Benefiting from China's economic development and capital market reforms, leading Chinese brokers are expected to accelerate their progress towards becoming world-class investment banks during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, enhancing their business scale, professional capabilities, and profitability, CICC wrote in its report. Their long-term investment value will likely become more prominent.

Looking ahead to investment opportunities in 2026, CICC said the stock prices of brokers stagnated and underperformed major indices in 2025, possibly due to shifts in capital preferences and early realization of performance.

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That being said, the industry is anticipated to be well-positioned for both offense and defense in 2026: 1) Fundamentals continue to show relatively high prosperity, with an overall earnings growth forecast of 12%, but increased differentiation between business lines and individual brokerages; 2) Policy provides upward catalysts, with attention to IPO issuance normalization, expansion of product toolboxes, potential easing of capital leverage, and the pace of long-term capital entering the market; and 3) Trading provides ample safety cushions, with room for improvement in institutional holdings and valuation levels.