Wealth investment products now available to Chinese investors

The first batch of wealth management products for retirement planning are now available to Chinese investors in four cities through online and offline sales channels.

Starting from Friday, investors can check the information on these products on Chinawealth.com.cn.

The wealth management subsidiaries of four commercial banks, namely ICBC Wealth Management Co, CCB Wealth Management Co, CMB Wealth Management Co and Everbright Wealth Management Co, which participate in the pilot program of WMPs for retirement planning have all completed product declaration in the national banking wealth management information registration system.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced on Sept 10 the launch of the pilot program in four cities. The cities are Wuhan, Hubei province; Chengdu, Sichuan province; Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Qingdao, Shandong province.

The newly launched WMPs for retirement planning are available to individual investors who not only hold an identification card in one of these cities but also meet the investment criteria.

Investors can buy these products at the outlets of the four banks or through the banks' mobile and online banking channels. The total value of WMPs for retirement planning purchased by each investor should not exceed 3 million yuan ($471,105).

The first batch of WMPs for retirement planning will offer investors a relatively prudent choice of investment vehicles.

The products are mainly invested in fixed-income assets and will use risk reserve, provision for assets impairment, and other methods to strengthen their risk resistance capacity.

Wealth management subsidiaries participating in the program will put the pilot products under the independent custody of a third party, rather than under the custody of their parent banks, and regularly disclose information on product risks and returns.

With the aim of helping investors form the mentality of doing long-term investing and seeking reasonable returns, the product term for the first batch of closed WMPs for retirement planning is five years, longer than other WMPs.

The minimum amount of investment is set at 1 yuan and the total fees for these products are much lower than other WMPs, so the products will be accessible to more investors.