Bank Wealth Management Products "Performance Benchmark" Cut by Over 50%, Average Returns Below 2% in 2025

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Source: Huaxia Times

Performance benchmarks, which investors consider an important reference for expected returns on wealth management products, have recently undergone a series of adjustments.

Since 2026, more than a dozen bank wealth management subsidiaries have issued notices regarding adjustments to their product performance benchmarks, involving hundreds of products.

On one hand, some products’ performance benchmarks have been lowered, with the upper limit of the benchmark decreasing by more than 50% compared to previous levels. Based on the adjusted benchmarks, most products now have an upper limit below 3%.

On the other hand, the performance benchmarks have shifted from fixed values or fixed ranges to index-linked measures. Under market-driven index changes, the benchmarks for wealth management products will also be adjusted accordingly.

Industry analysts point out that this round of adjustments is a positive response to regulatory guidance and industry standards. In the context of declining asset yields, such adjustments help make the benchmarks more aligned with the essence of net value-based wealth management operations. In the short term, more wealth management firms are expected to follow suit and lower their benchmarks.

Some products’ benchmarks have been cut by 50%

Since 2026, over ten wealth management companies—including Agricultural Bank of China Wealth Management, China Post Wealth Management, China Merchants Bank Wealth Management, Shanghai Silver Wealth Management, Everbright Wealth Management, Hengfeng Wealth Management, Bank of Communications Wealth Management, Xingye Wealth Management, Huaxia Wealth Management, Minsheng Wealth Management, and Ping An Wealth Management—have announced adjustments to their product benchmarks.

Overall, the adjusted benchmarks for these products are now mostly below 3%.

For example, Hengfeng Wealth Management’s one-and-a-half-year fixed-term wealth management product had its benchmark lowered from “4.25% to 4.75%” to “the 1-year fixed deposit rate announced by the People’s Bank of China + 0.85%” (i.e., 2.35%) starting January 22 this year. This represents a 51% decrease compared to its previous upper limit.

Minsheng Wealth Management adjusted the benchmark for a two-year fixed-income enhancement product from “4.0% to 6.0%” to “2.6% to 3.1%”, a 35% reduction in the upper limit and a 48% reduction in the lower limit.

Agricultural Bank of China Wealth Management lowered the benchmark for its 7-day wealth management product from “2.20% to 3.20%” to “1.70% to 2.20%”, with the upper limit down 23% and the lower limit down 31%.

Data from Puyi Standard also shows that as of February 2026, the average benchmarks for on-sale products have declined compared to January: fixed income products’ average benchmark decreased by 1 basis point to approximately 2.18%, and mixed products’ average benchmark fell by 3 basis points to about 2.99%.

In addition to lowering benchmarks, some firms have shifted from fixed values or ranges to dynamic benchmarks linked to indices such as the ChinaBond Index or the People’s Bank of China’s 7-day reverse repo rate.

For example, Everbright Wealth Management adjusted a half-year product’s benchmark from a fixed “1.80%” to the “CBA00113.CS - ChinaBond New Composite Full Price (less than 1 year) Index yield.”

Bank of Communications Wealth Management changed a 30-day daily open fixed income product’s benchmark from “2.00% to 3.70% (annualized)” to “30% of the People’s Bank of China’s announced savings deposit rate + 70% of the ChinaBond 0-3 months Treasury bond index yield.”

Some firms also linked benchmarks to the People’s Bank of China’s 7-day notice deposit rate or 1-year fixed deposit rate, which are relatively stable.

On March 12, Huaxia Times reporters inquired with several wealth management firms about these adjustments, but as of press time, no official responses have been received.

Performance benchmarks are becoming more standardized

Performance benchmarks are an important reference for investors when choosing wealth management products. To attract investors, some firms previously engaged in “ranking” of yields—showing high returns through “shell products” and adjusting yields on newly issued or very small-scale products to appear more attractive. After rapid product expansion, these yields quickly fell back to normal levels.

To regulate such practices, in December 2025, the State Financial Supervision and Administration issued the “Measures for the Disclosure of Asset Management Product Information” (hereinafter “Measures”). Regarding performance benchmarks, the Measures require that the disclosure of past performance should follow principles of stability and internal logical consistency, and prohibit arbitrary changes to disclosure rules, selective disclosure of certain periods, or applying different rules to similar products. Additionally, product managers should maintain consistency in benchmarks and generally avoid adjusting them.

Sheng Gang, chief expert at the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, believes that regulators are explicitly concerned with the “achievement rate”—the proportion of instances where actual returns outperform benchmarks—which has led institutions to lower benchmarks to improve the likelihood of “meeting” targets. Instead of passively lagging behind, it’s better to proactively lower benchmarks to achievable levels.

He also explained to Huaxia Times that shifting from fixed values or ranges to market-linked indices like ChinaBond or the People’s Bank of China’s deposit rates represents a deeper paradigm shift. For example, the new benchmark for Bank of Communications Wealth Management will fluctuate with market interest rates, reducing operational costs from frequent manual adjustments and breaking the psychological expectation of “implicit rigid guarantees.” This marks a significant step toward true “net value” and “market-oriented” operations in the wealth management industry after years of implementing new asset management regulations.

Besides regulatory considerations, the average yield of wealth management products in 2025 is also a factor.

According to the China Wealth Management Market Annual Report (2025) published by China Wealth Management Network, the average yield of wealth management products in 2025 was 1.98%, down 0.67 percentage points from 2.65% in 2024.

Data from Puyi Standard also shows that as of the end of February 2026, the one-month annualized yield of cash management products was 1.25%, slightly lower than the previous month; the overall average one-month annualized yield of fixed income products was 2.16%, down 146 basis points; and the averages for mixed and equity products were 1.30% and 5.83%, respectively, with overall declines.

Zeng Gang told reporters, “In the context of continuous drops in deposit rates and bond yields hitting lows, the actual performance of wealth management products has diverged significantly from the previous benchmarks of 3% to 5%. Maintaining high benchmarks not only results in low ‘achievement rates’ but may also cause misunderstandings or disputes among investors.” He believes that lowering benchmarks is a proactive acknowledgment of current realities by wealth management firms.

“Short-term, more firms are expected to follow suit and lower their benchmarks,” said Zhang Qiaozhu, a researcher at Puyi Standard. He analyzed that the current low-interest-rate environment and loose liquidity conditions are unlikely to change soon, and the downward trend in bond yields will likely continue, putting ongoing pressure on investment returns. Additionally, some existing products’ benchmarks still deviate from actual operational yields, leaving room for further optimization and adjustment.