China News Service, Shanghai, November 12 (Gao Zhimiao) The 2026 Shanghai Stock Exchange International Investors Conference was held in Shanghai on the 12th. The "White Paper on Index and Indexed Investment Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") was released at the same time. This is the first industry research report in China's domestic market from the perspective of indexes and index products. The "White Paper" pointed out that under the guidance of multiple policies in China, index and indexed investment have entered a new stage of high-quality development. By the end of 2025, the scale of domestic index products has reached 7.23 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.32%; the scale of global ETFs (traded open-end index funds) has reached 20 trillion US dollars.
The "White Paper" takes the development of overseas markets as a reference, and for the first time systematically sorts out the overall development of domestic market indexes and indexed investments. In terms of global markets, we will grasp new trends in international index innovation and ETF development to provide an international reference system for the domestic market. By the end of 2025, the scale of global ETFs has reached US$19.8 trillion, with annual net inflows of US$1.87 trillion, and the development of strategic, fixed-income, multi-asset, and actively managed ETFs has accelerated.
In terms of the domestic market, the "White Paper" sorts out the policy environment for the development of the index industry and analyzes the role of policy dividends in promoting market expansion and product layout. When a package of policies is implemented in 2025, the scale of index products will increase by 44%, and the scale of bond index products will increase by more than 60%.
In terms of indices and products, the "White Paper" summarizes the construction achievements and evolution direction of the domestic index system in terms of quantity, type and compilation methods. By the end of 2025, the number of domestic indexes has exceeded 10,000, the scale of technology-themed index products has reached nearly 800 billion yuan, the scale of cross-border ETFs has doubled, and the scale of strategic index products has increased by more than 60%.
Focusing on applications, the "White Paper" describes the core functions of the index in benchmark setting, capital allocation and other scenarios. Indexes play a key role in public fund performance benchmarks and medium- and long-term capital allocation. Medium- and long-term fund holdings of Shanghai-listed ETFs increased by 70%.
In addition, the "White Paper" is based on domestic and overseas development trends and policy environments, and forward-lookingly proposes three major directions:
First, continue to expand the multi-level index system. Closely following the "15th Five-Year Plan" and national strategies, we will promote index innovation and product ecology to increasingly improve by focusing on the five major directions of broad-based flagship iteration, future industrial layout, medium and long-term capital allocation, stable investment tools, and cross-border interconnection.
The second is to explore the compilation of the AI technology empowerment index. Drawing on international experience, domestic index institutions may explore the auxiliary support of AI in index plan design and other aspects to further expand the service boundaries and market depth of index investment.
The third is the transformation and upgrading of index functions. The index industry has evolved from a "tool provider" to a "core carrier of asset allocation", and the role of indexes and index products in asset allocation, performance benchmarks, and cross-border interconnection continues to strengthen.
