Brokerage research commission rankings revealed: The era of disruption has arrived!
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The world of broker sell-side research in 2025 is turbulent and dramatic, with rankings undergoing major shake-ups.
With the full implementation of public fund fee reforms, the once-massive commission cake has shrunk somewhat. But from another perspective, the new commission policy has returned the basis for commission allocation to its research roots, opening up a new perspective for reshuffling.
Looking at the rankings, at least three trends are emerging this year in sell-side research:
On one hand, teams with strong research capabilities within large institutions have gained new development advantages and have further expanded their share;
On the other hand, commissions previously driven by sales orientation have shrunk substantially, causing some brokers with strong sales capabilities to fall back in the rankings;
Thirdly, and more critically, after the reduction in commissions, some small and medium-sized research institutions have adjusted their positioning, with some (partially) exiting the research arena, leading to a rapid decline in rankings.
In this shift from sell-side commission "scale expansion" to the "narrow gate" of "research competition," the entire sell-side landscape has entered a phase of disruption.
Each of the Top Ten Has Its Own Reason
The 2025 ranking of public fund split-commission brokers settled in early April, with the “Matthew Effect” among the leading group still significant. The top ten brokers together captured over half the market share, though the internal rankings experienced fierce reshuffling and restructuring.
According to WIND data, CITIC Securities firmly topped the list with a total commission of 750 million RMB, though a slight 0.90% year-on-year drop. Its overwhelming lead remains unchallenged. Guotai Haitong Securities, GF Securities, and Changjiang Securities ranked second, third, and fourth, with the top four positions unchanged from the previous year, highlighting the stability of the "most leading" group.
In terms of commission growth, Huatai Securities, Industrial Securities, and Zheshang Securities were the biggest winners, with year-on-year growth close to or exceeding 19%, showing striking aggressiveness.
Huatai Securities ranked fifth in split commissions, a position occupied by CITIC Construction Investment the previous year.
Additionally, Shenwan Hongyuan shot up with an astonishing 37.37% growth, jumping from 13th at the end of 2024 to 8th place.
Public information shows Wang Sheng was internally promoted to Head of Shenwan Hongyuan Research Institute in 2025, replacing former head Zhou Haichen. Wang Sheng was previously Chief Strategist at Shenwan and led the Institute’s transition to "Research + Investment/Industrial/Policy Research".
In stark contrast, CITIC Construction Investment and Guolian Minsheng Securities faced major challenges in fierce competition, with commission incomes down 17.30% and 14.66%, dropping from 5th and 6th in 2024 to 7th and 9th, respectively. Still, their presence in the top ten validates their strong research capabilities.
Overall, the commission battle in 2025 is no longer just about size but a contest of research service resilience and transformation speed.
The "Close Combat" of the Middle Tier
The split commission reform has been a major change in China’s securities industry in recent years, aimed at reducing commission costs and boosting market competitiveness. Brokers no longer rely on high commission incomes, but attract clients through enhanced research quality, expertise, and innovation. For those slow to adapt, this reform risks market share loss and elimination.
Against this backdrop, the competition for ranks 11 through 20 is no longer communal prosperity in a growing market, but fierce squeezing for existing share, presenting a “fight for every inch” situation.
Among them, China Merchants Securities ranked 11th with 357 million RMB (previously 8th in 2024), historically a frequent member of the top ten.
But the pursuers are close behind: Dongwu Securities (328 million RMB) and CICC (322 million RMB) with only a minuscule gap.
Characteristic of this echelon is intense divergence in growth momentum: Guojin Securities (rising from 21st to 16th) and Dongwu Securities (from 16th to 12th) are examples of countertrend breakthroughs, with year-on-year increases of 37.23% and 22.85%, showing that precise and active research service positioning can still open up market gaps, even under fee reduction pressure.
According to publicly available info: Guojin Securities Research Institute is headed by Su Chen. This sell-side team launched its 3.0 reform in 2021, started a talent strategy in 2024, continually recruiting top analysts—making significant moves. Dongwu Securities’ sell-side team is notable for a co-director management model: head Guo Jingjing (a female leader with deep sales experience), with co-directors Zeng Duohong (also Chief of Electrical New Energy) and Lu Zhe (also Chief Economist).
By comparison, Orient Securities and Zhongtai Securities saw slight commission reductions, down 12.30% and 6.68%. Both saw certain changes: the former invited seasoned Institute head Huang Yanming to join in April 2025, the latter has experienced ongoing personnel changes among researchers, drawing attention.
