On the evening of August 20, Caida Securities Co., Ltd. announced plans to inject RMB250 million to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Beijing dedicated to alternative investment operations. This strategic move comes less than six months after the company completed the deregistration of its previous alternative investment arm, Caida Xinrui.

The former platform, which operated for five years, was wound down due to overall strategic considerations and cumulative losses exceeding RMB2.74 million. The company stated that the new entity will fully align with the "invest early, invest small, invest in hard tech" directive, focusing on equity investments in real economy enterprises while strengthening regional strategic service capabilities.

RMB250 Million Investment Marks Return to Alternative Investments

Looking back at Caida Securities' business development history, this is not its first foray into the alternative investment space. Back in July 2020, the company's internal review had already approved a proposal to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary for alternative investment activities. Following preparations, in June 2021, Caida Xinrui Investment Co., Ltd. was officially established as the company's alternative investment vehicle. In subsequent years, there were also plans to increase capital into Caida Xinrui.

However, in February of this year, Caida Securities decided to dissolve Caida Xinrui, completing the relevant deregistration procedures the following month. Regarding this dissolution, the company publicly stated: "Based on future development planning, to coordinate and optimize the business structure, and improve overall management efficiency, after careful study, the company decided to cancel the wholly-owned subsidiary Caida Xinrui."

Looking at actual operating data, Caida Xinrui's performance did face pressure. According to statistics, from its establishment in June 2021 through the end of June 2026, Caida Xinrui accumulated total operating revenue of RMB8.3929 million, while its total profit amounted to negative RMB2.7437 million.

Nearly six months after the deregistration, Caida Securities has again decided to invest RMB250 million to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary for alternative investment operations. Regarding this asset allocation, the company stated that establishing the alternative investment subsidiary is based on its commitment to effectively execute the "five key financial articles," optimize business layout, broaden investment channels, respond to the policy direction of investing early, small, and in hard technology, and actively leverage the functional role of capital market intermediaries. The move focuses on serving the major strategies of coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and high-quality construction of Xiong'an New Area, providing financial support to specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises as well as high-tech companies, which holds positive significance for the company's future development.

Notably, in the "Quality Improvement and Efficiency Enhancement with Return" special action assessment report released the same day, Caida Securities further clarified its business implementation direction for the second half of the year. The company emphasized that it will focus on specialized and innovative enterprises within the province and sci-tech innovation enterprises in Xiong'an, increasing IPO cultivation, sci-tech bond issuance, and M&A financing supply, adhering to the principle of investing early, small, and in hard technology, and improving full-lifecycle services for technology enterprises.

Guotai Haitong's Alternative Investment Business Contributes One-Third of Net Profit in H1

Behind Caida Securities' return to the alternative investment track lies the rapid development and substantial returns of this business segment across the securities industry. Currently, alternative investment has grown into a crucial asset-side sector for brokerage firms. As of the end of 2025, 85 securities companies in the industry had established alternative investment subsidiaries through their parent companies, accounting for over 80% of the industry.

Reviewing the period from 2020 to 2025, alternative investment subsidiaries contributed more than 5% to the net profits of their parent brokerage firms, with some small and medium-sized institutions reaching 20% to 30%, making them a substantial new source of profit growth for parent companies. Recently, Guotai Haitong's semi-annual report for 2026 showed that its alternative investment company, Guotai Haitong Zhengyu, achieved a net profit of RMB6.507 billion in the first half of the year, accounting for 32.12% of Guotai Haitong's total net profit. This means nearly one-third of Guotai Haitong's net profit came from alternative investment operations.

Similarly, China Securities Co., Ltd.'s 2026 semi-annual report revealed that its alternative investment subsidiary, CSC Investment, generated a net profit of RMB1.317 billion in the first half of the year, representing 17.24% of the company's total net profit.

Beyond direct profit returns, the role of alternative investment in serving the real economy is also being strengthened. In June of this year, research by the Securities Association of China pointed out that alternative investment subsidiaries, as platforms for securities companies to invest using their own funds, have become an important vehicle for serving new quality productive forces. On one hand, in traditional equity investment and strategic placement businesses, securities companies' alternative investment subsidiaries actively practice the concept of "investing early, small, and in hard technology," continuously increasing support for technological innovation and new quality productive forces. Over the past three years, more than 50 alternative investment subsidiaries have directly invested in unlisted and non-NEEQ technology enterprises, with total investments exceeding RMB20 billion. On the other hand, some alternative investment subsidiaries act as LPs investing in leading industrial capital, promoting the incubation of quality enterprises in new quality productive forces. For example, they have cooperated with industry leaders such as SMIC, NAURA Technology Group, and CATL to establish industrial funds, precisely positioning upstream and downstream in the industrial chain to foster the incubation of high-quality enterprises in new quality productive forces.