Recently, the A-share market has been relatively volatile, yet stock private placement positions have reached a new high for the past year. According to the latest data from the third-party evaluation agency, Private Placement Ranking, as of October 17, 2025 (the data on net values and positions is somewhat delayed due to regulatory compliance issues), the stock private placement position index has risen to 79.68%, an increase of 0.55% from the previous week, setting a new yearly high. Following a trend, this index has cumulatively risen by 5.75% since August 2025, indicating a significant accumulation trend.
Among these, leading private placements, especially those with scales between 5 billion and 10 billion USD, have shown the most aggressive positioning, with over 60% of the private placements exceeding 100 billion USD fully invested, reflecting a highly optimistic attitude towards the market.
Over 60% of Stock Private Placements Fully Invested Over 60% of stock private placements are at full investment levels. Data from Private Placement Ranking shows that as of October 17, 2025, the proportion of fully invested stock private placements reached 63.40%, with medium investment positions at 20.41%, and low or empty positions only accounting for 11.47% and 4.72%, respectively. The vast majority of private placements are opting for high positions. Most private placements believe that the current market is in a recovery phase at a low level, and if positive news emerges, it may trigger a rapid increase, thus choosing to remain fully invested to avoid missing opportunities.
Breaking down by scale, leading private placements hold even more aggressive positions. Private Placement Ranking data shows that as of October 17, 2025, the position indices for stock private placements over 10 billion, 5 billion to 10 billion, 2 billion to 5 billion, 1 billion to 2 billion, and under 1 billion USD are 80.18%, 87.35%, 76.68%, 78.09%, 80.79%, and 79.65%, respectively. Among these, private placements with a scale of 5 billion to 10 billion USD lead the way with an 87.35% positioning, which is the highest in nearly three years; those exceeding 10 billion USD stand at 80.18% and have maintained this level for two consecutive weeks. This is largely due to the substantial capital base of leading private placements maintaining high positions, reflecting long-term optimism for the market, along with stable client bases and minimal redemption pressure, enabling them to hold positions for the long term.
Over 60% of 100 Billion Private Placements Fully Invested The data from Private Placement Ranking indicates that as of October 17, 2025, 61.64% of 100 billion USD stock private placements are operating at full investment levels, with only 2.20% remaining uninvested, making high positioning the mainstream choice among these private placements. Li Chunya, a fund manager from Rongzhi Investment of the Paipai Group, noted that since entering August, the A-share market has shown a general trend of steady upward movement, with certain growth sectors and consumer sectors experiencing clear upward trends. The resulting profitability has attracted increasing investment from private placements. Additionally, policy expectations have continued to improve. Recently, policy frameworks have continuously released positive signals aimed at stabilizing growth and encouraging innovation, with multiple policies supporting the real economy and capital markets being introduced, enhancing the confidence of private institutions regarding the market's medium-to-long-term performance. Furthermore, the funding landscape remains relatively loose. The overall liquidity in the market is reasonably abundant, providing favorable funding conditions for private placements to increase their positions while lowering the operational costs of significant rebalancing.
Number of 100 Billion Private Placements Surpasses 100 Amidst the backdrop of the A-share market returning to new heights, the number of 100 billion USD private placements continues to increase. Data from Private Placement Ranking shows that as of October 22, the number of 100 billion private placements has surpassed 101, adding 5 from the 96 reported at the end of September. Among them, Shanghai New Equation Private Placement, Wangzheng Asset, Jing'an Investment, and Hefei Investment are familiar names returning to the 100 billion private placement ranks, while Dadao Investment is a first-time entrant.
Regarding investment strategy distribution, among the current 101 private placements over 100 billion USD, quantitative private placements lead with 47 funds, accounting for 46.53%; subjective private placements follow closely with 44 funds, making up 43.56%; mixed strategy private placements total 8, representing 7.92%; and 2 institutions have yet to disclose their investment strategies.
It's noteworthy that among the 5 new 100 billion private placements in October, 2 employ subjective strategies, 2 use quantitative strategies, and 1 adopts a mixed strategy. Furthermore, since September, of the 10 new entrants, 6 are subjective strategy private placements, with 2 each in mixed and quantitative strategies.
In terms of core strategies, stock strategies remain dominant. Data indicates that the core strategy of 77 of the 100 billion private placements is stock strategy, accounting for 76.24%; 13 have multi-asset strategies, representing 12.87%; 6 focus on bond strategies, contributing 5.94%; while 2 have futures and derivatives strategies, accounting for 1.98%; and 1 institution has a portfolio fund as its core strategy, representing 0.99%. Additionally, there are 2 100 billion private placements that have yet to disclose their core strategies.