Overall, changes in this bracket’s rankings are a brutal test of brokers’ service premium ability in a “reduction, quality improvement” cycle for research business.
The Fierce Contest Driven by "Dark Horse" Surges
In ranks 21 to 30, the commission leader board shows near "phoenix rebirth"-like fluctuations in ranking.
Little wonder—research teams at this level typically include new teams formed after personnel restructuring or after major experts join, as well as old institutions trying desperately to hold their position. Just a few key personnel changes can dramatically shift commissions and rankings.
Under commission reforms, this tier is the most dramatic on the entire board.
HuaFu Securities and Huayuan Securities are undoubtedly the biggest “dark horses” of the year.
HuaFu Securities broke through with a 186.46% year-on-year increase, jumping from 33rd in 2024 to 21st.
Huayuan Securities staged an even more dramatic reversal, commission income up 764.90% year-on-year, soaring from 58th to 24th.
Huayuan Securities was formerly Jiuzhou Securities, and renamed after a shareholding change in 2023. In 2024, the broker expanded its sell-side team, yielding immediate results. Notably, renowned Liu Yuhui joined as Chief Economist, and around 30 analysts moved to the team in 2024.
Such extraordinary growth may stem from precise betting in specific niches, or successfully capturing overflow resources during industry reshuffling.
However, the flip side of prosperity is harsh elimination.
Guotou Securities led the declines with a -48.97% “halving” drop, while Founder Securities and Kaiyuan Securities also recorded declines near or above 18%. Such cliff-edge drops starkly reveal that in the era of commission "reduction," sell-side market share is all-or-nothing; any slip risks rapid loss to competitors, posing a "survival crisis".
Long Tail Segment: Foreign Capital Divergence and Small Broker Battles
Ranks 31 to 70 constitute the industry’s “long tail”, where competition is no longer just about size, but a battle for survival space—an "ecological restructuring".
Amid the seismic changes triggered by commission rate reforms, brokers in this tier show clear patterns of “foreign capital divergence” and “small broker breakthroughs”.
Among them, AVIC Securities at rank 39 achieved a 108% year-on-year commission increase. It relies on the aviation industry group background, specializing in detailed research into manufacturing and military industry, led by Chief Economist Dong Zhongyun and Head Zou Runfang.
Starting from 41st place, the "PK" scene for commissions is exciting. The most notable is CITIC Lyon Securities, which broke through with a 119.20% year-on-year increase.
Among foreign sell-side institutions, UBS Securities (154.40%) and Citigroup Global Financial (73.69%) showed explosive growth, completely overturning the stereotype that foreign institutions struggle in China. It demonstrates that foreign giants, with their global perspective and specialized service, are quickly capturing high-value stock markets during the industry reshuffle. Even Goldman Sachs (China) Securities recorded a stable 5.35% growth, further proving the risk resilience of top foreign institutions.
Yet the flip side of prosperity is ruthless elimination. The differentiation among small brokers is even more pronounced: Debang Securities led declines with a -81.23% plunge, Guodu Securities (-61.96%), Pacific Securities (-62.02%), Guorong Securities (-44.06%), Dongxing Securities (-38.32%), and Guoxin Securities (-26.64%) also recorded deep drops.
Among the "Hong Kong branch" teams of domestic brokers, performance differentiation is the starkest experiment. CITIC Lyon Securities, with a dramatic 119.20% growth, is the fastest-growing "dark horse" in the long tail, nearly doubling its performance and showing strong cross-border expansion power.
Next is China International Capital (International), with 72.77% high growth, firmly in the second tier. Together, they demonstrate that leading domestic institutions with international features can carve out a high-value niche in the stock market. By comparison, Haitong International Securities is the “control group,” recording only 7.54 million RMB in commission and -26.64% negative growth, ranking 70th.
This sharp contrast among “brothers” reveals that the logic for domestic brokers’ overseas businesses has changed: simple geographical advantages no longer work, and even those based in the Yangtze River Delta or Greater Bay Area face marginalization during industry reshuffles.
Overall, drastic swings in commissions underline intensified industry competition, where small brokers lacking core research strengths or a strong client base face marginalization and a survival crisis.
Risk Disclosure and DisclaimerThe market carries risk and investment must be approached cautiously. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and has not considered individual users’ specific investment goals, financial situation, or needs. Users should assess whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions in this article suit their particular situation. Investments based on this are at their own risk. ```