The tally of newly launched funds in 2026 has reached 1,416, just 89 short of matching the full-year figure for 2025. On a monthly basis, August saw 181 funds launched, while September has already seen 152 funds hit the market as of now, with an average issuance size of 488 million shares.

Despite the impressive volume of new launches, fundraising activity has shown clear signs of uneven momentum. According to Wind data, a total of 31 funds adjusted their fundraising periods over the past week (September 11 to September 18). Among them, only five concluded their fundraising ahead of schedule, while the rest opted to extend, with five funds pushing their closing dates directly into October.

Looking at the types of adjustments, the funds extending their fundraising periods span a variety of categories, including passive index funds, hybrid FOFs, partial equity hybrid funds, and enhanced index funds. Among these, passive index funds have become the most affected segment, with 17 products announcing extensions, including Huatai-PineBridge ChiNext Financial Technology ETF, Yongying Guozheng Grain Industry ETF, and Industrial Securities SSE STAR Market Artificial Intelligence ETF.

Although market hotspots rotate rapidly, investors' willingness to commit to specific themes remains tepid. Recognition for sub-sector products is clearly diverging among investors; some popular themes draw high attention but still require longer fundraising windows, while more traditional cyclical themes such as grain and non-ferrous metals face greater fundraising pressure.

Specifically, ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management announced on September 16 that the fundraising deadline for its ICBC CSI Construction Machinery Thematic ETF (561073.OF) would be extended from the original September 16 closing date to September 22. The fund, managed by Liu Zihao, began its fundraising period on September 3.