sci-tech innovation bond ETF reaching 98%.
The premium/discount rate of an ETF measures the deviation between its secondary market trading price and its net asset value per unit. A higher premium rate typically indicates that the market is optimistic about the fund or its underlying assets, and investors are willing to pay a price higher than the actual value to secure allocations. A higher discount rate suggests that investors are unwilling to buy at the net asset value or even sell at a discount, signaling potential pessimism about the fund or its underlying assets.
Zhou Guannan pointed out that during the period when sentiment in the bond market was relatively weak this year, credit bond ETFs experienced significant discounts, likely due to the incomplete development of market mechanisms, with some investors not yet participating in primary market subscriptions and redemptions. As related system infrastructure improves and investor composition becomes more diversified, the arbitrage mechanism for credit bond ETFs is expected to function more smoothly, helping to maintain reasonable valuations. The discount rate has already narrowed significantly over the past week.
The fixed income research team at Huatai Securities predicts that the scale of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs will continue to expand next year. Currently, pension funds and wealth management institutions are among the main buyers of these ETFs, and demand is expected to increase further. Due to their advantages such as T+0 trading, eligibility for pledging, and low fees, wealth management institutions and pension funds have substantially increased their holdings of sci-tech innovation bond ETFs when the market strengthens. Additionally, under the impact of new regulations on mutual fund redemptions, the potential demand for sci-tech innovation bond ETFs in the market is expected to rise.
