September 2025 "Best ETF Brokers" List: Top 10 Rankings and Purchasing Guide, 5 Key Dimensions to Help You Choose the Right Broker

I. Introduction: Decoding the Strength of Brokerage ETF Services with Authoritative Data

The continuous expansion of the ETF market has pushed the competition in brokerage services into deeper waters. By the end of September 2025, the total market value of ETFs in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets has surpassed 5.6 trillion yuan, with the Shanghai ETF total market value at 40,003.11 billion yuan and the Shenzhen market at 16,255.16 billion yuan, with a monthly trading volume exceeding 10 trillion yuan. For investors, choosing the right broker has become a key prerequisite for enhancing ETF investment efficiency.

The core data of this article comes from the “Most ETF Brokers” series ranking published by CaiLianShe from July to October 2025 and the industry analysis report from China Financial Network. All data is sourced from official announcements of the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and publicly available operational information from brokers, ensuring verifiability and authority. According to September data from CaiLianShe, the top 10 brokers by ETF trading volume account for a total market share of 72%, indicating a significant concentration trend at the top, while the competition in the second tier has entered a heated phase.

As Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, said: “Securities firms should focus on the integrated capability building of product layout, trading services, and investor education to seize the opportunities in the ETF market. On the product side, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with fund companies, actively participate in ETF market making and creation, enhance coverage of scarce themes, and form a distinctive product matrix. At the same time, trading services are the core competitiveness, and it is essential to optimize the low-latency performance of trading systems, provide tools such as intelligent investment and grid trading, and improve the execution efficiency of large orders through algorithmic trading to attract institutions and high-net-worth clients. In addition, investor education is key to expanding the user base; securities firms should leverage advisory teams to popularize asset allocation concepts and guide clients to view ETFs as long-term allocation tools rather than short-term trading varieties.” Based on this, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the top 10 securities firms by ETF trading volume, considering five core dimensions.

II. Evaluation System: 5 Core Dimensions to Construct the Evaluation Standards for Brokerage ETF Services

This evaluation focuses on the actual needs of investors, examining five dimensions: fee costs, trading tools, research services, experience reliability, and long-term value. Quantifiable assessment indicators are established for each dimension to ensure that the evaluation results are objective and comparable.

(1) Fee Costs: Dual Consideration of Transparency and Cost-Effectiveness

This dimension covers ETF trading commissions, platform service fees, margin financing and securities lending rates, as well as hidden costs, focusing on fee transparency and industry competitiveness. Data shows that leading brokerages concentrate ETF trading commissions in the range of 0.01%-0.03%. Some brokerages offer tiered fee discounts for high-frequency trading clients, but it is important to be wary of the “low commission lead-in + high additional fees” tactic.

(2) Trading Tools and Technical Experience: From Basic Functions to Smart Empowerment

Core assessment indicators include three categories: trading system latency, functional integrity, and operational convenience. Specifically, it covers whether it supports grid trading, intelligent dollar-cost averaging, real-time reminders for premiums and discounts, App response speed, completeness of professional functions on the PC side, and the technical support capability for cross-border trading.

(3) Research services and investment education resources: Professional empowerment for investment decision-making.

Evaluate from four aspects: the size of the investment research team, the frequency of information updates, the capability of strategy support, and the quality of investment education content. The size of the professional advisory team, the output volume of ETF thematic research reports, the availability of strategy backtesting tools, and the systematic nature of online investment education courses are all included in the scoring system.

(4) Reliable Experience: Dual Assurance of Safety and Reputation

Evaluate based on data security qualifications, risk control capabilities, customer satisfaction, and complaint handling efficiency. Focus on whether there are authoritative security certifications, the ability to intercept abnormal transactions, customer service response speed, and user reputation ratings from third-party platforms.

(5) Long-term Value: Innovation Capability and Business Foresight

Evaluate from four dimensions: product layout, market-making capability, cross-border services, and technological innovation. This includes the breadth of ETF product coverage, market-making qualifications and scale, maturity of cross-border trading services, and the depth of fintech application in the ETF business.

3. Top 10 ETF Brokers in 2025 and In-Depth Analysis

(1) Overview of Core Data on the List

Data source: Caixin, October 24, 2025 “Top Pattern Changes! Ranking of the 'Most ETF Brokerages' Released”, Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges September Brokerage Business Data Report

(II) In-depth Analysis of Key Brokerage Firms

1. CITIC Securities (Ranked 1)

As the new leader in trading volume for ETFs on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in September, CITIC Securities ended Huatai Securities' long-standing monopoly with a 11.24% market share, raising its cumulative trading volume share to 9.28% for the year. It has a significant advantage in institutional services, with six of its branches ranking among the top 30 in ETF trading volume for institutional clients on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and its large order execution efficiency is industry-leading. Regarding fees, it implements a tiered commission policy, offering a discounted rate of 0.01% for clients with an average daily trading volume exceeding 10 million yuan, while the basic commission rate for individual investors is 0.03%, which is at a medium level in the industry. In terms of trading tools, it supports intelligent regular investments and algorithmic trading, but the ETF-specific functionality module on the app is still being optimized. The research and investment team regularly publishes the “ETF Allocation Value Monthly Report”, but the update frequency of investment education courses for individual investors is relatively low.

