Xinhua Finance | Portfolio of CSI Dividend Growth ETFs Expands as Fund Managers File First Applications

According to Xinhua Finance on September 29 in Shanghai (Reporter Du Kang), a number of fund managers, including ChinaAMC, E Fund, Fullgoal Fund, Southern Asset Management, Wanjia Asset, China Merchants Fund, China Universal Asset Management, and Caitong Securities Asset Management, collectively filed applications on September 29 for ETFs tracking the CSI Dividend Growth Index. These are the first ETFs in the market to track the index, which focuses on dividend-growth strategies in the A-share market and is designed to reflect the overall performance of listed companies that have consistently increased their dividends.

Dividend assets serve as an important link between listed companies' cash distributions and investors' long-term returns. In recent years, A-share companies have actively put the "Corporate Value and Return Enhancement" Action Plan into practice. Dividend payouts have risen at a steady pace, reflecting continued improvements in the novelty, quality, and sustainability of corporate growth, while demand for dividend-oriented investments has continued to increase among different types of investors.

The CSI Dividend Growth Index sets its eye on the defining characteristic of sustained dividend growth, selecting listed companies with strong track records of dividend increases and vast potential for further growth. Its constituents combine a degree of certainty in dividend payments with the prospect of future growth. The roll-out of ETFs tracking the index will, on the one hand, help translate listed companies' growing capacity to pay dividends into sustainable, stable returns that investors can share in, adding to their investment experience over the long haul. On the other hand, it could steer medium- and long-term capital and patient capital to allocate more funds to equities, helping strengthen the underlying stability of the capital market.

Industry insiders pointed out that as the principles of long-term, value-oriented, and rational investing gain wider acceptance, high-quality assets offering substantial dividends and sustainable dividend growth are becoming increasingly attractive to investors. Constituents of the CSI Dividend Growth Index generally have solid business fundamentals, stable cash flows, and mature earnings models. Developing ETFs linked to the index will broaden the range of index-based dividend investment products available to investors while helping shift the industry's focus toward investor returns. It is also a concrete example of how product innovation can put investors' interests at the center of capital-market development.

According to industry estimates, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's (SSE) fund market continues to expand its range of dividend-focused ETFs to meet investors' demand for more stable investment options. There are now 55 dividend ETFs listed on the SSE, with combined assets of RMB 181.7 billion, accounting for more than 80% of the domestic market.