Pioneer Securities, which formally submitted its H-share listing application to the Hong Kong Exchange in October 2025, has released its first annual report since initiating its IPO process. The results present a mixed picture.
On the positive side, both operating revenue and net profit reached historic highs, at RMB 2.528 billion and RMB 1.056 billion respectively. Notably, the investment business segment saw revenue reach RMB 1.554 billion in 2025, a sharp increase of 45.83% year-on-year, contributing over 60% of Pioneer Securities' total revenue.
On the negative side, revenue from its traditionally strong asset management business shrank significantly, falling to just RMB 477 million in 2025, a drastic decrease of 47.55% compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, two of its subsidiaries incurred losses in 2025. The private equity subsidiary, Shouzheng Desheng Capital Management Co., Ltd., reported a loss of RMB 19.0857 million, and the futures subsidiary, Pioneer Jingdu Futures Co., Ltd., reported a loss of RMB 10.3604 million. The futures subsidiary also received a warning notice from regulators due to deficiencies in its referral business and client transaction management.
With record-breaking profits on one hand and a halving of its core business alongside bleeding subsidiaries on the other, what is the true quality of the performance delivered by this mid-tier broker aiming for a Hong Kong listing?
Deconstructing the Record Performance: Investment Business Becomes the "Pillar," Wealth Management Shows Promise A review of Pioneer Securities' 2025 annual report shows that, based solely on operating revenue and net profit of RMB 2.528 billion and RMB 1.056 billion respectively, the performance appears solid, with both metrics hitting record levels.
Over a longer timeframe, the company's performance in recent years has also been noteworthy. Operating revenue, for instance, grew from RMB 931 million at the end of 2017 to the current RMB 2.528 billion, an increase of over 170% in eight years. Its industry ranking has also improved significantly, rising from 77th place in 2017 to 49th in 2024. A 2025 ranking is not yet predictable due to the limited number of brokers having disclosed their 2025 reports at the time of writing.
When Pioneer Securities filed with the Hong Kong Exchange in October 2025, its prospectus indicated that, based on Frost & Sullivan data and under Chinese Accounting Standards, its revenue and net profit compound annual growth rates from 2022 to 2024 ranked fifth and tenth, respectively, among A-share listed securities firms in China.
However, in a横向 comparison, Pioneer Securities' performance improvement in 2025 was not particularly outstanding. Its year-on-year growth rates for operating revenue and net profit were 4.58% and 7.26%, respectively. In contrast, based on 2025 performance forecasts released by brokers, many listed securities firms are expected to achieve net profit growth exceeding 50%. Even CITIC Securities, with the largest base, is projected to achieve net profit growth of around 38%.
This suggests that while Pioneer Securities improved its own revenue and profit figures in 2025, its industry ranking is likely to decline.
What drove Pioneer Securities' performance improvement, and what limited its growth rate relative to peers?
Looking first at the driving factors. Among Pioneer Securities' various business segments, the best performer was the investment business, which generated revenue of RMB 1.554 billion in 2025, a sharp increase of 45.83% year-on-year, accounting for over 60% of the company's total 2025 operating revenue.
The fact that one business segment contributes 60% of total revenue highlights the significant role of the investment business for Pioneer Securities. This reliance is even more evident when examining total revenue excluding the investment business.
In 2025, Pioneer Securities' total operating revenue was RMB 2.528 billion. Excluding the investment business, revenue was only RMB 974 million. However, the comparable figure for 2024, excluding the investment business, was RMB 1.353 billion. This indicates that without the investment business, Pioneer Securities' revenue would have declined in 2025, underscoring its heavy dependence on this segment.
It is important to note that in 2025, major indices saw significant gains: the Shanghai Composite Index rose 18.41%, the Shenzhen Component Index rose 29.87%, the CSI 300 Index rose 17.66%, the ChiNext Index rose 49.57%, and the Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index rose 38.80%. This implies that brokers with a significant proportion of equity investments likely saw very strong performance in their investment business income for 2025.
Compared to larger, more diversified brokers with balanced business structures, small and mid-sized brokers often have a higher allocation to the more readily scalable investment business. This leads to substantial increases in investment income during bullish market years but significant declines or even losses during bearish years, making them highly susceptible to market fluctuations. This is often described as "proprietary business being the key determinant of performance."
