The Zhitong Finance App learned that Guojin Securities released a research report stating that the equity investment business has become an important profit contributor. The total net profit of private equity and alternative securities firms within the 26H1 bank's statistics is about 24.063 billion yuan (excluding CICC Wealth), accounting for about 16% of the net profit of listed brokers' returns to their mothers. The equity investment business has played a key role. The essence of the business is a portfolio of technology equity options held by brokerage firms, with strong cycle and high flexibility. Revenue comes from a shift in valuation from primary cost to issuance market value to secondary market price. It is highly linked to the secondary market, and revenue flexibility coexists with the risk of retracement. Brokerage firms with leading comprehensive capabilities also have an advantage in collaboration between investment banks, investment and research.
Guojin Securities's main views are as follows:
Core ideas
Since 2026, there has been strong demand for financing in the domestic hard technology industry. Combined with the recovery of equity market conditions, the equity investment market ushered in a recovery window. Relying on a dual equity investment platform composed of private equity subsidiaries and alternative investment subsidiaries, direct stock investment and follow-up projects have entered a centralized cashout cycle, and the equity investment business has gradually grown into an important sector that determines the flexibility of the performance of listed brokerage companies.
Brokerage equity investment implements a dual-platform differentiated operation structure. The private equity sub-leverages external capital to expand the management scale, and the alternative sub-focuses on direct project administration and collaborative follow-up investment
As GP management entities, private equity fund subsidiaries mainly raise external LP funds such as government-guided funds, industrial capital, social capital, etc., and are complemented by private capital contributions. Profits come from fund management fees and performance rewards after project exit. Overall capital consumption is relatively limited, and business growth is driven by management scale; alternative investment subsidiaries are investment carriers wholly owned by brokers' own capital, and are not allowed to raise funds from outside. They are legal implementing entities for mandatory follow-up investment by science and technology innovation board sponsors. The business covers unlisted equity investments, fixed increases, strategic placements, etc., subject to Level 2 Market fluctuations have a great impact, and the cyclical nature is outstanding. By the end of June 2026, the total amount of funds managed by GP brokerage agencies in the entire market reached 3.03 trillion yuan. The Matthew effect in the industry was prominent. The three leading institutions of CICC Capital, CITIC Jinshi, and Haitong Kaiyuan accounted for 33% of the total management scale.
At the revenue level, the Science and Technology Innovation Board and investment system are important performance amplifiers for the equity investment business
Since the launch of the Science and Technology Innovation Board, the total amount of capital raised by the Science and Technology Innovation Board has reached 105.455 billion yuan, of which the total amount of follow-up investment on the first day of listing was 13.852 billion yuan, an increase of more than 21 times over the same period in 2025. The latest data shows that sponsor brokers' follow-up profits have accumulated 37.732 billion yuan, and revenue is highly concentrated among leading brokerage firms. However, the benefits and risks of this business coexist, and its performance is highly tied to the trend of the secondary market. At one point, 60% of brokerage firms were investing and losing money when the science and technology innovation board broke out in 2024, and profits will shrink rapidly during the downward phase of the market. The core profit logic of the business comes from valuation transition effects, Pre? Most IPO-stage projects are valued and measured according to investment costs or comparable company law. After completing the IPO listing, enterprises switch to fair value measurement in the secondary market. The primary investment cost, IPO market value, and secondary market transaction price form a three-tier price difference. The price difference changes are directly reflected in fair value changes profit, loss and investment income in alternative sub-and private equity sub-statements. The actual investment income is confirmed after the project is lifted and disposed of. Benchmark hard technology IPOs such as Changxin Technology have shown room for transition from primary market valuation to secondary market valuation, and the scale of follow-up investment is significantly higher than traditional underwriting sponsorship revenue.
Furthermore, the expansion of brokers' equity investment business faces clear capital constraints
All alternative subsidiary investment and direct investment projects directly consume the net capital of the brokers' parent company. Unlisted equity investments also require a high proportion of venture capital reserves in accordance with regulatory requirements. Large amounts of capital are deposited in unlisted shares and shares listed during the lockdown period, which limits the overall capital turnover and liquidity of the brokerage firm. In recent years, a number of brokerage firms have successively initiated alternative capital increases. Zheshang Securities plans to increase capital by 1 billion yuan to alternative subsidiaries, Guohai Securities plans to increase capital by 500 million yuan. Dongwu Securities, Zhongtai Securities, Nanjing Securities, etc. have all clearly invested part of the raised capital in alternative investment business or private equity business in fixed increase plans. Continued capital injection means that brokers' equity investment project reserves and investment capacity will continue to expand over the medium to long term.
Risk Alerts
The sharp correction in the secondary market led to a return in profits, the pace of IPO issuance falling short of expectations, changes in fair value during the lockdown period, and risk of impairment.