"I've decided to cut my losses," said Xiaoxiao (a pseudonym), an individual investor who, after three years of a poor stock market, has decided to sell the funds that she bought three years ago and are still in the red. "First Financial Daily" has learned that many people like Xiaoxiao have chosen not to wait any longer and have directly sold off their losing stocks and funds.

Since 2022, investors' habits have also changed. Many people no longer sell when the stock market rises and wait when it falls, as they used to. Now, many people prefer the safety of bonds because, although the profits are smaller, they are more stable. Data shows that compared to the bustling stock market three years ago, people now prefer to buy bonds.

"Starting this year, whether it's looking at industry data or our company's situation, we can see that investors' mentality has changed a lot," a source from a large fund company told "First Financial Daily". They have noticed this change and have made preparations to better manage funds and capital.

One of the hot topics in the current fund market is that many investors are accelerating the redemption of funds, especially those who bought at high points in 2021 and are now eager to sell.

Xiaoxiao said in an interview, "People used to say that investing is like a 'smile curve,' but for me, it feels more like a 'bitter smile curve' now." The "bitter smile curve" she mentioned refers to the stock value rising first and then falling, making people feel helplessly amused.

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It should be noted that the "smile curve" usually refers to regular investment in funds, which means buying at fixed times and quantities, buying more when the stock price falls, thus reducing the average cost. But Xiaoxiao said that she usually adds positions when she sees the stock rising, so it is not a true regular investment.

According to Wind data, the performance of public funds has been poor in the past three years. Taking equity-mixed funds as an example, there have been six consecutive semi-annual declines, and as of August 6, the index of this type of fund has fallen by a total of 39.35%.

If we look at actively managed equity funds, Wind data shows that out of the 3,527 funds established before 2022, 3,235 provided data for the past three years, of which 3,023 funds had negative returns, accounting for 93.45%; among them, 568 funds had losses exceeding 50%.

Among the 292 funds established between August and the end of 2021, as of August 6, 284 funds had losses, accounting for more than 97%, with 118 funds having losses exceeding 40%. In particular, the "Heng Yue Quality Life" fund, established on August 31, 2021, has lost 72.78% from its establishment to now. Last year's annual report showed that about 80% of this fund was purchased by individual investors.This means that if you bought these funds at the peak in 2021, most of them have not yet been able to recoup their costs. The numbers behind this reflect the actual situation of ordinary people investing in the market with their hard-earned money. Moreover, investors like Xiaoxiao, who withdraw from the stock market regardless of everything, are no longer an individual phenomenon.

According to Wind data, by the end of the second quarter of this year, the fund shares of actively managed equity products established before 2022 decreased by nearly 688.573 billion shares compared to the end of 2021. The reporter noticed that the speed of the decrease in fund shares in the first half of this year has also accelerated, increasing by 197.076 billion shares compared to the same period last year, an increase of 45%, and an increase of more than 80% compared to the same period in 2022.

At the same time, due to a large number of investors redeeming and performance decline, the fund size of these actively managed equity products has also significantly shrunk. The statistics of the First Financial Network show that the total scale of these 3527 products was 6.09 trillion yuan at the end of 2021, and has been reduced to 3.28 trillion yuan by the end of the second quarter of this year, with a shrinkage ratio of more than 46%.

The scale of bond funds has surpassed that of equity funds.

Investors' choices have changed greatly, which is also reflected in the total scale of public funds. According to Wind data, by the end of the second quarter of this year, the total scale of public funds has exceeded 30 trillion yuan, reaching 30.71 trillion yuan, which is the highest point in history. Bond funds are becoming more and more popular because of their lower risk, and their share has greatly increased.

Since the beginning of this year, 722 new funds have been established in the market, with a total issuance of 720.72 billion yuan. Among them, only 177 are actively managed equity or mixed funds, raising about 50 billion yuan, which accounts for less than 7% of all new funds; while the fundraising scale of bond funds has exceeded 80%.

This is completely different from the situation in 2021. That year, a total of 1997 new funds were issued, with a total scale of 2.94 trillion yuan, of which actively managed equity or mixed funds accounted for more than 46%, and bond funds accounted for 25.51%.

Among the 3452 bond funds with available data, more than 60% of the bond fund scale has increased. For example, the Guangfa Double Debt Income A Fund increased by 36.588 billion yuan in the first half of the year, becoming one of the funds with the most growth; others such as Guangfa 7-10 Year National Development Bank A and Great Wall Short-term Debt A also increased by 20.887 billion yuan and 18.226 billion yuan respectively.

