October 9 saw the CSRC publicly soliciting opinions on the "Measures for the Administration of the Operation of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds" (hereinafter referred to as the "Operation Measures").

The new rules further refine the fund classification standards, dividing funds into eight major categories based on investment targets: equity funds, bond funds, money market funds, interbank certificate of deposit funds, funds of funds, futures and derivatives funds, mixed funds, and real estate investment trust funds. Each category sets clear quantitative thresholds for asset proportions.

At the same time, in addition to open-end and fixed-term closed-end, a perpetual closed-end operation method has been added, and the relevant categories need to be fully stated in the fund contract and prospectus.

Among them, equity funds and bond funds mostly use 80% of total assets as the classification threshold, while REITs specifically clarify that their business feature is obtaining income from real estate rents and fee-based cash flows.

Market participants pointed out that, in line with market product innovation, REITs and futures and derivatives funds have been formally incorporated into the public fund classification system; the addition of perpetual closed-end provides an institutional carrier for long-term investment products and enriches the product supply matrix.