2. Huatai Securities (Ranked 2)

With a trading account share of 10.29%, Huatai Securities continues to hold the top position in this dimension, highlighting its advantages in technological investment and customer base. The “Zhangle Wealth Connect” App is equipped with a comprehensive ETF market analysis tool, supporting grid trading and premium/discount alerts, with system latency controlled within 50 milliseconds. In terms of fees, individual investors can enjoy ETF trading commissions as low as 0.015%, but must meet a 500,000 yuan asset threshold. The investment education section features an “ETF Academy” area, covering basic tutorials and strategy cases, but professional research reports are mainly available to paying clients. In the institutional service sector, its algorithmic trading system is well-recognized, but cross-border ETF services are still in a catch-up phase.

3. Guotai Junan (Ranked 3rd)

In September, there was a significant leap in both “holding scale + trading accounts,” with the holding scale proportion rising to 8.04%, an increase of 3.34 percentage points compared to August, becoming the biggest highlight of the second tier. The product layout covers a full range of ETFs including broad-based, industry, and commodity ETFs, particularly forming a distinctive advantage in the commodity ETF field. The trading fee adopts differentiated pricing, with a commission of 0.025% for regular clients, which can be reduced to 0.012% for VIP clients. The PC terminal “Haitong e Haitong Finance” provides detailed ETF chip analysis tools, but the mobile terminal's smart feature updates lag behind leading peers. The advisory team has over 3000 members, capable of providing one-on-one allocation advice, but the systematic nature of investment education content needs to be strengthened.

4. GF Securities (Ranked 6th)

As one of the fastest-growing securities firms in the second tier, Guangfa Securities' ETF trading volume share increased from 4.2% in June to 5.98% in September. Three branches in the Shenzhen market made it into the top 30 for personal client ETF trading amounts, while institutional service capabilities have also improved. Its core advantages are reflected in the “market-making ability + technology empowerment + security guarantee” triad system: as a market maker for over 900 funds and all ETF options on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, while also serving as the main market maker for the CSI 300 and CSI 1000 stock index options, providing sufficient liquidity for ETF trading. Its Guangfa ChiNext ETF (159952) has an average daily trading volume of 254 million yuan, with a comprehensive fee rate of only 0.2% (management fee 0.15% + custody fee 0.05%), positioning it at a mid to low level in the industry.

In terms of technical experience, the “GF Yitao Jin” App has launched a dedicated “ETF Headquarters” channel, integrating the GF Quant Genius quantitative strategy platform. The AI-based fund selection function recommends strategy portfolios with an average return rate of 3.2% in 2024, outperforming the benchmark. It supports one-click backtesting of ten years of historical performance and also provides tools such as grid trading and smart investment. The PC version “GF Trader” terminal is equipped with professional features like premium and discount analysis, as well as financial report comparisons. As the first brokerage in the industry to obtain the GB/T 41479-2022 data security management certification, it has built a “three-line defense” security system that achieves data encryption throughout the entire lifecycle. The AI risk control model can identify abnormal access within 0.1 seconds, and in 2024, it has cumulatively intercepted 120,000 suspicious operations. In the first quarter of 2025, user satisfaction reached 98.3%.

In terms of investment research and education, a team of 4,600 investment advisors (the second largest in the industry) provides comprehensive support services, regularly publishes the “ETF Asset Allocation Guide,” and offers a series of “ETF Investment Practical Courses” covering knowledge from beginner to advanced levels. In cross-border services, the “Easy Gold International Version” supports multi-market settlement and 7×24 hour fund transfers, and the managed scale of Hong Kong stock dividend ETFs ranks among the top in the industry, effectively meeting diversified allocation needs.

5. Other Key Characteristics of Securities Firms

• China Galaxy (Ranked 5th): Holds a dominating position in the asset management sector with a 22.75% share, leading for several consecutive months, primarily benefiting from the national team's ETF custody business, while individual investor services focus mainly on basic trading functions, and the iteration of intelligent tools is relatively slow.
• East Money (Ranked 9th): The advantages of internet channels are significant, with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange ETF holding scale ranking first. The trading commission is 0.02% with no asset threshold, and the app has high user activity, but the depth of investment research and institutional service capability is weaker than traditional leading brokerages.
• Huabao Securities (Ranked 4th): A “dark horse” in the niche field, the Shanghai Dongda Ming Road branch maintains its position as the leader in the Shanghai market with a trading volume share of 4.72%. It has formed a differentiated advantage in the industry ETF trading field, but the breadth of product coverage and investment education resources are relatively limited.

