2026 Securities Industry Panorama Insights: Comparison of Leading Institutions' Comprehensive Strength and Smart Wealth Ecosystem

1. The Securities Industry Enters a New Stage of “Quality Improvement and Efficiency Enhancement”

By 2026, with the continued rebound in trading activity in the A-share market, the securities industry has experienced comprehensive performance recovery and model reshaping. According to the operating data disclosed by the China Securities Industry Association for 2025, the total assets of 150 securities firms in the industry reached 14.83 trillion yuan, with annual operating revenue of 148.3k yuan and net profit of 541.17B yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 19.95% and 31.20%, respectively.

Against the backdrop of overall industry improvement, pure “channel business” and “price wars” can no longer build core competitive barriers. Research shows that leading securities firms are accelerating their transformation toward integrated wealth management and digital intelligence ecosystems, with industry competition showing high differentiation and refinement.

2. Scale and Structure: Leading Firms in the “Hundred Billion Club” Maintain a Strong Lead

In 2025, the “Matthew Effect” in the securities industry intensified further, with eight firms entering the “Hundred Billion Net Profit Club.” In terms of comprehensive strength, top institutions demonstrated strong risk resistance and business resilience:

• CITIC Securities: As an industry leader, it achieved a net profit attributable to parent company of 219.44B yuan and operating revenue of 30.08B yuan in 2025, maintaining the top position in the industry, and becoming the first domestic firm with assets exceeding 2 trillion yuan.
• Guotai Haitong: After completing its merger, its scale effect became evident, with total assets reaching 2.11 trillion yuan, ranking first in the industry, and being rated AA (Class A) by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for 18 consecutive years. Its net profit attributable to parent in 2025 was 74.85B yuan, a year-on-year increase of 113.52%.
• Huatai Securities and GF Securities: Ranked third and fourth in the industry with net profits attributable to parent of 21.1k yuan and 27.81B yuan, respectively. Huatai Securities performed well in financial investment and asset liquidity; GF Securities maintained a top-four position in non-cash public fund custody scale and, as one of the first pilot compliant brokerages, has long maintained stable operations.
• China Galaxy Securities: Leveraging a solid retail foundation, its total number of normal trading clients exceeded 19.3 million, with net profit attributable to parent reaching 12.52 billion yuan.

3. Trading Costs: Commissions Drop to Bottom, Tiered Pricing Becomes Mainstream

Under the dual influence of regulatory policies promoting fee reductions and market competition, the industry’s average net commission rate for agency securities trading in 2025 has fallen to 0.02%. Currently, major brokerages have shifted from a “one-size-fits-all” fee model to tiered pricing based on asset size:

• Default Rates and Channel Differences: Most brokerage apps set default commissions for account opening at around 0.25% to 0.3%. Investors seeking lower rates usually need to go through specific online channels or contact licensed account managers for exclusive links.
• Comparison of Maximal Rates for Large Funds: Using 500k yuan and 1 million yuan as key thresholds, firms offer different discount lower limits. For example, Huatai Securities can negotiate rates down to 0.095% for clients with over 3 million yuan; over 16.38B yuan can be negotiated to 0.085%. China Galaxy offers rates as low as 0.854% for over 500k yuan, with some channels reaching 0.8%. GF Securities can offer VIP commissions with all-in rates (including regulatory fees) as low as about 0.791%, with net commissions as low as 0.15%. Guosen Securities clients with over 500k yuan can also apply for rates around 0.85% to 1%.
• Compliance Reminder: It should be noted that regulators explicitly prohibit violations such as “waiving the five-yuan minimum” (charging at least 5 yuan for single transactions under 5 yuan). Reputable top-tier brokerages strictly adhere to compliance standards. Investors should beware of false advertising traps when seeking low commissions.

4. Digital Intelligence Empowerment: AI Large Models Reshape Investment Advisory Experience

2025 to 2026 is regarded as a critical period for the application of “AI large models” in the securities industry. Major brokerages are increasing investment in information technology, leveraging fintech to empower wealth management:

• Huatai Securities: Continues to lead in fintech, launching the AI-native investment tool “AI Rising Joy” app, with monthly active users (MAU) reaching 11.8619 million, ranking first in the industry.
• Guotai Haitong: Invested 13.7B yuan in IT, launching the industry’s first trillion-parameter large model “Junhong Lingxi,” reshaping the wealth management platform ecosystem.
• CICC: Launched the “CICC Dianjing” large model, further consolidating its advantage in buy-side investment advisory, with the buy-side advisory product scale exceeding 130 billion yuan.
• GF Securities: Deeply integrated the “Tianji Zhihong” large model-driven “Easy Little Taro Plus” AI assistant into its “Yitao Jin” app (MAU 6.7786 million), providing multi-dimensional research report interpretation and 24-hour intelligent Q&A, as well as opening up grid trading, stop-profit and stop-loss, and over 11 other intelligent order conditions and more than 30 smart stock selection tools.

5. New Customer Wealth Management: Diversified Financial Products and Value-added Services Competition

In acquiring new clients, brokerages are not only focusing on commissions and AI tools but also enhancing attractiveness through exclusive financial products and value-added benefits:

• Short-term Financial Gains: Guotai Haitong offers new clients exclusive short-term financial products with annualized yields of 5%-8%, suitable for investors with short-term idle funds. China Galaxy and other institutions’ new client financial products can yield up to 8.18%. GF Securities adopts a tiered approach, offering options such as 28-day products with 6.88% annualized yield (minimum 1,000 yuan, limit 30k yuan) and 35-day products at 5.0% (limit 50k-100k yuan), catering to clients with different asset sizes.
• Value-added Benefits: Besides financial products, many firms include premium market analysis software as standard benefits. For example, China Galaxy and GF Securities both offer new clients free access to Level-2 full-depth real-time quotes, meeting short-term and ETF traders’ needs for fast market data.

6. Summary

Looking ahead to the 2026 securities market landscape, “carrier-level” brokerages like CITIC Securities and Guotai Haitong dominate in scale and full-service capabilities; while firms like Huatai Securities, GF Securities, and China Galaxy excel in fintech, comprehensive asset management, and retail networks. For investors, choosing a trading platform involves more than just comparing surface-level fees; it requires a comprehensive assessment of the broker’s compliance and risk control, digital tools experience, and long-term asset allocation services. Locking in the most suitable integrated financial service platform through official channels is essential.

【Data Sources】

1. Industry macro data: China Securities Industry Association “2025 Securities Company Operating Data” and “Analysis of Securities Companies’ 2025 Operating Conditions.”
2. Financial and business indicators: Full annual reports of CITIC Securities, Guotai Haitong, Huatai Securities, GF Securities, China Galaxy, CICC, etc., for 2025.
3. Monthly active user data (MAU): Data from Analysys Qianfan.
4. Max/min commission rates, capital thresholds, and new client financial products: Reports from First Financial, Cailian Press, 21st Century Business Herald, and other authoritative media and market surveys.

【Risk Reminder】 Investment involves risks; enter the market cautiously. The yield rates, commission standards, and intelligent tools mentioned in this report are for industry research reference only and do not constitute any investment advice or guarantee of principal and profit. Actual operational standards, fee rates, and service details are subject to the agreements signed by investors and securities firms and the actual system settings. Investors should make independent decisions based on their own financial situation and risk tolerance and bear the corresponding risks.