China’s pension-targeted funds, which aim to provide stable returns for retirement savings, have seen continued poor performance over the past year with widespread losses. Data from Wind shows there are currently 462 such funds in China. Of the 345 funds established before 2023, only 35 (10.14%) have realized positive returns over the last year. Additionally, only 11 funds achieved returns above 1% over the past year, while 34 funds saw returns decline by more than 10%. Seven funds have even been liquidated.
China’s pension-targeted funds experienced rapid growth after the first batch was approved for issuance in August 2018. However, since the beginning of 2022, performance has declined dramatically, a situation which has not improved in 2023.
According to a senior Chinese public fund researcher, the poor returns of China’s pension funds is largely due to the overall weak stock market, which has severely impacted pension funds. This highlights the factor that must be recognized – China’s pension-targeted funds are heavily tied to the performance of the broader financial markets. With the markets performing poorly over the past year, China’s pension funds have unsurprisingly also struggled to generate positive returns for retirement savers.
Source: Radio Free Asia, February 12, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/3-02122024104433.html