Besides the top-performing investment business, another relatively strong segment for Pioneer Securities in 2025 was wealth management, which generated full-year operating revenue of RMB 497 million, a year-on-year increase of 22.33%.
Similar to the investment business, wealth management business is also significantly influenced by the performance of the A-share market. The relatively favorable A-share market performance in 2025 was a key factor driving revenue growth in the securities industry's wealth management sector. Pioneer Securities was no exception; its wealth management business transformation began to show initial results in 2025, aided by the recovering A-share market.
Pioneer Securities attributed the increase in wealth management revenue primarily to "increases in net revenue from securities trading agency services and net revenue from securities investment advisory services." The rise in investment advisory income is an important indicator of the effectiveness of its wealth management transformation.
Concerns Behind the Glow: Asset Management Revenue Halved, Two Subsidiaries Become a "Drag" Reviewing the performance of Pioneer Securities' various businesses over the years, the most surprising aspect of 2025 was the asset management segment—historically a strength for the company—which saw its revenue nearly halve.
In 2024, Pioneer Securities' asset management business revenue was RMB 909 million, a year-on-year increase of 62.67%, contributing over one-third of operating revenue.
However, in 2025, asset management business revenue was only RMB 477 million, a sharp decrease of 47.55% year-on-year. Dragged down by the decline in net asset management revenue, Pioneer Securities' net fee and commission income in 2025 decreased by RMB 388 million compared to 2024, a drop of 28.55%.
What are the primary reasons for the severe decline in asset management revenue? Pioneer Securities attributed it to the impact of bond market conditions, leading to a decrease in excess performance fees from its asset management products and a consequent fall in business income.
Pioneer Securities' asset management business consists of three parts: the company's own asset management business, the private investment fund business of its wholly-owned subsidiary Shouzheng Desheng, and the public fund business of its associate company, China Post & Capital Fund Management. Shouzheng Desheng, the subsidiary engaged in private investment fund business, has been incurring losses for the past two years.
According to Pioneer Securities' annual report, Shouzheng Desheng reported a net loss of RMB 31.1296 million in 2024, with operating revenue also negative at only RMB -6.8477 million, representing year-on-year declines in both revenue and profit.
In 2025, Shouzheng Desheng's operating revenue turned positive to RMB 6.3216 million, but it still reported a net loss of RMB 19.0857 million. Although the loss narrowed compared to 2024, the scale of the loss remains substantial.
In the first three quarters of 2024, affected by significant market volatility, the overall performance and fundraising environment for private funds entered a "winter." Throughout 2024, futures and derivatives strategies performed poorly, and pure bond strategies also underperformed. Consequently, the private fund industry overall had poor revenue and profits in 2024, and it was not uncommon for firms to report net losses that year.
However, following the gradual recovery of the stock market after the "September 24th Market Turn" in 2024, the private fund market regained some momentum. According to data from the Asset Management Association of China, as of the end of December 2025, private fund management scale reached a record high of RMB 221.5 trillion, including RMB 70.8 trillion in private securities investment funds. As of the end of November 2025, the average return rate of billion-yuan-scale private funds was close to 30%, with over 97% of institutions reporting positive returns. Against this backdrop, the nearly RMB 20 million loss reported by Pioneer Securities' private fund subsidiary in 2025 indicates subpar performance.
In addition to the ongoing losses at the private equity subsidiary, Pioneer Securities' futures subsidiary, Pioneer Jingdu Futures, also dragged on performance. In 2024, although both revenue and profit at Jingdu Futures declined, it still reported a net profit of RMB 1.0985 million. In 2025, however, it turned to a loss, amounting to RMB 10.3604 million.
Looking at the futures industry as a whole, after a downturn in 2024, performance rebounded significantly in 2025. According to statistics on the overall operations of futures companies in 2025 released by the China Futures Association, the cumulative operating revenue for futures companies in 2025 reached RMB 42.015 billion, exceeding the 2024 level of RMB 41.293 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. Cumulative net profit was RMB 11 billion, a year-on-year increase of approximately 16%. In this context, the decline in both operating revenue and net profit at Pioneer Securities' futures subsidiary, culminating in a net loss exceeding RMB 10 million in 2025, warrants reflection.
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