China Securities Regulatory Commission issues performance benchmark guidelines for publicly offered securities investment funds effective 1 March 2026

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has issued the Guidelines for Comparative Performance of Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds, setting requirements to standardise how public funds select, use and present performance benchmarks. The Guidelines aim to ensure benchmarks accurately reflect a fund’s agreed investment style and serve as a stable reference for performance measurement, and they enter into force on 1 March 2026. Across six chapters and 21 articles, the framework requires that a fund’s performance benchmark match the core elements and investment style set out in the fund contract and not be changed arbitrarily after selection. It also strengthens fund managers’ governance by requiring benchmarks to be determined by company management and by calling for internal control and management systems that continuously monitor the stability of investment styles across managers and products. External constraints include clarified oversight responsibilities for fund custodians, standardised use and display of benchmarks by fund sales agencies and fund evaluation institutions, and investor education obligations for fund managers and distributors. CSRC and its dispatched agencies will handle legal and regulatory breaches by fund managers, custodians, sales institutions, evaluation institutions and practitioners in accordance with law, and CSRC noted the text was revised after a prior public consultation.