Brokerages Seize Opportunities, Steadily Expand Stock Options Brokerage Business

On March 23, the Securities Daily reporter learned from securities firms that the Shanghai Stock Exchange recently disclosed core operational data for stock option brokerage services in February to internal staff, covering key indicators such as trading volume rankings, client numbers, and market share rankings.

In February, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s options market operated smoothly overall, with reasonable pricing and effective risk control measures. At the same time, the investor base continued to strengthen, and the number of participants steadily grew. 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, maintaining steady growth. On the institutional participation front, currently 90 securities firms have enabled stock option trading permissions, and 61 firms have enabled proprietary trading permissions for stock options.

Regarding the competitive landscape among securities firms, the rankings of leading players have become a notable feature in the first two months of this year, with fierce internal competition within the top tier. Specifically, CITIC Securities, which led the stock option brokerage volume in January with a market share of 4.79%, fell to second place in February with a market share of 4.97%. Guotai Haitong surpassed them in February with a market share of 5.19%, reaching the top spot. 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 contrast, some small- and medium-sized securities firms have achieved breakthroughs in acquiring new clients by focusing on internet customer acquisition, regional deepening, and specialized services. Among them, Founder Securities ranked first in the market share of new client accounts for stock option brokerage for two consecutive months. In January, they led with a 14.64% share; although slightly decreased to 14.47% in February, they still maintained a significant lead over peers. Their total market share of new accounts increased from 6.8% in January to 6.84% in February. These smaller firms are building their client base through differentiated, specialized approaches.

Regarding the current changes and market characteristics of the Shanghai market’s options brokerage landscape, Zheng Lei, Chief Economist of Samoyed Cloud Technology Group, told Securities Daily: “Leading securities firms should continue leveraging their professional pricing capabilities and comprehensive financial services to consolidate their leadership in stock option brokerage. They should provide high-quality research and risk management solutions. Small- and medium-sized firms should fully utilize internet channels, optimize online marketing and customer service, reduce customer acquisition costs, and improve service efficiency. Additionally, by deepening regional engagement 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 option brokerage, the maturity of customer cultivation systems directly impacts customer stickiness and business sustainability. Currently, securities firms generally emphasize full lifecycle customer service, offering one-stop services from account opening, trading, investment consulting, 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.

Zheng Lei added, “Whether it’s leading firms or smaller ones, they need to build layered research and investment services, intelligent risk control, 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.”