Since August, COMEX gold has climbed over 7%, breaking through the $4,200 and $4,300 per ounce thresholds to reach $4,400 per ounce. As bullion prices recover, "gold-plus" bank wealth management products, once overlooked by the market, have regained attention, with several gold-strategy products posting record-high net values in succession.
Recently, multiple gold-strategy products under China Merchants Bank Wealth Management, Minsheng Wealth Management, Everbright Wealth Management, and Zheshang Wealth Management have seen their net values hit fresh historical highs. For instance, the China Merchants Bank Zhaorui Jiaying (Stable Gold) One-Year Holding Daily Open No. 2 Fixed Income Enhanced Plan recorded a net value of 1.0184 as of August 17 (latest disclosure date), with a 0.55% gain over the past month, 0.59% over three months, and 1.84% since inception. According to a source at China Merchants Bank Wealth Management, the product was launched in early March during a market adjustment window, and the position-building phase benefited from favorable bond prices and interest rates, locking in substantial coupon income for the portfolio. "In subsequent operations, the management team executed precise dynamic rebalancing. After gold stabilized and rebounded in July, the product slightly extended bond duration and moderately increased gold positions, contributing positive returns to the portfolio," the source said.
The product adopts a triple-bottom structure of "fixed income plus quantitative neutral plus gold covered call," with no equity exposure. It relies on bond coupons as the base, employs quantitative neutral strategies to smooth volatility, and generates additional returns via gold covered call option premiums. It targets clients seeking steady appreciation without exposure to significant equity market fluctuations. Additionally, products such as Minsheng Wealth Management Maozhu Fixed Income Gold Enhanced Half-Year Holding, Everbright Wealth Management Sunny Qingruiying No. 1 (3M Fixed Open Gold-Linked Range Volatility), and Zheshang Wealth Management Congrong Jiuxi Profit-Adding No. 2 Target-Yield Gold Strategy Enhanced have also recently achieved record net values.
Amid volatile gold prices, wealth management firms share a strong consensus on gold's importance in asset allocation, viewing it as an indispensable component within multi-asset, multi-strategy frameworks. "For bank wealth management, maintaining a certain gold exposure at the portfolio's core is not speculative trading chasing short-term swings but a strategic allocation to navigate cycles," said a representative from China Merchants Bank Wealth Management. The long-term support for gold remains unchanged—damaged dollar credibility, global debt expansion, and ongoing major-power competition solidify gold's role as a critical ballast in portfolios.
However, opinions diverge among firms regarding the pace of gold allocation and the issuance of themed products going forward. "At this stage, we have ceased issuing dedicated gold-themed wealth management products. Instead, we seize market windows to flexibly allocate gold-related assets within fixed income enhanced products," revealed the head of the equity investment department at a wealth management firm that had previously launched gold-themed products in the first half of the year.
"Looking ahead, the statements from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Global Central Bank Symposium, the U.S. August inflation data, and the September Fed meeting are the three key validation points determining whether gold's upside potential can expand further," said the China Merchants Bank Wealth Management source. Several industry professionals anticipate that if short-term event shocks trigger gold price pullbacks, it would create favorable entry windows for accumulation. "We will wait for clear right-side signals in the gold market before further increasing gold ETF positions to amplify upside," disclosed a research and investment head at another wealth management firm.