(Yicai) April 2 -- China’s mutual funds, which invest in stocks, bonds and other forms of securities, racked up losses of CNY1.9 trillion (USD260 billion) in the past two years against the backdrop of a sluggish stock market.

Mutual funds lost around CNY435.1 billion (USD60.1 billion) in 2023 and CNY1.4 trillion (USD200 billion) in 2022, according to the latest data.

Hybrid funds, which invest in both the stock and bond markets, were the biggest losers in 2023, amassing a deficit of CNY579 billion (USD80 billion), according to statistics from market data provider Wind.

And equity funds, which mainly invest in stocks, also scored heavy losses of CNY324.6 billion. Only 10 percent of these two types of funds made money last year.

Funds that focused on fixed-income assets had the biggest returns. Bond funds raked in CNY243.2 billion (USD33.6 billion) of profit and money market funds bagged CNY230.9 billion.

Despite the losses, mutual fund managers charged investors, most of whom had lost money, CNY135.7 billion (USD18.7 billion) in fees last year. This is CNY10.3 billion (USD1.4 billion) less than they charged in 2022, marking the first drop in fund managers’ fees in the past decade. It reflects the dual pressures of the tumbling value of assets as well as investors paring stakes that funds are under.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor