September investor account opening data has been released, with A-share markets witnessing another wave of account opening surge.

According to Shanghai Stock Exchange data, September saw 2.937 million new A-share accounts opened, representing a 60.73% year-over-year increase and 10.83% month-over-month growth, marking the second-highest monthly figure this year, trailing only March's 3.066 million new accounts.

Consequently, the first three quarters of this year witnessed a cumulative total of 20.149 million new A-share accounts, compared to 13.465 million in the same period of 2024, representing a 49.64% year-over-year increase.

Breaking down September's 2.937 million new accounts, individual investors accounted for 2.926 million while institutional investors opened 10,900 accounts, marking the first time this year that institutional account openings exceeded 10,000.

Industry analysts identify three primary driving factors behind this phenomenon: First, market sentiment improved as September witnessed collective gains across major A-share indices, with profit opportunities attracting retail investors. Second, strengthened policy expectations as markets widely anticipate enhanced growth-stabilizing and consumption-promoting policies, coupled with rising Federal Reserve rate cut expectations, boosting risk appetite. Third, a low base effect, as September 2024's 1.827 million new accounts, despite surging due to the "9/24 rally," remained below 2025 levels in absolute terms.

**September A-Share Account Opening Scale Reaches Second-Highest of Year**

From a monthly comparison perspective, A-share new account openings this year have experienced notable fluctuations. Since July's market warming, A-share account data has shown positive growth momentum.

January began steadily with 1.57 million new A-share accounts; February surged significantly to 2.836 million; March further increased to 3.066 million, creating the year's peak and the second-highest monthly figure since last year's "9/24 rally" began.

Subsequently, April saw new account openings plummet to 1.924 million due to overall market declines; May further declined to 1.556 million, affected by holidays; June slightly recovered to 1.646 million; July rebounded to 1.964 million; August witnessed market rally, further growing to 2.650 million.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange data released on October 10th showed September's 2.937 million new A-share accounts, up 60.73% year-over-year from last September's 1.827 million, and up 10.83% month-over-month, ranking as the year's second-highest monthly figure.

Combining account data since 2024, September's 2.94 million account opening scale ranks second only to March's 3.066 million in 2025, and second only to October's 6.840 million in 2024, exceeding 11 months of 2024 and reaching a new high since April 2025.

Structurally, individual investors dominated September's new A-share accounts with approximately 2.926 million accounts, an increase of 285,900 from the previous month. In the first nine months, individual investors cumulatively opened 20.073 million new A-share accounts, bringing total individual investor A-share accounts to 386 million as of September 30, 2025.

Notably, September institutional investors totaled approximately 10,900 accounts, marking the first time this year institutional account openings exceeded 10,000. What market signal does this data release?

Bai Wenxi, Deputy Director of China Enterprise Capital Alliance, indicates that monthly institutional account openings exceeding 10,000 reflects institutional capital's optimism toward A-shares. This data demonstrates professional investors' recognition that current markets are at bottom levels, preparing for subsequent positioning. As "smart money," their accelerated entry may reflect strengthened expectations for policy dividends and valuation recovery. Additionally, institutional accounts often allocate to ETFs and blue-chip stocks, potentially driving future market style shifts toward fundamentals-driven gradual rises.

**First Three Quarters Total Exceeds 20 Million Accounts**

Consequently, the first three quarters witnessed cumulative A-share new account openings exceeding 20 million, reaching 20.149 million, a 49.64% increase from the first three quarters of 2024's 13.465 million.

Individual investor participation enthusiasm in capital markets maintains an inseparable relationship with A-share market trends. September's A-share market continued strong momentum, with major indices performing exceptionally well.

According to Shanghai Stock Exchange data, September market trading scale significantly increased, margin trading balances continuously rose, with third-quarter daily average margin balances reaching 2.120 trillion yuan, up 49.3% year-over-year. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 12.7%, expanding 0.29 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Major index performance showed the CSI 300 Index rising 17.9%, improving 1.83 percentage points year-over-year.

Markets generally believe this "account opening wave" reflects capital market vitality. As residents' "deposit migration" process begins, accelerated new investor entry will short-term boost market liquidity, potentially bringing considerable incremental funding to A-share markets.

Simultaneously, this "account opening wave" hasn't shown the dramatic surge seen during last year's "9/24 rally." Under the "asset shortage" backdrop of the low interest rate era, individual investors are becoming more mature and rational, with post-1990s and post-2000s investors under 35 becoming the primary force in recent account openings.

While individual investor account opening enthusiasm remains high, as A-share markets experience short-term volatility entering October, will investors continue their "rushing into markets" momentum?

On October 13th, markets fluctuated and recovered throughout the day, with major indices opening low and closing high. At market close, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.19%, Shenzhen Component dropped 0.93%, and ChiNext declined 1.11%. Shanghai and Shenzhen markets traded 2.35 trillion yuan, down 160.9 billion from the previous trading day.

Market-wise, various hot sectors rotated actively. Rare earth permanent magnet sectors continued strengthening, with Galaxy Magnet, China Rare Earth, Northern Rare Earth and others hitting daily limits. Semiconductor industry chains also surged, with over ten stocks including New Material, Chengdu Kemeite, and Zhichun Technology hitting daily limits. Non-ferrous metals sectors reactivated, with China Ruilin and Western Gold achieving second daily limits in three days.

Bai Wenxi believes October's increased external disturbances may cause new account openings to decline month-over-month, but the full-year high growth trend remains unchanged. Historical data shows that during geopolitical conflicts or trade friction escalation, retail investors' risk-aversion needs rise, potentially causing October account openings to fall month-over-month. Should markets decline due to external shocks, institutions may accelerate positioning at low levels, focusing on high-dividend and technology self-reliance sectors. Meanwhile, if domestic authorities promptly introduce reserve requirement cuts, consumption stimulus and other offsetting measures, account openings may rebound after November.