Fund Sub-Account Commission Rankings Released: Leading Brokerages Shake Up, Small and Medium-Sized Brokers Break Through

Authors: Liu Yingjie Lin Qian

In 2025, against the two-fold backdrop of the deepening reform of public fund fee rates and a rebound in market trading, the broker block-trading allocation commission structure has entered a new round of intense reshuffling. According to Wind data, the securities industry’s total block-trading allocation commission revenue in 2025 was 11.01B yuan, basically flat with 2024 and putting an end to the previously ongoing downward trend. However, under the stable total-amount backdrop, leading brokers have reshuffled their rankings again due to mergers, acquisitions, and strategic adjustments, while a group of mid-sized and small brokers are, by leveraging differentiated strategies, emerging as a focal point in the market with astonishing growth rates.

In the view of industry insiders, with commission rates declining, investment research is increasingly reverting to its underlying value, which also raises higher requirements for brokers’ comprehensive service capabilities. Leading brokers are expected to strengthen their market discourse power through brand reinforcement in research, while mid-sized and small brokers are expected to achieve differentiated development by leveraging their research strengths.

**　　A contest over the “gold content” of the leading camp**

Within the leading tier where the strong keep getting stronger, the competition for rankings in brokers’ block-trading allocation commissions in 2025 is not only about shifts in order, but also a deep contest over growth quality and core advantages.

CITIC Securities continues to sit firmly at the top. With 2,391.231 billion yuan in block-trading allocation stock trading value and 814 million yuan in block-trading allocation commission revenue, it leads the entire industry. However, it is worth noting that its year-over-year increase in block-trading allocation commission of 2.05% is relatively modest within the leading camp. By contrast, Haitong Securities shows a strong pursuit momentum: its block-trading allocation stock trading value rose 66.28% year over year; block-trading allocation commission rose 19.38% year over year to 546 million yuan, narrowing the gap to Yangtze Securities—ranked fourth in block-trading allocation commission—down to just 12 million yuan. Behind this incremental growth may be closely related to its ongoing investment in institutional client services and digital platforms.

The most notable structural change on this year’s rankings comes from Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities after their strong union. With the merger of Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities, the new entity made its debut for the first time with 2,082.337 billion yuan in block-trading allocation stock trading value and 668 million yuan in block-trading allocation commission, leaping to second place in the industry. Its year-over-year increase in block-trading allocation commission is as high as 48.54%. However, in terms of the estimated commission rate, its level of 0.32% decreased compared with 2024, showing a trend toward the estimated commission rate passively moving closer to lower-price levels after the merger. In contrast, even though 广发证券 (Guangfa Securities) has block-trading allocation commission ranking third, its estimated commission rate of 0.36% remains relatively high within the leading camp, reflecting—at least to some extent—its bargaining power for research services among buy-side institutions.

Shenwan Hongyuan Securities has an established, long-running research institute in the industry, and its research business has consistently maintained strong competitiveness. In 2025, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities’ block-trading allocation stock trading value grew 89.53% year over year, and block-trading allocation commission was 409 million yuan, lifting its industry ranking in block-trading allocation commission to eighth place. Its block-trading allocation commission rose 36.69% year over year, with the growth rate among the leading brokers ranking near the top. In 2025, the Shenwan Hongyuan Research Institute actively leveraged shareholders’ advantages to break through against the trend during market volatility and industry changes. Its core indicators continued to improve, and by using the “Yi Wan Qi Yuan” institutional client service integrated platform, it drove a digital upgrade of services. Its ability to generate revenue from transformed businesses continued to rise steadily.

What deserves attention is that there is a significant divergence between the growth rate of block-trading allocation stock trading value and that of block-trading allocation commission. In 2025, the brokerages across the entire industry saw their block-trading allocation transaction value grow 47% year over year, but the total commission amount only increased slightly. Industry insiders believe that, against the background of widespread declines in commission rates, simply relying on transaction volume growth can no longer drive revenue improvement; comprehensive service capability and the efficiency of unit output are becoming new focal points of competition.