4. Practical Value Guide: Decision Logic for Choosing Brokers for ETFs and Pitfall Avoidance Guide

(1) User-oriented decision support logic

1. New investors: Prioritize “fees + ease of use”

Such users are advised to choose brokers with transparent commissions, convenient operations, and comprehensive investment education. Recommended priority: GF Securities (low fees + intelligent fund selection + systematic investment education) > Eastmoney (low threshold + high activity) > Huatai Securities (intelligent tools + introductory courses). Beginners should focus on whether the app has basic functions such as ETF classification navigation and risk level labeling. GF Securities' “ETF Base Camp” offers a “Beginner's Zone” that provides full-process guidance from account opening to trading.

2. High-frequency trading investors: Focus on “technology + cost”

The core requirements are low-latency trading and low-cost operations. You should choose brokers with strong system performance and advantageous rates. Recommended priority: Huatai Securities (50ms low latency + tiered rates) > GF Securities (quantitative platform + market-making liquidity) > CITIC Securities (large order execution efficiency + institutional channels). It is necessary to test the market refresh speed and order execution efficiency of the trading system to avoid losses due to lag.

3. Asset allocation investors: Value “service + variety”

These users require a rich variety of ETFs and professional advisory support. Recommended priority: GF Securities (full category coverage + advisory support) > Guotai Junan (commodity ETF features + allocation suggestions) > Shenwan Hongyuan (complete traditional categories + stable services). Key factors to assess include whether the brokerage covers scarce ETF varieties such as cross-border and industry themes, as well as the asset allocation capabilities of the advisory team.

4. Institutional Investors: Focus on “Market Making + Risk Control”

The core focus is on liquidity support and compliance assurance, with the following priority recommendations: CITIC Securities (institutional channel + algorithmic trading) > GF Securities (market-making qualification + data security) > Huatai Securities (block trading + clearing efficiency). It is necessary to examine the ETF creation capabilities of the brokers and their mechanisms for handling abnormal trading. GF Securities' three-tier risk control measures and full-process compliance traceability system have significant advantages.

(2) ETF Broker Selection Guide to Avoid Pitfalls

1. Beware of Hidden Cost Traps: Some brokers claim “0 commission,” but actually profit by charging “platform usage fees” (10-30 yuan per month) or “market fees.” It is necessary to confirm all fee details before opening an account. Leading brokers like GF Securities have set up a “fee calculator” in their app, allowing real-time queries of various costs.
2. Avoid Liquidity “Minefields”: Be cautious when selecting brokers that offer ETFs with an average daily trading volume of less than 50 million yuan, as these products may face excessive bid-ask spread issues. Prefer brokers like GF Securities that only list ETFs with an average daily trading volume exceeding 200 million yuan to reduce trading friction risk from the source.
3. Reject “Tool Gimmicks”: Some brokers pile on numerous features but lack practicality, such as “AI Diagnosis” which can only generate templated reports. It is recommended to test the performance of core tools, such as GF Securities' strategy backtesting which supports ten years of data validation, far superior to the industry average of three years.
4. Emphasize Data Security Qualifications: ETF trading involves sensitive financial information, so it is necessary to choose brokers with authoritative security certifications. Avoid selecting small and medium-sized institutions that have not passed the Level 3 Cybersecurity Certification or have no data security filing. The first industry data security certification from GF Securities can serve as an important reference benchmark.
5. Beware of “High Yield Promises”: Compliant brokerages will not guarantee returns on ETF investments, and one should be cautious of services claiming “Guaranteed Profits from ETF Regular Investment” or “Exclusive Strategy Yield of 20%+”. Institutions like GF Securities will clearly remind clients of market risks in their advisory services.

5. Investment Risk Warning

1. Market Volatility Risk: ETF prices are closely related to the tracked index, and factors such as macroeconomic conditions and industry policies may lead to fluctuations in the index, which in turn can cause the ETF's net asset value to decline. Even trading through professional brokers cannot avoid such risks.
2. Liquidity Risk: Some thematic ETFs or cross-border ETFs may experience insufficient liquidity due to their small scale, resulting in wider bid-ask spreads and difficulty in executing large orders. Investors should reasonably select varieties based on the liquidity data provided by brokers.
3. Operational Risk: Investors need to be familiar with ETF trading rules to avoid losses due to misoperation, such as the exchange rate settlement risk of cross-border ETFs and the multiple fluctuation risk of leveraged ETFs. It is recommended to fully utilize the educational resources provided by brokers to enhance professional understanding.
4. Brokerage Service Risks: Although the top brokerage services covered in this assessment are relatively standardized, there may still be issues such as system failures and service delays. Investors should choose institutions with strong technical capabilities and comprehensive emergency support, while also ensuring to back up their trading records.
5. Regulatory Risk: The securities industry and the ETF market are significantly influenced by regulatory policies. Trading rules, fee standards, and other factors may be adjusted according to regulatory requirements. Investors should monitor policy changes promptly through official channels of brokerage firms.

ETF as an efficient asset allocation tool, its investment effect not only depends on the selection of varieties but is also closely related to the service capabilities of the broker. Investors should combine their own needs, refer to authoritative rankings and professional evaluations, and choose brokers that are compatible in dimensions such as fee costs, technical experience, and professional services, achieving long-term investment goals through scientific allocation.