The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently issued the notice on investment of insurance funds in financial products (hereinafter referred to as the notice) to further optimize the allocation structure of insurance assets, improve the quality and efficiency of insurance funds serving the real economy and prevent investment risks. Compared with the previous revision, the notice deleted the infrastructure investment plan, real estate investment plan, asset support plan and relevant requirements of insurance fund investment issued by insurance asset management company. According to the relevant person in charge of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the scale of insurance funds investing in financial products has been increasing in recent years. By the end of December 2021, the scale of financial products invested by insurance funds was 1.72 trillion yuan, accounting for 7.39% of the balance of fund utilization. The varieties covered financial products of commercial banks, collective fund trusts, credit asset-backed securities, special asset-backed plans, etc. the allocation structure of insurance assets has been further improved. With the rapid development of China's financial market, financial products such as financial products of financial companies continue to emerge. Their risk return characteristics meet the needs of insurance fund allocation, and the industry has a strong willingness to allocate. In contrast, the regulatory requirements of the original policy in the decision-making process of financial products and post investment management need to be further strengthened. It is understood that there are 17 articles in the notice, and the main amendments include five aspects: Broaden the range of investable financial products. Financial products of wealth management companies, single asset management plans and debt to equity investment plans will be included in the scope of investable financial products to further improve the allocation structure of insurance assets. Implement the main responsibility. Make it clear that when an insurance asset management company is entrusted to invest in financial products, it shall undertake active management responsibilities such as due diligence, investment decision-making and post investment management. Cancel the external credit rating requirements for insurance funds to invest in credit asset-backed securities, asset-backed special plans and other products, and guide institutions to implement the main responsibility of risk management. Strengthen regulatory requirements. For some financial products, insurance institutions are required to have corresponding investment management capabilities according to the nature of the product's underlying assets, and be included in the corresponding investment proportion for management according to the category of underlying assets, so as to truly reflect the risk of investment assets. Standardize the behavior of investing in a single asset management product. For insurance companies investing in single asset management plans and private financial products issued to single investors, it is required to improve the selection standards and processes of investment managers, carefully formulate investment guidelines and maintain asset safety. Improve post investment management requirements. Insurance institutions are required to clarify the post investment management responsibilities of investment financial products, allocate professional post investment management personnel, regularly track the investment status and take effective measures to control relevant risks. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said that the issuance and implementation of the notice will help better meet the needs of diversified allocation of insurance assets and provide long-term and stable financial support for the capital market. Next, the CBRC will continue to improve the regulatory policy system, strengthen market-oriented reform, guide insurance funds to give full play to their long-term investment advantages and serve the high-quality development of the economy. (Xinhua News Agency)