From October 20-22, by the banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River, the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference returns once again. Nobel and Turing Award winners will take the stage to discuss the future and trends of technology, and the internet-famous professors who "rescue" people from anxiety and the era of involution — Macfarlane and Xiang Biao — will engage in a live dialogue!

Limited spots available, first come first served. Let us embark together on this journey toward sustainability! [Click to register] Source: China Fund News [Introduction] After the National Day holiday, more than 20 dividend-themed funds have密集 imposed purchase limits. China Fund News reporter Cao Wenjing reports that dividend funds are ushering in a new wave of "purchase restriction fever."

Since October, more than 20 dividend-themed funds have issued announcements suspending or limiting large-scale subscriptions. At the same time, the filing and issuance pace of dividend-themed funds has also accelerated, with some new funds declaring early closure of fundraising. Industry insiders say that since the second half of the year, technology growth stocks have corrected while dividend assets have rebounded rapidly. Coupled with a downward shift in the interest rate center, bond coupon yields have been significantly compressed, and the allocation logic for dividend assets is shifting from "equity substitute" to "bond substitute." The medium-to-long-term allocation value of dividend assets may continue to become more prominent.

Dividend-Themed Funds Intensify Purchase Restrictions

Dividend-themed funds have recently been密集 "closing their doors to visitors." Wind data shows that as of October 13, in just four trading days after the National Day holiday, more than 20 dividend-themed funds had successively issued announcements suspending or limiting large-scale subscriptions. On October 13, Huatai-PineBridge Dividend ETF Feeder and Huatai-PineBridge CSI Dividend Low Volatility ETF Feeder both issued announcements stating that, to ensure the stable operation of the funds and protect the interests of fund unitholders, starting October 13, they would suspend subscriptions exceeding 10 million yuan (exclusive) per single fund account per day on a single or cumulative basis. On the same day, Southern HK Stock Connect Central SOE Dividend ETF Feeder also announced that starting October 13, the subscription limit would be set at 5 million yuan. Orient Securities Asset Management CSI Orient Red Dividend Low Volatility Index issued an announcement stating that from October 13 (inclusive) to October 15, 2026 (inclusive), it would suspend acceptance of subscription applications (including conversion transfers and regular fixed-amount investment) with a single-day cumulative amount exceeding 3 million yuan (exclusive). On October 12, dividend-themed products under Schroders Fund, Fullgoal Fund, and Changsheng Fund all issued announcements suspending large-scale subscriptions. For example, starting October 12, Fullgoal CSI Dividend Low Volatility ETF Initiating Feeder Fund suspended subscriptions, conversion transfers, and regular fixed-amount investment business for Class A and Class C shares exceeding 10 million yuan (exclusive) per single fund account per day. On October 9, Galaxy CSI Dividend Low Volatility 100 Index, Galaxy SSE State-Owned Enterprise Dividend ETF Initiating Feeder Fund, Schroders CSI Dividend Low Volatility 100 Index, Invesco Great Wall CSI Shanghai-Hong Kong-Shenzhen Dividend Growth Low Volatility Index Fund, and China Merchants CSI Dividend ETF Feeder Fund also successively imposed purchase limits, with most products setting a single-day subscription limit of 1 million yuan.

Industry insiders say the purchase restrictions are mainly based on the following considerations: First, to prevent short-term capital influx from diluting returns. When a large amount of capital concentrates in a short period, fund managers find it difficult to quickly find enough high-quality dividend assets to allocate, which may dilute the returns of existing holders. Second, the effective execution of dividend strategies depends on a stable scale environment. Rapid scale expansion increases management difficulty and affects the flexibility of the portfolio and the execution of established strategies. Controlling the pace of subscriptions is essentially about striking a balance between "capital enthusiasm" and "unitholder interests."

Fund Companies Actively Deploy Dividend-Themed Funds

The filing and issuance pace of dividend-themed funds is also accelerating. In terms of filings, on October 8, Harvest Fund submitted a fundraising application for Harvest CSI All-Share Dividend Quality ETF; on September 30, China Universal Fund submitted a fundraising application for China Universal CSI All-Share Dividend Quality ETF; on September 29, ICBC Credit Suisse, Wanji, E Fund, Southern, Fullgoal, and several other fund companies separately submitted fundraising applications for CSI Dividend Growth ETF. On the issuance side, on October 12, Bosera Hang Seng HK Stock Connect Dividend Low Volatility ETF, Yinhua CSI All-Share Dividend Quality ETF, and GF CSI Dividend Low Volatility ETF launched issuance, with all three products planning to close fundraising in mid-to-late October. Some new dividend funds also saw early closure of fundraising. On October 8, Neuberger Berman Fund issued an announcement declaring that its Neuberger Berman Dividend Quantitative Stock Selection Equity Fund would end fundraising early, ahead of the originally scheduled October 16 deadline.

Discussing the reasons why fund companies are actively deploying dividend-themed funds, a dividend-themed fund manager in Shanghai said: First, from the capital side, as the interest rate center shifts downward, bond coupon yields have been significantly compressed, and the "safety cushion" effect of traditional pure bond assets has weakened. The logic for dividend assets has shifted from "equity substitute" to "bond substitute." Especially with interest rates remaining low, bank deposit and insurance product rates have also continued to decline. For example, participating insurance products with a predetermined rate of 1.5% have already appeared, and the "bond substitute" attribute of dividend products may be further strengthened. Second, from the stock market perspective, the dividend style has shifted from明显 lagging in 2025 to relatively outperforming in 2026. In recent years, A-share listed companies have increased dividend payouts, and policy support has injected long-term valuation reshaping momentum into dividend assets. Long-term allocation demand from insurance capital and other long-term investors is expected to continue to be released, potentially bringing long-term stable capital inflows to dividend assets. In addition, residents hold substantial wealth management funds, and high-dividend assets are scarce. Their low volatility and high cash flow attributes will also endow them with long-term wealth management substitution allocation value.

Current Dividend Style Relatively Favored, Long-Term Allocation Value Gradually Emerging

Since the second half of this year, market style has clearly shifted, with technology growth stocks correcting and dividend assets rebounding rapidly. Wind data shows that as of October 13, since the second half of the year, the SSE Dividend Index has risen over 15%, while the three major broad-based indices have experienced varying degrees of pullback. Yongying Fund manager Cai Luping believes that from the policy side, the SASAC's market value management assessment combined with the "15th Five-Year Plan" central SOE merger and reorganization expectations has kept market risk appetite in a downward revision phase, and central SOE dividends may have more style narrative. Currently, dividend low volatility crowding is relatively high, providing HK Stock Connect central SOE dividends with an alternative exposure of "similar logic, lower crowding." At the same time, it is worth noting that HK Stock Connect central SOE dividends are also affected by the dollar cycle and geopolitical disturbances. After the unexpected weak US September non-farm payrolls data, October risks have significantly cooled. In addition, the probability of the Federal Reserve keeping rates unchanged in October has risen to 81.7%, with the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate hike at only 18.3%. Market concerns about interest rate risk have been pushed back to December. Subsequently, HK Stock Connect central SOE dividends may have certain investment cost-effectiveness among dividend value indices, but vigilance is also needed against additional volatility brought by changes in Federal Reserve policy.

Nord Fund manager Gu Yu stated that the medium-to-long-term allocation value of dividend assets may continue to become more prominent, with attention to three types of investment opportunities: First, cyclical dividends, which combine the "defensive attribute" of high dividends with the "offensive attribute" of high elasticity, with representative sectors including coal, petroleum, non-ferrous metals, steel, etc.; Second, stable dividends, with strong predictability of operating cash flow and relatively continuous and stable dividend policies, serving as the "ballast stone" of the dividend portfolio's foundation, with representative sectors including banks, utilities, transportation, etc.; Third, consumer dividends, where leading companies possess brand and channel barriers, and relatively ample cash flow supports sustained dividends, with representative sectors including food and beverage, home appliances, textiles and apparel, automobiles, light industry, etc.