China has moved its first actively managed ETFs through registration, adding manager-directed equity portfolios to the exchange-traded fund market. CSRC chair Wu Qing announced approval of 18 products for 19 October, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange confirmed that its initial batch received authorisation that day.[1][2]
Shanghai’s first strategies focus on diversified portfolios with controlled turnover, including large-cap balanced, growth and dividend-value approaches. The exchange’s confirmation marks the move from June’s operating framework to authorised products. Fundraising and exchange listing remain subsequent steps, so registration should not be described as evidence of live trading.[2]
The new format makes investment strategy a competitive choice within the ETF wrapper. Under Shanghai’s definition, the manager selects investments without targeting replication of a particular index. Its rules require the exchange abbreviation to identify the fund as active.[3]
Active portfolios still need an ETF operating system
The June guidance requires daily creation-and-redemption files based on actual portfolios and publication of an indicative portfolio value. Managers need ETF operations, technology and risk controls; a first-time active-ETF manager must pass the exchange’s special inspection.[3]
The disclosed portfolio supports the calculations needed to create and redeem ETF units. For brokers, product assessment therefore covers both the manager’s investment approach and the operations connecting the fund portfolio to its exchange-traded shares.[3]
Shanghai reported 943 listed ETFs with RMB 3.35 trillion in assets at September-end, before this approval. Long-term investors accounted for nearly RMB 1.7 trillion. Those figures describe the established ETF market; they do not measure demand for the new active products. The exchange presents the approvals as another way to attract longer-term capital.[2]
Wu placed the approvals within the CSRC’s broader fund-industry reform programme. For fund companies, the new format adds an exchange distribution route for investment skill. Its competitive test will be whether a manager’s results and trading costs justify selection alongside the index products already available.[1]
Sources & further reading
- Wu Qing’s Financial Street Forum speech China Securities Regulatory Commission · 19 Oct 2026 · Accessed 21 Oct 2026
- First Shanghai active ETFs receive approval Shanghai Stock Exchange · 19 Oct 2026 · Accessed 21 Oct 2026
- Operating guidance for actively managed ETFs Shanghai Stock Exchange · 17 Jun 2026 · Accessed 21 Oct 2026