The world is vast and full of wonders. In the fund industry, the size of assets under management (AUM) has always been a top priority for fund companies. A larger AUM means generating higher revenue, while a smaller one means “losing money for the sake of publicity.” However, some fund companies have seen their AUM decline against the trend, with Huafu Fund even liquidating its own products, ultimately making it the fund management company with the largest reduction in AUM for the year.
Why did Huafu Fund “cut off its own limbs”? What is the bizarre story behind it?
AUM Shrinks by 25.1 Billion Yuan
With the disclosure of the 2024 fourth-quarter reports of public funds, data on the AUM of fund companies’ public funds have emerged. According to the China Securities Investment Fund Association, as of the end of December 2024, the AUM of the public fund industry stood at 32.83 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.23 trillion yuan or 18.95% from 27.6 trillion yuan at the end of 2023.
However, while the overall AUM of the industry has increased, the AUM of Huafu Fund’s public funds has declined against the trend, making it the fund management company with the largest decrease in AUM last year.
Data from Tonghuashun iFinD shows that as of the end of 2024, Huafu Fund managed a total of 65 funds, including 62 non-money market funds, comprising 10 stock funds and 23 hybrid funds. Compared to the end of 2023, the number of funds under management has increased by 4, but the number of stock funds and hybrid funds has remained unchanged.
The increase in the number of funds managed by Huafu Fund has not led to a corresponding increase in the company’s management shares and AUM. Instead, it has become the fund company with the largest reduction in AUM.
The total number of shares managed by Huafu Fund decreased from 109.374 billion shares at the end of 2023 to 84.236 billion shares at the end of 2024, with a net redemption of 25.138 billion shares and a change rate of -22.98%. Among them, the number of shares of hybrid funds decreased from 4.846 billion shares at the end of 2023 to 3.217 billion shares at the end of 2024, with a net redemption rate of 33.62%.
In terms of its total AUM, it decreased from 112.704 billion yuan at the end of 2023 to 87.560 billion yuan at the end of 2024, with a reduction of 25.144 billion yuan in AUM, far exceeding the second-largest decline, and a reduction rate of 22.31%. Taking hybrid funds as an example, its managed hybrid fund AUM was 3.426 billion yuan, a decrease of 40.67% from 5.774 billion yuan at the end of 2023.
In other words, the number of hybrid funds managed by Huafu Fund remained unchanged in 2024, but the AUM actually fell by 40%.
