21st Century Business Herald Reporter Yi Yanjun
After three consecutive years of decline, the &#34;fund commission income&#34; — a key indicator testing the research strength of brokerages — shows signs of stabilization.
Based on the 2025 fund annual reports, Wind's statistical data shows that in 2025, the total scale of brokerage commission income was 10.79 billion yuan, which is basically flat compared to 10.58 billion yuan in 2024. In contrast, from 2021 to 2023, the industry's total commission income was 22.25 billion yuan, 18.35 billion yuan, and 16.37 billion yuan, respectively.
As the scale of commission income stabilizes, the reshuffling and restructuring within the industry are accelerating. On one hand, the ranking of leading brokerages is being reshuffled, with Guotai Haitong jumping to second place in the commission income ranking due to its merger advantages. On the other hand, small and medium-sized brokerages are frequently seeing &#34;dark horses,&#34; while trailing brokerages face the risk of &#34;elimination.&#34;
The continuously declining commission rates are one of the invisible driving forces behind this round of reshuffling. It is estimated that the average commission rate for 2025 will drop to about 0.36‰, a year-on-year decline of approximately 36%.
In this changing landscape, the industry consensus has become clear. Currently, brokerage research business is accelerating its shift from &#34;commission-driven&#34; to &#34;diversified value creation.&#34; Industry insiders point out that in the future, whoever can first complete the transformation into a &#34;value creator&#34; will gain the initiative in the next cycle.
The fluctuations in the equity market, combined with the implementation of public fund fee reforms, have led to changes in the scale of fund commission income in recent years.
From 2022 to 2024, the year-on-year decline in annual commission income for brokerages reached 18%, 11%, and 35%, respectively.
In 2025, the total scale of brokerage commission income stabilized. This is also the first complete year following the implementation of the &#34;Regulations on the Management of Securities Transaction Fees for Publicly Raised Securities Investment Funds.&#34;
According to Wind's statistics, in 2025, 94 brokerages collectively earned 10.79 billion yuan in commission income (consolidating the same company entity), showing little change compared to 2024.
However, in the past year, there has been an accelerated differentiation within the industry, and a new round of reshuffling has already begun.
Firstly, the &#34;seat competition&#34; within the leading camp has become increasingly fierce. In 2025, CITIC Securities secured the top position in the industry with 814 million yuan, maintaining its leading advantage. Guotai Haitong, after completing its merger, saw its annual commission income grow by 48.5% to 668 million yuan, rising to second place in the industry. Meanwhile, the industry rankings of GF Securities and Changjiang Securities dropped from second and third in 2024 to third and fourth, respectively.
GF Securities' commission income in 2025 was 660 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.78%, with a small gap compared to Guotai Haitong. Changjiang Securities' commission income in 2025 was 558 million yuan, a slight year-on-year decrease of 1.23%.
Huatai Securities and Industrial Securities ranked fifth and sixth in the industry, with commission incomes of 546 million yuan and 422 million yuan, respectively, both showing a year-on-year increase of around 20%
Shenwan Hongyuan Securities rose to 8th in the industry with a commission income of 409 million yuan (a year-on-year increase of nearly 37%). Zhejiang Securities' ranking also improved by 1 position to 10th in the industry, with a commission income of 392 million yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of nearly 20%.
CITIC Securities and Guolian Minsheng saw a significant decline in commission income year-on-year, dropping 3 and 4 positions respectively to 7th and 9th in the industry.
Overall, the head effect in the industry remains prominent. The total income of the top 10 securities firms in commission income for 2025 is 5.28 billion yuan, accounting for half of the industry.
Moreover, there are 29 securities firms with commission income exceeding 100 million yuan in 2025, of which 10 firms have commission income in the range of 300 million to 500 million yuan. In 2024, 30 securities firms had commission income exceeding 100 million yuan, with 8 firms in the 300 million to 500 million yuan range.
Under the prominent Matthew effect in the industry, a number of small and medium-sized securities firms have achieved a turnaround through differentiated positioning and precise investment.
For example, according to Wind statistics, Huayuan Securities achieved commission income of 144 million yuan in 2025, with a year-on-year increase of 765%, rising from 55th place in 2024 to 24th place, making it the biggest &#34;dark horse&#34; of the year. This breakthrough is closely related to its previous recruitment of platinum analyst Liu Xiaoning as the head of the company's research institute and significant investment in research business.
Guojin Securities and Huafu Securities also saw significant improvements in their rankings. The commission income for these two firms in 2025 was 290 million yuan and 220 million yuan respectively, with year-on-year increases of 37% and 186%. As a result, Guojin Securities' ranking rose from 21st in 2024 to 16th; Huafu Securities' ranking improved from 33rd to 21st.
Dongwu Securities and Guohai Securities' rankings rose to 13th and 20th, improving by 4 and 2 positions respectively.
Commission income rankings for securities firms ranked 11th to 30th in 2025; data source: Wind, AI-assisted charting.
In addition, Dongfang Caifu Securities' commission income surpassed 100 million yuan in 2025, reaching 122 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 67%. Former Chief Strategist of CITIC Securities, Chen Guo, joined Dongfang Caifu Securities Research Institute in March 2025, serving as Deputy Director and Chief Strategist.
Amid fierce competition, tail-end securities firms are increasingly struggling in the commission landscape.
According to Wind statistics, in 2025, Zhongyuan Securities' commission income was only 130 yuan, a significant year-on-year decline of 99%; DBS Securities, Beijing GaoHua, and Hongta Securities all had commission income of less than 200,000 yuan; Aijian Securities, Wukuang Securities, Chuan Cai Securities, and Shiji Securities had commission income exceeding 200,000 yuan but less than 500,000 yuan
Moreover, the market share of some mid-tier brokerages is also shrinking.
