Financial Market Welcomes New Regulations, Accelerating Industry Transformation and Development

Our reporter Yang Jie

According to the National Financial Regulatory Administration’s announcement on March 16, in order to improve the regulatory system for wealth management companies and promote the development and supervision models that match their capabilities, the Administration recently issued the “Interim Measures for the Supervision and Rating of Wealth Management Companies” (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), which took effect upon release.

A responsible official from the relevant department of the National Financial Regulatory Administration stated that it is very necessary to formulate and implement the “Measures” to further clarify the development direction of the wealth management industry, improve the regulatory system for wealth management companies, and promote their continuous capability enhancement. First, it helps strengthen regulatory guidance by leveraging the rating “guidance” role to urge wealth management companies to establish prudent and stable business philosophies and to effectively fulfill their fiduciary management responsibilities. Second, it accelerates transformation and development by encouraging companies to benchmark industry leaders, identify gaps, continuously strengthen their capabilities, and boost endogenous growth momentum. Third, it facilitates rational allocation of regulatory resources by better reflecting the risk profile and operational characteristics of wealth management companies through regulatory ratings, clarifying key institutions and areas for supervision, and improving the precision and scientificity of regulation.

Industry insiders believe that the official release of the “Measures” marks an important step toward standardizing and maturing the bank wealth management market, shifting the focus from “scale competition” to “internal strength,” and achieving high-quality development.

Six Major Rating Factors

“Entrusted management and wealth management” is the fundamental principle of the asset management industry, including wealth management. Data disclosed by the National Financial Regulatory Administration shows that by the end of December 2025, 32 wealth management companies in China had a total of 30.7 trillion yuan in existing wealth management products, accounting for 92% of the total market of 33.3 trillion yuan. After more than six years of development, the industry has made positive progress in regulatory transformation and has become an important part of China’s asset management sector.

“At the same time, it should be noted that some institutions still face issues such as unclear development positioning, the need to improve professional investment capabilities, the deepening of net value transformation, and incomplete risk control,” said a responsible official from the relevant department of the National Financial Regulatory Administration in response to a reporter’s question.

The newly issued “Measures” specify the overall requirements for the supervision and rating of wealth management companies, rating elements, basic procedures, and classified supervision. First, it clarifies the rating elements and methods. The “Measures” set up six rating modules: corporate governance, asset management capability, risk management, information disclosure, investor protection, and information technology, with respective weights of 10%, 25%, 25%, 15%, 15%, and 10%. It also includes targeted scoring items, deduction items, and level adjustment factors to comprehensively evaluate the operation management and risk status of wealth management companies. Second, it defines the basic procedures for regulatory ratings, which include self-assessment, initial evaluation, review, and feedback. After the rating, if the regulator discovers significant issues during the rating period or if there are major changes in the risk or management status of the company, the rating results can be dynamically adjusted. Third, it clarifies the principles of classified supervision. The rating results serve as an important basis for regulators to allocate supervision resources, conduct market access, and implement differentiated regulatory measures.

In the “Measures,” asset management capability and risk management are weighted the highest (each 25%, totaling 50%). Dong Ximiao, Chief Economist at Zhaolian and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory, told Securities Daily that asset management capability is the foundation of a wealth management company’s operation. Assigning it the highest weight of 25% reflects the core investment research ability, product design level, and value creation capacity for clients. This directly relates to whether the company can help residents preserve and increase their wealth, serving as the “gold standard” for qualification. A higher weight means stricter regulatory scrutiny on whether the company can effectively identify, measure, and control various risks to protect investors’ assets.

“By implementing the ‘Measures,’ wealth management companies will be further encouraged to optimize corporate governance, enhance asset management capabilities, improve risk management systems, and steadily advance digital transformation. This will play an irreplaceable leading role in high-quality industry development and indirectly strengthen investor protection,” said Yang Haiping, researcher at the Shanghai Financial and Legal Research Institute, to Securities Daily.

Differentiated Classification Measures

The “Measures” stipulate that the regulatory rating results are divided into levels 1–6 and S level, with each level clearly indicating the risk characteristics of the wealth management companies and corresponding regulatory measures. Higher numbers indicate greater risk and require more intensive supervision.

Specifically, levels 1 and 2 companies are stable in operation with relatively good risk profiles, mainly supervised through non-on-site and routine oversight, with priority support for innovative pilot businesses such as pension wealth management; levels 3 and 4 companies have certain or multiple risk issues, requiring strengthened supervision in key areas, necessary corrective measures, risk control of incremental risks, reduction of existing risks, and prevention of risk spread; levels 5 and 6 companies face serious risk problems, requiring real-time risk monitoring, strict restrictions, and resolution of high-risk activities, with orderly risk disposal or market exit. S-level companies are those undergoing restructuring, takeover, or market exit, and do not participate in the current year’s regulatory rating.

“The rating results are deeply linked to the company’s future survival and development space,” said a person in charge at Guangyin Wealth Management to Securities Daily. “Differentiated supervision, with positive incentives and negative constraints, and the varying regulatory treatment for different levels, are core variables determining their operational space and growth track.”

Dong Ximiao also pointed out that “this rating process will influence and determine the future survival and development prospects of a wealth management company. Going forward, those with weak research capabilities, poor risk control, and chaotic governance will find it difficult to survive, while leading stable institutions will gain more development resources.” The rating method also emphasizes information disclosure and investor protection. Although the rating results are not publicly disclosed, the regulatory constraints behind them will motivate wealth management companies to operate more prudently, helping to safeguard investors’ rights and interests.