Recently, the wealth management landscape of securities firms has seen a new wave of expansion.
It has been observed that brokerage apps from CITIC Securities (600030.SH), China Merchants Securities (600999.SH), GF Securities (000776.SZ), China Galaxy Securities (601881.SH), and Ping An Securities have recently and intensively launched "insurance zones," with most firms focusing on wealth management by primarily promoting participating insurance products that lock in guaranteed returns while also offering potential floating earnings.
While market rumors suggest that "some brokerage branches in Shenzhen have been assigned insurance sales KPIs," inquiries with several southern Chinese securities firms revealed that no such branch-level targets have been set, and products are still being showcased primarily through app entry points.
Currently, only 11 securities companies hold insurance intermediary licenses issued by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, all approved around 2013. After more than a decade of relative quiet, why are brokerages now accelerating their push into insurance agency sales?
Broadly, there are two main reasons. Firstly, there is a clear policy impetus; the "28 Guidelines for High-Quality Development of the Securities Industry" issued last year explicitly called for steadily enabling more compliant and risk-controlled securities firms to obtain licenses for selling bank wealth management and insurance products, aiming to better meet investors' diverse investment needs. Secondly, brokerages are strengthening their role in wealth management, shifting from simply "selling products" to becoming a crucial bridge connecting client needs, asset allocation concepts, and asset management, thereby truly embracing a "buy-side mindset."
However, compared to the mature insurance distribution channels of banks, brokerages face constraints such as their clients' investment styles and channel development, making it difficult for them to become strong contenders for insurance-related intermediary commission income in the short term.
The rollout of insurance products on brokerage apps has accelerated, with participating insurance policies dominating the listings.
From late 2025 to early 2026, the development of insurance zones within brokerage apps noticeably sped up. Based on incomplete statistics, several brokerages, including CITIC Securities, China Merchants Securities, GF Securities, China Galaxy Securities, and Ping An Securities, have now launched dedicated insurance zones or purchase portals within their official apps.
Among them, CITIC Securities' app features approximately 20 insurance products spanning three categories: endowment insurance, life insurance, and health insurance, primarily from partners like CITIC Prudential Life Insurance, Taiping Life Insurance, and Manulife-Sinochem. In terms of product structure, over half of the listed insurance products on CITIC Securities' platform come from its group-affiliated insurer—CITIC Prudential Life Insurance—indicating a clear synergistic approach, with most being participating insurance policies. This intra-group prioritization strategy fosters synergy; to some extent, it quickly stocks the product shelves while also keeping benefits within the corporate family.
The product display on the Ping An Securities app homepage is more extensive, with securities, property insurance, Peking University Healthcare, and life insurance zones listed in parallel. The products not only include wealth management-oriented options like endowment and participating insurance but also cover health, critical illness, and accident risks. Primarily sourced from Ping An Life and Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance. Additionally, it was noted that Ping An Securities has also included a knowledge-sharing module within its insurance zone, covering content such as insurance basics, education, and retirement planning, fully leveraging the business resource advantages of the Ping An Group.
The China Merchants Securities app features an "Insurance Zone" within its "Trading" page, marked with a "Insurance Business Newly Launched" banner. However, currently, only four products from CMB Prudential Life Insurance and Haigang Life Insurance are available for sale, including medical insurance, endowment insurance, outpatient insurance, and endowment-life insurance. Testing the purchase process revealed that, according to customer service, products in the Insurance Zone are currently only sold by 10 specific branches, and a client's account must be registered at one of these 10 branches to make a purchase.
Furthermore, it was found that the insurance zone launched by GF Securities offers a limited number and variety of products. The app currently lists only 8 products, mainly selling insurance products from AIA Life Insurance and Taiping Life Insurance, all of which are participating insurance policies.
The product strategy of brokerages focusing on participating insurance is closely related to their emphasis on wealth management. As household asset allocation concepts become increasingly sophisticated, participating insurance products, which offer both guaranteed minimum returns and potential floating earnings, serve as a valuable supplement.
An industry analyst pointed out that brokerage clients are generally yield-sensitive and have a higher risk tolerance, making pure protection products less attractive. In contrast, products with wealth management attributes, like participating insurance and endowment insurance, are more readily accepted by brokerage users and act as an ideal bridge connecting high-risk securities investments with low-risk protection.