For instance, the commission income of Guotou Securities and Everbright Securities is expected to drop to around 100 million yuan in 2025, with year-on-year declines of 48% and 47%, respectively. Compared to 2024, the rankings of these two brokerages have both fallen by about 6 places.
The commission income of Cinda Securities and Debon Securities has decreased by 41% and 81% year-on-year, respectively. Their commission incomes for 2024 were 119 million yuan and 80 million yuan, which are expected to drop to 70 million yuan and 15 million yuan in 2025. Debon Securities' ranking has fallen from 32nd in 2024 to 48th.
The reform of public fund fee rates has prompted a profound reshaping of the research industry, leading to a continuous decline in commission rates for split accounts.
According to Wind's estimates, in 2025, the average commission rate for split accounts in the industry will be approximately 0.36‰, a decrease of about 36% from 0.56‰ in 2024.
Specifically at the institutional level, in 2025, the estimated commission rates of the vast majority of brokerages are showing a year-on-year decline.
Among large and medium-sized brokerages, CITIC Construction Investment Securities has a significant year-on-year decline in estimated commission rates, approximately 34%; CITIC Securities, Guotai Haitong, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, and Huatai Securities have declines in estimated commission rates ranging from 27% to 29%.
Additionally, several brokerages, including Guotou Securities, Everbright Securities, and Shanxi Securities, are expected to see their estimated commission rates decline by over 40% in 2025 compared to 2024.
In absolute terms, some small and medium-sized brokerages have higher estimated commission rates, such as Hongta Securities at 0.59‰, and DBS Securities, Hualong Securities, Debon Securities, and Huayuan Securities with estimated commission rates between 0.44‰ and 0.46‰. Brokerages with commission rates below the industry average are mainly small and medium-sized.
Industry insiders point out that the continuous decline in commission rates signifies that competition in the sell-side research industry has entered a new stage of competing on research quality and comprehensive service capabilities.
Additionally, market participants analyze that the industry is undergoing a profound transformation from &#34;sell-side research&#34; to &#34;comprehensive financial services,&#34; with the core shift being from merely pursuing trading split accounts to creating diversified value through in-depth research capabilities both internally and externally.
Who will be the best script in terms of talent acquisition, collaboration, and going overseas?
Against the backdrop of public fund fee rate reform, the urgency for the transformation and upgrading of research businesses is becoming increasingly prominent.
From the perspective of leading brokerages, their positioning of research businesses combines various market demands, particularly emphasizing international business layout.
In the recently released 2025 annual reports, several large brokerages, including CITIC Securities, Huatai Securities, and GF Securities, have stated that they will further expand their overseas research businesses.
Meanwhile, medium-sized brokerages tend to promote the transformation of research businesses based on their own resource endowments or geographical advantages.
For example, Dongfang Securities has deeply explored the upgrade and expansion of its securities research institute business in 2025. Specifically, the company has restructured its departmental research system, establishing a multi-level framework of &#34;think tank research + securities research + wealth research,&#34; and created a multi-asset allocation research system based on the company's existing business
At the same time, some medium-sized securities firms hope to expand their research business by introducing high-end talent.
For example, in March 2025, Sun Binbin, the former deputy director of Tianfeng Securities and chief analyst of fixed income research, along with some team members, &#34;transferred&#34; to Caitong Securities, where Sun Binbin currently serves as the chief economist and director of the research institute; Yin Ruizhe, the former assistant general manager of the research center at Guotou Securities and chief analyst of fixed income, took on the role of chief asset allocation officer, executive deputy director, and chief analyst of fixed income at Guojin Securities.
Huang Yanming, the former director of the research institute at Guotai Junan, joined Dongfang Securities in late April 2025 as the director of the research institute; in September 2025, Xun Yugen, the former chief economist of Guotai Haitong Securities, became the chief economist and director of the economic research institute at Guoxin Securities, also serving as the director of the postdoctoral workstation office.
However, can the deep exploration of talent value by securities firms empower the strategic adjustment of research business? Everything remains to be seen.
Currently, Guojin Securities, which vigorously introduced research talent in 2025, has seen a significant increase in its commission income from split accounts (2.9 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 37%). In contrast, Dongfang Securities' commission income from split accounts in 2025 has declined compared to 2024.
Additionally, in 2025, some well-known research institute directors were promoted to management positions within their respective securities firms.
For instance, in June 2025, Wu Chao, the administrative head of the research and development department (director of the research institute) at CITIC Securities, was appointed as a member of the company's executive committee; in January 2026, Wu Chao became the director of the institutional business committee at CITIC Securities and concurrently served as the chairman of CITIC International. Luo Zhiheng, the chief economist and director of the research institute at Yuekai Securities, was promoted to vice president of the company in November 2025.
However, after Wu Chao's promotion and Chen Guo's departure, CITIC Securities has shown signs of a decline in commission income from split accounts. According to Wind statistics, CITIC Securities' commission income from split accounts in 2025 was 420 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 17%, with its industry ranking dropping from 4th place in 2024 to 7th place

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In 2025, the total scale of commission income from brokerage firms is expected to be 10.79 billion yuan, remaining basically flat compared to 2024, ending three consecutive years of decline. The internal reshuffling of the industry is accelerating, with Guotai Haitong jumping to second place in the commission income ranking due to its merger advantages. Small and medium-sized brokerages are frequently emerging as "dark horses," while tail-end brokerages face the risk of elimination. The commission rate continues to decline, with the average commission rate in 2025 dropping to approximately 0.36‰, a year-on-year decrease of about 36%. Brokerage research business is shifting from "commission-driven" to "diversified value creation."

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