Group 1 - The A-share market is experiencing significant volatility, with the Shanghai Composite Index fluctuating around 3600 points and technology stocks showing erratic performance, causing anxiety among investors [1][2] - Tesla's sales in Europe have plummeted, and Amazon's cloud business growth is slowing, highlighting the increasing risks associated with single-stock investments [1][2] - Retail investors face challenges such as high individual stock risks, difficulty in timing the market, and high capital requirements to invest in quality companies, making the current market environment unfriendly for them [2][4] Group 2 - The use of automated investment tools like Alipay's index fund smart investment feature allows investors to buy more shares when prices are low and reduce purchases when prices are high, which can lead to better average returns compared to lump-sum investments [4][6] - Alipay's index funds offer a low management fee of 0.15%, significantly lower than the 1.5% charged by actively managed funds, allowing investors to save money and potentially increase their returns over time [6] - Investing in index funds provides a diversified approach, reducing the risk of individual stock failures while still benefiting from market trends and policy incentives [6]

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the classification of the consumer industry, its representative indices, and investment opportunities within the sector, highlighting the performance of essential and discretionary consumption categories [1][12][128]. Group 1: Common Indices in A-shares and H-shares - The consumer industry indices are categorized into four main types: broad-based indices, strategy indices, industry indices, and thematic indices [6][8][10]. - The consumer index falls under the industry index category, which specifically covers stocks within the consumer sector [11]. Group 2: Essential Consumption Industry - Essential consumption includes daily necessities such as food and beverages, which are crucial regardless of economic conditions [12][17]. - The representative index for essential consumption in A-shares is the CSI Consumer Index (000932.SH), established on July 3, 2009, with a base point of 1000 [18][21]. - The top ten holdings in the CSI Consumer Index are predominantly from the liquor sector, with over 50% of the weight attributed to liquor companies [22][23]. Group 3: Performance and Valuation of Essential Consumption - The annualized return of the CSI Consumer Index from December 31, 2009, to April 29, 2025, is 6.78%, increasing to 8.52% when considering dividends [23][26]. - The maximum drawdown for the index reached 58.69% during the period from February 10, 2021, to September 18, 2024 [24][26]. - Historical valuation metrics indicate that both the price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-book (P/B) ratios are currently at relatively low levels [27][42]. Group 4: Discretionary Consumption Industry - Discretionary consumption refers to non-essential goods that enhance quality of life, such as automobiles and home appliances [55]. - The representative index for discretionary consumption is the CSI Discretionary Consumption Index (000989.SH), which includes stocks from the discretionary consumption sector [56][57]. Group 5: Performance and Valuation of Discretionary Consumption - The annualized return of the CSI Discretionary Consumption Index from August 19, 2011, to April 29, 2025, is 2.23%, rising to 3.98% when including dividends [62]. - The maximum drawdown for this index was 62.65%, occurring between June 12, 2015, and January 3, 2019 [64]. - Valuation metrics for the discretionary consumption index suggest it is not particularly expensive but does not represent a low valuation either [67]. Group 6: Investment Cases and Strategies - Investment strategies in the consumer sector emphasize buying undervalued assets and holding them until they reach overvaluation [50][52]. - A notable case involved investing in the CSI Consumer Index during a low valuation period, resulting in a 64.05% return by the time of selling at a high valuation [115]. Group 7: Portfolios and Index Funds - The article outlines various index funds related to essential and discretionary consumption indices, highlighting the concentration of holdings in certain sectors [29][45][82]. - The CSI White Wine Index, due to its high concentration of holdings, has limited new fund issuance opportunities, making existing funds significant in size [46]. Group 8: Conclusion - The consumer industry is divided into essential and discretionary consumption, with corresponding representative indices available in A-shares and a combined index in H-shares [128]. - Historical returns in the consumer sector have been strong, but investment should focus on undervalued periods and maintain a balanced portfolio [128].