Securities Firms Seize Opportunities and Steadily Expand Stock Options Brokerage Business

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Reporter: Zhou Shangyu

On March 23, the Securities Daily reporter learned from a brokerage firm that the Shanghai Stock Exchange recently disclosed core operational data for stock options brokerage business in February, including key indicators such as trading volume rankings, client numbers, and market share rankings.

In February, the Shanghai Stock Exchange options market operated generally smoothly, with reasonable pricing and effective risk control measures. Meanwhile, the investor base continued to strengthen, and the participant team steadily expanded. As of the end of February, the total number of options investor accounts in the Shanghai market was 733,610 (including 730,564 brokerage client accounts). The number of new brokerage client accounts in February was 3,477, showing steady growth. On the institutional side, currently 90 brokerages have enabled stock options trading permissions, and 61 brokerages have enabled proprietary trading permissions for stock options.

Looking at the competitive landscape among brokerages, the ranking shifts within the leading camp have become a notable feature in the first two months of this year’s stock options brokerage business, with fierce internal competition. Specifically, CITIC Securities, which led the trading volume in January with a 4.79% market share, fell to second place in February with a 4.97% share; Guotai Huitong overtook first place in February with a 5.19% market share; and Huatai Securities demonstrated stable competitive strength, maintaining third place in both January and February with market shares of 3.57% and 3.59%, respectively.

In stark contrast, some small- and medium-sized brokerages have achieved breakthroughs in acquiring new clients by focusing on internet customer acquisition, regional deepening, and specialized services. Among them, Founder Securities has ranked first in the market share of new client accounts for stock options brokerage for two consecutive months. In January, it led with 14.64%; although slightly down to 14.47% in February, it still maintained a significant lead over peers, with the total market share of new accounts increasing from 6.8% in January to 6.84% in February. These smaller brokerages are building their client base through specialized approaches.

Regarding the current changes in the Shanghai options brokerage landscape and market characteristics, Zheng Lei, Chief Economist of Samoyed Cloud Technology Group, told Securities Daily: “Leading brokerages should continue leveraging their professional pricing capabilities and integrated financial services to consolidate their leadership in stock options brokerage. Small- and medium-sized brokerages should fully utilize internet channels, through online marketing and improved customer service, to reduce customer acquisition costs and enhance service efficiency. Additionally, by deepening regional efforts and offering specialized services, they can meet the needs of specific client groups, creating differentiated competitive advantages and achieving breakthroughs in new client markets.”

It is worth noting that in the field of stock options brokerage, the maturity of customer cultivation systems directly impacts customer stickiness and business sustainability. Currently, brokerages generally emphasize full lifecycle customer service, providing one-stop services from account opening, trading, investment advisory, to asset allocation, to enhance customer experience and satisfaction. They also organize online and offline investor education activities to help investors improve risk awareness and investment skills.

“Whether it’s leading brokerages or small- and medium-sized ones, they need to build layered investment research services, intelligent risk management, and full lifecycle customer cultivation systems. Through systematic development, they can achieve coordinated growth in trading volume and customer scale, seizing strategic opportunities in the development of the options market,” Zheng Lei added.

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Editor: Gao Jia