This year, many fund companies have paid special attention to selling those bond funds with stable performance. They have found that there is a great demand for such products among investors, so the sales strategy has also been adjusted, promoting more fixed income products, that is, bond funds.

This indicates that in the context of the continuous downturn of the stock market, bond funds are gradually replacing equity funds and becoming the new favorite of the market. From a longer-term perspective, the scale of equity and mixed funds has gradually decreased, while the scale of bond funds has been increasing. Taking the data at the end of 2021 as an example, the total scale of equity and mixed funds was 8.54 trillion yuan, while the bond fund was 6.88 trillion yuan. However, by the end of the second quarter of this year, the scale of bond funds has exceeded 10.6 trillion yuan, surpassing the 6.16 trillion yuan of equity and mixed funds, with an excess of 4.45 trillion yuan. This change indicates that investors are more inclined to choose bond funds with lower risk.Why "The More It Falls, the More They Flee"

Some fund companies have noticed that investors are accelerating the redemption of funds, even selling them at a loss. "First Financial Daily" has learned from multiple fund companies that this dissatisfaction and behavior among investors have affected the companies and sales channels.

"We have noticed this situation," a source from a large fund company revealed, "Since the beginning of this year, whether looking at industry data or the actual situation of our company, it is clear that the mentality of investors is changing."

He further explained that in the past, investors would generally hold on to their funds even when the stock market was very low, only considering selling when there was a slight increase. However, this year's situation is different. The main reason is that the market has been down for three consecutive years, and the net value of funds is also declining, which has led investors to lose confidence in the future market. Coupled with their own financial needs, this has led to this new change.

Another person from a fund company focusing on equity funds mentioned in a conversation with "First Financial Daily" that people now pay more attention to the liquidity of funds because the current risk preference of investors is low, and they are more inclined to choose more stable assets with lower risks. Although he personally feels that there is no hope for a temporary return, he has not yet redeemed because there is no urgent need for money.

A survey result circulating online shows that 72% of investors redeem large amounts of funds due to personal financial needs, with the three most common reasons being repaying mortgages, supplementing business cash, and worrying about poor fund performance or the risk of decline.

A person from the fund marketing department in the North China region said to "First Financial Daily": "Poor performance is the fundamental problem, and no amount of talking can help when money is lost." He mentioned that some investors have persisted for a long time and finally chose to "cut their losses," and these people usually suffer significant losses and their confidence is severely damaged.

He believes that the continuous instability of the market has made investors more risk-averse and less confident, leading them to be cautious about investing in higher-risk active equity products and reducing their investments. Moreover, the performance of such products has not been very good in the past two years, and some funds have also sought stability and withdrawn, turning to relatively stable products such as bond funds, as shown by the continuous growth in the issuance and scale of bond funds this year.

The aforementioned fund person also stated that the phenomenon of investors accelerating redemption reminds fund companies to adapt to new situations and changes in management and operations, to manage the liquidity of funds and the management of investment positions well, in order to respond to changes in investor behavior prudently.

How to Regain the Trust of Fund InvestorsIn recent years, the public fund industry has not only faced the dilemma of poor performance but also the dual pressure of declining reputation. The psychological defenses of many investors have gradually been breached, shifting from enthusiastic market entry to now being willing to suffer losses to "cut their losses" and flee. How can fund companies regain the trust of investors?

A market department person from North China expressed his views to "First Financial": "The most important thing to restore investor trust is to improve the performance of the products and enhance the experience and satisfaction of investors." He explained that fund products are different from ordinary consumer goods, and the service after the product is sold has just begun. He emphasized that fund companies need to balance sales and services, improve the quality of after-sales service, strengthen investment education, and continue to accompany investors to avoid the past situation of focusing only on sales and neglecting services.

He also mentioned that fund companies should enhance their customer-centered service response capabilities, build a more comprehensive investment education service system, focus on the overall experience of customers, enrich the scenarios and levels of services, with the aim of improving investors' holding experience and allowing investors to feel the real investment returns.

A fund company person who focuses on bond funds also said that whether it is bond or stock funds, they must ultimately return to the essence of the product positioning, ensuring that the product design can meet customer expectations and experience at the beginning.

Similarly, a person from a top fund company also shared his views: "First of all, we must focus on improving product performance, strengthen the ability of active management, and ensure the stability of performance, so as to truly enhance the sense of return for investors."

He added: "Now, we should persistently carry out investor education, guide them to understand the importance of long-term investment and value investment. Investors need to rationally view market fluctuations and fluctuations in net asset value, and avoid irrational decisions that lead to real financial losses."