– Brokerages are shifting from commission-dependent models to value-driven research services
– Three key transformation strategies emerging: think-tankization, AI integration, and research-plus models
– Leading firms are developing proprietary AI systems to enhance research efficiency and client service
– Deepening integration with government policies and regional economic development initiatives
– Successful transformation requires balancing technological innovation with strategic relevance
The landscape of Chinese securities research is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades. As mutual fund fee reforms continue to deepen throughout 2025, brokerage research departments face unprecedented pressure to evolve beyond their traditional commission-based models. The recently disclosed interim reports from listed brokerages reveal not contraction but strategic reinvention, as research businesses silently but profoundly transform their operating models, value propositions, and service delivery mechanisms.
Think-Tank Transformation: Beyond Transactional Research
The era of purely transaction-driven sell-side research is ending. Under commission pressure, brokerages are elevating their research functions to think-tank status, creating deeper policy influence and strategic value that extends far beyond traditional investment recommendations.
Strategic Alignment with National and Regional Development
Galaxy Securities has established the Global South Research Center under its New Development Research Institute, focusing on interpreting national strategic policies and trends. The firm actively applies for regulatory key research projects, transforming research capabilities into policy influence.
Southwest Securities has rebranded its research institute with expanded functions spanning sell-side research, internal empowerment, and think-tank development. Through its newly established New Development Research Department, the firm leverages sell-side resources to provide industrial research services to local governments and corporate clients, simultaneously building Chongqing’s regional think-tank brand.
Academic Partnerships and Localized Expertise
Zhongtai Securities has pioneered industry-academia-research innovation models through joint research centers with the Shandong Provincial Party School, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, and Shandong University of Finance and Economics. Focusing on Shandong’s major strategic priorities, the firm has identified 18 key annual research projects that deeply integrate research business with local economic development.
GF Securities’ Industrial Research Institute continues developing production-study-research-investment-finance ecosystems, concentrating on key sectors to deepen industrial ecosystem development. By strengthening connections with research institutions and government departments, the firm has established cooperation mechanisms for research成果 transformation and industrial incubation.
AI Integration: Revolutionizing Research Production and Delivery
Facing cost pressures from fee reductions, brokerages are turning to artificial intelligence to enhance researcher productivity and research quality. In 2025, AI has moved from conceptual to integral, permeating every aspect of research production, review, distribution, and service.
Intelligent Research Management Systems
China Merchants Securities is building an “AI Research Institute,” utilizing large model technology to enhance research report quality control and iteratively improve its intelligent research management platform. AI applications have upgraded from auxiliary tools to core infrastructure.
Both Sinolink Securities and China Securities Co., Ltd. emphasized digital transformation in their interim reports, exploring AI technology applications through digital platform reconstruction, content innovation, and data visualization tools. This marks a shift from point solutions to systematic process reengineering.
Proprietary Analytics Platforms
Western Securities’ self-developed intelligent decision system VSignals continues evolving with specialized functions including stock analysis checklists, financial report summaries, stock AI reviews, and regional economic analysis. The system outputs research capabilities across multiple business lines, achieving internal synergy and value maximization.
GF Securities actively promotes digital-intelligent research construction, further exploring AI smart investment research functions. Through its research portal website and mini-programs, the firm has built a multi-platform, multi-channel, multi-dimensional customer service system that delivers research results more accurately and conveniently to clients.
Content Innovation and Efficiency Metrics
Shenwan Hongyuan Securities has innovated content presentation formats by experimenting with “dehydrated research reports” that simplify complexity and focus on core logic. This approach expands research product dissemination while enhancing brand influence and client value perception.
The direct results of digital transformation are evident in improved analyst productivity and optimized operating costs. Caitong Securities reported that its research institute’s analyst count grew 25% year-over-year by mid-2025—team expansion amid fee reductions necessarily supported by efficiency improvements.
Research-Plus Models: Internal Empowerment and External Collaboration
The true test of research value creation lies in deep integration with corporate business ecosystems, achieving dual objectives of internal empowerment and external collaboration. The “research-plus” concept has evolved from slogan to core driver of multi-business line development.
Industrial Research Integration
Guoyuan Securities’ research approach exemplifies this trend, anchoring itself in the “industrial research + industrial investment + industrial investment banking + comprehensive wealth management” golden track. By mapping industrial landscapes and deepening research-investment connections, the firm directly transforms research成果 into business opportunities, creating clear closed-loop value.
Zheshang Securities’ research business transformation has achieved staged results. Its research division organizational reform completed on schedule, establishing a new business structure supported by four core functions: sell-side research, industrial think tank, institutional sales, and research investment consulting. Data shows steady client growth with 147 public offering and insurance clients and 178 private offering and other clients, demonstrating enhanced diversified client service capabilities.
Comprehensive Research Frameworks
Changjiang Securities Research Institute configures full-industry research capabilities covering 5 major research areas and 34 research directions. Adhering to value investment principles, the firm strengthens interaction and deep research throughout industrial chains. It actively responds to national policies, continuously improving specialization in energy transition, high-end manufacturing, and technological innovation-related industrial chain research.
Zhongtai Securities established a research business committee to continuously integrate various research resources and explore “research-plus” empowerment models. The firm promotes “three investment linkages” (investment banking, investment, investment research) and integrated domestic-overseas research operations, aiming to break down internal resource barriers and create synergistic effects.
Expanding Service Scope and Global Reach
East Money Securities emphasizes accelerating securities research business development while focusing on new quality productivity areas to contribute research strength to high-quality economic development. Huatai Securities, Southwest Securities, and other institutions indicate that while进一步加强ing internal research services, they actively provide research support to government departments and regulatory agencies, expanding research service boundaries.
Soochow Securities actively expands overseas research markets to broaden global coverage. Shanxi Securities established a unified service mechanism for institutional clients in sell-side research and achieved breakthroughs with key public offering fund clients. These initiatives demonstrate brokerages adopting more open and proactive stances in transforming research capabilities into market competitiveness and client loyalty.
The Path Forward: Sustainable Research Models
The transformation of China’s brokerage research industry is far from complete, but the direction is clear. Firms that successfully integrate think-tank strategic height, digital-technological efficiency, and industrial-commercial depth will build formidable core competitiveness during this industry reshuffle, potentially achieving truly sustainable research businesses.
The most successful organizations will be those that view research not as a cost center but as a strategic asset—one that informs investment decisions, shapes policy discussions, drives internal business development, and creates tangible value for clients across multiple dimensions. This requires continuous innovation in both content creation and delivery mechanisms, always with an eye toward practical applicability and measurable impact.
As commission pressures continue, the research functions that thrive will be those that demonstrate clear ROI through either direct revenue generation, client retention and satisfaction, or strategic positioning within their organizations and the broader financial ecosystem. The interim reports of 2025 suggest that China’s leading brokerages are already well on their way to building these research organizations of the future.
To stay ahead of these trends, financial professionals should monitor how different firms implement these transformation strategies, assess which approaches yield the best results, and consider how similar models might apply within their own organizations. The evolution of Chinese securities research offers valuable lessons for financial institutions worldwide facing similar pressures to demonstrate value beyond transactional services.