CSRC Association Report: Some Brokerages Overly Rely on Expert Consulting Services

Recently, the Securities Association of China issued the '2025 Statistical Report on Operating Conditions of Securities Research Reporting Business by Securities Companies' to brokerages. The report indicates that some brokerages are overly dependent on expert consulting services. In 2025, 59 securities companies' research departments incurred expenses for expert consulting services, accounting for 1.86% of total research department revenue; among them, five companies had expenses exceeding 10%, while 33 were above the industry average. High expert consulting service fees suggest that some companies primarily rely on external experts for consulting rather than strengthening their own research capabilities. Over-reliance on external experts not only raises research business costs and compresses profit margins for research departments but also reduces motivation to improve internal research quality. Additionally, providing services through external expert consulting poses compliance risks such as disguised benefit transferation and improper payments. (Securities Times)