Ant to help investors with big data efforts

"Online shopping data are invaluable for making investment decisions as e-commerce transactions account for about 10 percent of retail transactions in China," said Bosera Vice-President Wang Deying.

"Compared with data from traditional financial institutions, these statistics are so much smarter. The index relies on fresh, quantitative data on online payments and transactions, rather than quarterly earnings."

The index began a test run at the start of the year, and it posted a yield of 41 percent in the first quarter.

Bosera will launch two funds linked to the index for investors later this year.

Analysts said that the CSI Taojin 100 Index will offer a great source of information on the nation's consumer market and give investors a better understanding of consumption trends.

"Big data technology is going to be a key component of investment decision-making in the future, because it allows for stronger forecasts to be made. Even now, funds are using big data in order to gain a stronger understanding of markets and industries," said Neil Flynn, portfolio manager at Alcuin Asset Management.

Prior to the CSI Taojin 100 Index, Baidu Inc launched a big data index fund in late 2014 by analyzing massive online search requests. Both moves are seen by insiders as ways to monetizing data.

Yu'ebao was a sensation when launched in mid-2013, and it has since become China's biggest fund, but Ant Financial is conservative about how popular the index fund will be.

Yuan Leiming, head of Ant Financial's finance department, told Reuters on Thursday that people still need to see the value of e-commerce data and the index has to gain acceptance.

Jiang Meifeng, a long-time A-share investor, expressed interest in the index. "My 20 years in the stock market have taught me that it is very difficult for individual investors to make big money."

"Behind every fund, there is a professional team. And their investment portfolio is much broader than mine. I think my money will be safer in their hands and save me a lot of time that I would otherwise spend staring at the computer."