"Compared to pure protection products, participating insurance with its savings component aligns better with the asset allocation and return analysis capabilities long cultivated by brokerage investment advisors. This allows brokerages to quickly transfer their existing wealth management service capabilities to the insurance sales scenario, lowering the barrier to transformation," the analyst added.
There are multiple "thresholds" for this cross-border distribution.
In fact, brokerages acting as insurance agents is not new, but progress has been relatively slow. The "Regulations on the Distribution of Financial Products by Securities Companies" issued by the CSRC in 2012 delineated the legal boundaries for securities firms engaging in concurrent insurance agency businesses.
Currently, according to information on the NFRA website, 11 securities companies hold insurance intermediary licenses: Ping An Securities, CITIC Securities, China Merchants Securities, GF Securities, China Galaxy Securities, Chengtong Securities, Founder Securities (601901.SH), Changjiang Securities (002939.SZ), Huaan Securities (600909.SH), Guoyuan Securities (000728.SZ), and Pacific Securities (601099.SH), all approved around 2013.
For over a decade, brokerage insurance distribution remained lukewarm with little activity. It wasn't until 2022 that CITIC Securities mentioned in its annual report the formal launch of its insurance agency sales business, becoming the first and only pilot company in the industry approved for the "legal entity licensing, branch registration" model for concurrent insurance agency business. However, significant development did not follow immediately.
Why are multiple brokerages suddenly accelerating their moves, drawing market attention? The main reasons include policy direction and institutions' desire to strengthen and expand their wealth management operations.
On the policy front, in July of last year, the Securities Association of China released the "28 Guidelines for High-Quality Development of the Securities Industry," which explicitly stated intentions to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant departments and steadily promote more compliant and risk-controlled securities firms obtaining licenses to sell bank wealth management and insurance products, thereby better meeting investors' diverse needs.
For brokerages themselves, the role of wealth management has shifted from simply "selling products" to becoming a key bridge connecting client needs, asset allocation concepts, and asset management, aiming to enhance investors' long-term satisfaction and financial health. From a business development logic perspective, brokerages have certain advantages in distributing insurance: firstly, they possess a large client base with some understanding of investment and wealth management concepts, making potential client conversion easier; secondly, their investment advisor teams have solid asset allocation capabilities, facilitating the integration of insurance into overall wealth plans; thirdly, their branch networks are relatively well-established in major and medium-sized cities, easing subsequent service provision.
"Currently, stock market trading is active, and a large amount of time deposits are maturing. These factors favor collaboration between insurers and brokerages to capture the opportunity of fund migration from banks. On one hand, adding brokerage distribution channels gives insurance companies more sales opportunities. On the other hand, brokerages can leverage their platforms to integrate different types of products, offering clients richer wealth allocation choices," said Zhou Jin, a partner in China's financial industry management consulting, expressing optimism about this new business opportunity for brokerages.
However, some industry insiders believe brokerages have inherent shortcomings. Their clientele tends to be more aggressive, with a stronger desire for wealth appreciation. The defensive attributes represented by insurance products—"risk protection, long-term savings"—naturally conflict with the positioning of brokerages in clients' minds. In this aspect, brokerage channels are inferior to bank channels and are unlikely to become significant "competitors" for channel commissions in the short term. This cognitive dissonance, to some extent, leads to a sense of incongruity among clients regarding the idea of "buying insurance from a brokerage."
One client stated bluntly, "I go to a brokerage to make money from stock trading, pursuing excess returns amid high volatility; I buy insurance for safety net protection, seeking certainty. These are two completely different things. For buying insurance, I trust professional insurance companies more."
Furthermore, most brokerages are still in the early stages of channel and team building, making it difficult to achieve economies of scale in the short term. Should disputes arise, particularly for complex products requiring claims settlement, brokerages might face significant client complaint pressure.
Nevertheless, in the era of comprehensive wealth management, the boundaries between institutions and clients are gradually blurring, and the concept of asset allocation is strengthening. The accelerated entry of brokerages into this space is injecting new vitality into the existing market and distribution channels.
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