FINANCE

China Drafts Rules to Limit Wealthy Clients’ Role in Family Trust Investments

Published: Apr. 21, 2026 11:44 p.m. GMT+8

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The overhaul could upend China’s 900 billion yuan ($132.0 billion) family trust industry

China’s financial regulator is drafting new rules that would ban wealthy individuals and their designated third parties from directly controlling investment decisions within their family trusts.

The proposed regulations for asset service trusts, currently circulating for internal industry feedback, target the traditional wealth management model where private banks manage the assets while trust companies act as mere administrative channels.

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China’s regulator drafts rules banning settlors/third parties from controlling family trust investments, ending private bank dominance.
Prohibits due diligence/commands/advice; caps single asset at 25% of trust capital, impacting 900B yuan ($132B) industry.
Pushback cites property rights infringement; workaround via trust-hired advisors expected.

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Who’s Who

Shanghai Zhixin Asset Management Research Co. Ltd.: Zheng Zhi, founder of Shanghai Zhixin Asset Management Research Co. Ltd., states that the current family trust structure reduces trust companies to passive conduits, compromising their legal independence and asset-protection functions.

Peking Family Office: Nie Junfeng, chairman of Peking Family Office, criticized China's proposed family trust rules, arguing they infringe on property rights by forcing clients to surrender investment decisions to trust companies lacking expertise and alignment with family goals, depriving them of wealth disposal freedom.

AI generated, for reference only