Against the background of low interest rates becoming the new normal and strong demand for wealth reallocation by residents, the "fixed income +" fund, which combines the stability of a bond base with the flexibility of multiple assets and strategies, is entering a golden age of development. Since 2026, such products have continued to attract funds with good risk-return ratios, and the scale has been steadily expanding. According to Wind statistics, as of April 21, 2026, the total size of fixed income + funds has approached the 2.9 trillion yuan mark, an increase of 5.5% from the end of 2025. In terms of performance, this year, fixed income + funds have shown impressive overall performance, with 93% of funds achieving positive returns. Some funds have achieved returns within the range of 20%, but there are also some funds with losses exceeding 5%. With the continuous growth in scale, secondary bond funds are becoming the main force of expansion In recent years, the overall scale of "fixed income +" funds (including mixed bond type primary bond funds, mixed bond type secondary bond funds, convertible bond funds, enhanced index bond funds, and bias bond mixed type) has shown strong growth momentum. According to Wind statistics, as of April 21, 2026, the total size of fixed income + funds has approached the 2.9 trillion yuan mark, an increase of 5.5% from the end of 2025. Among them, the secondary bond fund of mixed bond type, as a typical representative of the "fixed income +" strategy, has shown the most significant growth in scale. Its scale has increased from 0.7 trillion yuan at the end of 2024 to 1.6 trillion yuan at the end of 2025, a growth of 128% in one year, and has climbed to 1.71 trillion yuan in the middle and late April of this month, showing strong market demand for such products. At the same time, bias bond mixed funds have also maintained steady growth momentum, with a scale of 0.25 trillion yuan at the end of 2024, increasing by 5.8% to 0.27 trillion yuan by the end of 2025. As of April 21, its scale has exceeded 0.28 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.18% from the end of 2024. The scale changes of several fixed income + funds in recent years are shown in the following figure: Data source: Wind, compiled by Cailian Society Noticeable differentiation between top and bottom, some products achieve over 20% returns Since 2026, the structural bull market in the A-share market has provided a good environment for enhanced income for "fixed income+" funds, and some products have achieved impressive performance. As of April 21, this year, fixed income + funds have shown impressive overall performance, with 93% of funds achieving positive returns. The top ten funds in terms of returns this year are shown in the following figure: Data source: Wind, compiled by Cailian Society Among them, Huaxia Anxin, managed by Huaxia Fund Management, ranked first with a return rate of 21.5% this year. Its first-quarter report showed that in the first quarter of this year, the fund focused on three main areas: new technology, inflation due to supply shortages, and inference application-related assets. In the new technology field, it focused on companies related to cutting-edge technologies such as CPO (co-packaged optics) and OCS (optical cross-connectors), which represent high-certainty AI technology trends and future industry development directions; in the supply shortage inflation direction, AI supply chains continue to be short of supply, and demand-related resource prices and product prices remain high; in the inference application-related assets, it particularly focuses on the domestic industry chain. The vast domestic market and rich application scenarios provide fertile soil for inference applications, and domestic companies are expected to rise rapidly with local advantages, creating considerable investment returns. Rongtong Stable Yield Growth 6-month holding mixed fund managed by Rongtong Fund Management followed closely with a 17% return. The first-quarter report showed that the market is at a critical period of switching annual themes, combined with escalating uncertainty in overseas geopolitics and the US-Iran conflict, overall market risk appetite is weak, and broad-based and high-certainty opportunities are relatively scarce. In this background, the fund adhered to the core idea of subtraction, certainty, and net value curve optimization, focusing on the triple resonance of fundamentals, trading structures, and industry trends with high win rates, focusing on optimizing allocations in the industrial chain of computing power in the communication industry chain, optical modules, CPO, and optical fiber cables. Regarding bond allocation, the fund manager said that at the beginning of the year, considering the strength of the stock market and the expectation of rising inflation, the fund maintained a relatively short duration level overall, mainly allocated to high-yielding old bonds. In the future, the focus may still be on coupons, with short-term trading as a supplement. As for credit, the spreads are narrow, with differentiation in different grades. In credit investments, the fund adhered to the concept of staying away from risks, using high grades and high liquidity as the selection criteria, and not increasing the credit risk exposure of the portfolio for short-term high returns. Jinying Nian Nian Youyi One-year holding fund managed by Jinying Fund Management also achieved a 17% return. The fund manager said that the portfolio maintained a technology-focused allocation strategy, continuously exploring investment opportunities in hard technology sectors such as AI computing power, semiconductors, and commercial aerospace, actively increasing allocations in sectors with significant changes in industrial trends, and adjusting the industry distribution of the portfolio towards a more balanced direction in the face of liquidity shocks and market pressures caused by geopolitical conflicts. Convertible bond assets were actively managed in response to valuation changes, with a focus on convertible bond targets with more certain remaining periods. The bond portion maintained a low duration allocation strategy. However, despite the overall good performance of fixed income + funds, some funds have incurred losses. Wind data shows that as of April 22, Dongfang Minfeng Huibao Winan, managed by Dongfang Fund Management, has incurred a loss of 5.5% this year. The first-quarter report showed that in the first quarter of this year, the fund mainly invested in the manufacturing industry, accounting for 21.94%, and the information transmission, software, and information technology services industry accounted for 6.82%. In terms of investment strategy, the fund manager stated that the fund's positions in equity and convertible bonds have been relatively stable, primarily due to concerns about sudden and rapid occurrence of risk events, and in the future, the focus will still be on selecting high-tech growth-oriented industries with high prosperity and good performance. The fixed income + funds that ranked in the bottom ten in terms of returns this year are shown in the following figure: Data source: Wind, compiled by Cailian Society In the age of strategy toolboxes, focus on "track-based" and "line-drawing" Facing the rapid expansion of the "fixed income+" market, various institutions are eager to get a share of this track. So, what are some common strategies for fixed income + funds? Guotai Hantong Asset Management mentioned in its research report that a true "fixed income+" product line is not simply a replication of a single strategy, but rather a set of strategy toolboxes. The toolbox contains different tools:Dumbbells, finger increases, rotation, and convertible bonds, each tool has its own battlefield. For option bond funds, convertible bonds, equity industry rotation, and quantitative strategies are key weapons for enhancing flexibility.Among them, in the current situation where pure bond yields continue to narrow, convertible bonds have become an important tool for increasing fixed income portfolio returns due to their dual attributes of stocks and bonds. Compared to stocks, convertible bonds typically have lower volatility and higher Sharpe ratios in most market environments; compared to pure bonds, they also have the potential to participate in the rise of the underlying stocks. In terms of equity industry rotation, using the natural low correlation between stocks and bonds to diversify underlying risks and actively rotating industries to capture betas, aiming to increase returns under controllable volatility. This strategy also involves allocating to medium to high credit rating bonds and trading interest rate bonds as a safety net. In the equity enhancement part, it aims for steady progress through stock industry rotation and dynamic timing. In the current environment of frequent geopolitical conflicts and increased macroeconomic uncertainties, Guotai Junan Securities recommends focusing on the allocation value of precious metals and non-ferrous metals sectors, and considers them as important enhancement directions for equity portfolios. In terms of quantitative investments, the low crowding and high dispersion of dividend styles make them more conducive to quantitative models capturing absolute returns. Dividend strategies focus on companies with high dividend yields and stable cash flows, which have good defensive properties; while quantitative models can efficiently identify stocks that meet dividend characteristics and have investment value in the entire market, optimizing portfolio returns. The technology sector represents the direction of new quality productivity development, and its high elasticity and high growth characteristics can bring long-term alpha opportunities. How to enhance fixed income through various strategies? Zhongjin Securities stated in its research report that by 2025, some public funds have already seized the historic opportunity of wealth migration among residents and increased allocation of institutional funds through forward-looking layouts and differentiated competitive strategies, achieving a significant increase in market share of "fixed income+" funds. In 2026, whether it is the migration demand of residents seeking stable value-added wealth, the income enhancement demand of institutional funds, the market's new consensus on cross-asset diversified allocation, or the income effect recognized by the market for "fixed income+" funds in 2025, these factors constitute important driving factors for the future development of "fixed income+" funds. Zhongjin Securities believe that 2026 is still a year of incremental growth. In a market environment where the overall equity market is expected to improve, funds tend to prefer to participate in the equity market rally through "fixed income+" funds. Therefore, incremental funds often prefer relatively "extreme" and "hot" style attributes; within the "extreme style" category, incremental funds prefer products with strong stock selection capabilities. Performance is still the "king" that drives the scale, with high volatility products needing to pay more attention to cost-effectiveness and win rate, and low volatility products needing to pay more attention to performance rankings themselves. Specifically, both "line-drawing" funds and "track-type" funds are viable paths. The former is more in line with the risk-return positioning of individual investors' "deposit migration" funds and is also more likely to meet the low-turnover core fund needs of institutional investors, attracting relatively stable capital inflows in 2026; the latter may experience short-term rapid growth in market share due to market hotspots and changes in market conditions, but one must be wary of potential retracements and redemptions that market changes may bring. China Securities Research also emphasizes that in bond strategies, solid credit allocation remains the core base position, but in the "+" asset category, managers need to focus more on stock selection capabilities and industry rotation, and enhance portfolio flexibility by accurately seizing opportunities in structural areas such as technology growth. This article is reproduced from "Cai Lianshe", GMTEight editor: Liu Jiayin.