Addressing the reasons behind the continued increase in the number of 100 billion private placements, Li Chunya noted that first, the A-share market has stabilized and rebounded, with returns from equity assets improving, driving the performance and scale of private placement products. Second, investor recognition of leading private placements has increased, with funds continuously concentrating on institutions with stable performance and mature strategies. Moreover, the "head effect" in the industry has further strengthened, with resources increasingly tilting towards high-quality private placements, accelerating the survival of the fittest within the industry and promoting the growth of the 100 billion private placement group.
In this wave of growth, subjective private placements are primarily leading, as the current market environment is complex and changeable, granting subjective private placements increased flexibility in adjusting positions and sector allocations in response to macroeconomic conditions and policy changes, thus better adapting to market fluctuations. Additionally, many fund managers within subjective private placements possess rich investment experience and strong stock selection capabilities, allowing them to identify quality targets more effectively amid fluctuating conditions, which attracts ongoing capital inflows and drives scale growth.
A-shares Are in the Beginning Stage of a Structural Bull Market On October 24, the Shanghai Composite Index reached a ten-year high. What is the judgment of institutions regarding the future trends of A-shares?
"This week, A-shares generally maintained a volume-constrained uptrend, with market sentiment at times low. However, today's opening and subsequent rise indicate that funds are beginning to tentatively flow back, reflecting a gradual recovery in market sentiment. This subtle shift aligns with our early-year expectations - A-shares are in the beginning stage of a structural bull market, currently standing at an important confirmation window," said Mo Xiaocheng, General Manager of Huanrui Tianze. He emphasized that this period is crucial for laying the foundation for core assets at low levels that could yield results in the next 3-5 years.
Fund manager Xia Fengguang from Rongzhi Investment noted that while the market reached new highs, it has not shown signs of excessive enthusiasm. The rapid rise during the third quarter resulted in a lack of deep adjustments and turnover, leading to many profit-holding positions, which prompted increasing profit-taking sentiment as the market rose, particularly under structural adjustments that reduced funding for chasing higher prices. "The formulation and implementation of the '15th Five-Year Plan' could significantly influence the long-term structure and direction of the market. This high-level meeting has prioritized technology and consumption, so rather than overly worrying about index fluctuations, it's better to focus on selecting and allocating quality stocks based on policy direction," he said.
Honghan Investment pointed out that with indices hitting new highs and market transactions returning to 20 trillion, if trading volume remains stable next week, the market is likely to enter a new bullish stage. Conversely, if the bullish response fails, concerns may mount, especially since broad benchmark indices show minimal risk of significant decline.
Looking ahead, freshwater spring investment suggests that despite recent market fluctuations, the overall performance merely reflects healthy corrections following rapid price increases in certain asset classes. From the liquidity structure perspective, current incremental capital in A-shares remains institutionally dominated, with personal investor demand for stock asset allocation yet to be fully unleashed. Overseas capital participation in A-shares has also rebounded, though overall still reflects low allocation, with an abundant liquidity environment that is unlikely to change in the short term, serving as the cornerstone supporting stable market operations. From a fundamental economic perspective, measures aimed at "de-involution" have led to a narrowing decline in PPI data, with notable improvements in August's year-on-year and month-on-month growth rates in industrial enterprise profits. As policies deepen, PPI data is expected to bottom out and eventually lead to profit recoveries for more enterprises, creating a larger space for stock selection based on fundamentals.
Zhongou Ruibo maintains that the overall bull market pattern of Chinese stock markets remains unchanged, currently transitioning from the second to the third phase of the bull market. However, given that the domestic economy has not yet shown obvious improvement and stock market valuations have already adjusted somewhat in anticipation, the market trajectory during this stage may be somewhat intricate.
With regards to allocation direction, Mo Xiaocheng remains optimistic about the combination strategy of "Pharmaceuticals + Consumption." The pharmaceutical sector, after enduring three years of deep adjustments, is at the starting point of value reassessment, while the consumption sector maintains a stable property, providing ballast in turbulent markets.
Zhongou Ruibo also points out that while the economy has not yet reached an inflection point, stock market opportunities remain primarily structural at present. The holding combinations will primarily focus on sectors still experiencing upward trends, with incremental positions gradually allocated to cyclical sectors that are expected to reach turning points.
Qinghe Spring Capital continues to favor companies involved in AI applications, upstream resources, and those with competitive advantages overseas; additionally, low-cyclic industries nearing capacity clearance are worth close exploration.