**　　A contest over modes as mid-sized and small brokerages launch moves**

If the competition among leading brokers is a game of scale and efficiency, then the breakout efforts of mid-sized and small brokerages are a test of path selection and strategic resolve. Judging by full-year 2025 data, some brokerages successfully broke the rigid pattern of “the leading ones always stay strong,” but their growth models differ from one another, showing clear differentiated characteristics.

Huayuan Securities is one of the biggest dark horses in 2025. Its block-trading allocation commission rose from 17M yuan in 2024 to 144 million yuan, increasing 764.9% year over year. Its ranking jumped from the bottom end to 28th place. Judging from Huayuan Securities’ performance, it has followed a path of “focused track selection + technology enabling.” Since the research institute was established in 2023, Huayuan Securities has not immediately expanded significantly; instead, it concentrates limited resources on vertical fields such as new-quality productive forces and green low-carbon, building a moat through penetrating industry research. Wind data shows that its estimated commission rate in 2025 still stayed at 0.44%, clearly higher than the industry average.

Huanfu Securities, meanwhile, demonstrates a path of “premium talent + precision in sales.” Its block-trading allocation commission grew 186.46% year over year, and its ranking jumped to 22nd place. Huanfu Securities quickly enhanced its market influence by introducing star analysts. At the same time, it built six research centers around “new-quality productive forces,” turning its talent advantage into sustained deep service capability. Its estimated commission rate of 0.43% is also higher than the industry average.

It is worth noting that a group of long-established research institutions have also shown new vitality in this round of reshuffling. JInjin Securities, by pushing forward its research sales 3.0 reform, saw its block-trading allocation commission rise 37.23% year over year to 290 million yuan. Its ranking climbed steadily from 21st place to 16th place. Different from “dark horse” brokerages, JInjin Securities’ breakout reflects more optimization of existing resources. It captures share in a stock, or existing, market by reforming internal mechanisms and improving research conversion efficiency. JInjin Securities’ estimated commission rate of 0.40% is slightly lower than Huayuan Securities and Huanfu Securities, but it still ranks among the front in the group of long-established brokerages.

In addition, Oriental Fortune Securities saw its block-trading allocation commission in 2025 increase 67.15% year over year, breaking the 100 million yuan mark for the first time.

**　　Investment research returns to its value at the root**

Starting in July 2024, the “Regulations on the Administration of Securities Trading Fees for Publicly Offered Securities Investment Funds” officially began to take effect, reshaping the trading commission mechanism and having a far-reaching impact on aspects such as the competitive landscape for sell-side research and business layouts. In the view of industry insiders, this has further promoted investment research to return to its value at the root: only when research services directly meet the needs of clients’ investment decision-making can value truly be transformed.

Many brokerages have said that the company will shift from traditional sell-side research to integrated research service transformation, enhancing the core position of research business in business synergy, client service, and the company’s strategic development. At the same time, they will focus on digital enabling and differentiated competition.

“Company will continue to deepen its core research responsibilities, enriching both the breadth and depth of research, and strive to make research return to its root.” Shenwan Hongyuan Research Institute said. The institute will coordinate and manage the overall resources of the securities company through the institutional business committee function, actively cooperate with institutional lines to provide clients with a package of comprehensive financial services combining “research + business,” driving cross-business transformation of research value, delivering precise services for clients’ investment decision-making, and providing support to the real economy through multidimensional research and practical services.

Deepening integrated development across domestic and overseas markets is an important feature of CITIC Securities’ research business. In its 2025 annual report, CITIC Securities stated that it will further optimize the global research service network, achieve comprehensive coordination in resource allocation, service standards, and business processes across domestic and overseas markets, expand the coverage radius of global client services, consolidate and enhance global market share, and at the same time continue to build global brand communication IP to strengthen the global output of research views and the building of discourse power.

Based on a research system of “one institute and one院” formed by the research institute, policy and industry research institute, Guotai Junan Haitong Securities stated that in the future its research business will continue to forge professional capabilities in sell-side research and high-end think-tank research, strengthen the breadth and depth of research coverage, and build first-class securities research brands with international influence and local pricing power, as well as a high-end think-tank platform with industry-leading influence. It will continuously enhance its industry influence in key research areas.

(Editor: Xu Nannan)

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