The Asset Management Association of China recently disclosed the top 100 rankings for public fund distribution holdings in the first half of 2025, with data showing steady overall industry growth and significant differentiation among various fund types and institutions. As of the end of the first half, the top 100 fund distribution institutions held 5.14 trillion yuan in equity fund holdings, up 5.89% sequentially; non-monetary market fund holdings reached 10.20 trillion yuan, up 6.95% sequentially; bond and other funds totaled 5.06 trillion yuan, up 8.05% sequentially. Among these, stock index funds demonstrated the most outstanding performance, with total holdings of 1.95 trillion yuan and a sequential growth rate of 14.57%, becoming the core engine driving public fund distribution growth.

From an institutional perspective, securities firms performed exceptionally well, not only occupying half of the top 100 rankings with 57 firms listed, but also achieving sequential growth rates of 9.43%, 6.48%, and 9.94% for non-monetary funds, equity funds, and stock index funds respectively. Particularly in the stock index fund sector, they captured over 55% of the total market share, highlighting their absolute advantage. Although banks maintain solid foundations in traditional active equity and fixed income areas, they are also striving to catch up in stock index funds with a high growth rate of 38.69%.

Noteworthy is that the China Securities Regulatory Commission's revised "Securities Company Classification Evaluation Regulations" implemented on August 27 added special indicators including fund advisory services and equity fund distribution holdings, guiding brokers to shift from "emphasizing initial offerings over retention" to focusing on long-term client asset appreciation. The rankings show that GTHT, CITIC Securities Construction Investment, and other brokers led in equity fund holdings growth in the first half, a mechanism that will drive industry resources toward equity fund distribution and accelerate wealth management business structure optimization.

**Index Funds Become Growth Engine, Securities Firms Lead in Non-Monetary Fund Distribution Growth**

The Asset Management Association of China disclosed the much-anticipated top 100 rankings for public fund distribution holdings in the first half of 2025. As of the end of the first half, the top 100 fund distribution institutions' "equity fund holdings" totaled 5.14 trillion yuan, representing a 5.89% increase from the end of 2024; "stock index fund holdings" totaled 1.95 trillion yuan, up 14.57% sequentially, making it the fastest-growing fund category; "non-monetary market fund holdings" reached 10.20 trillion yuan, up 6.95% sequentially, while "bond and other funds" totaled 506.19 billion yuan, up 8.05% sequentially.

Securities firms, as important players in fund distribution, demonstrated exceptional overall performance, with 57 firms making the top 100 rankings, occupying half the list. Securities firms held a 20.44% market share in non-monetary funds with sequential growth of 9.4%; a 27.41% market share in equity funds with distribution holdings growing 6.48% sequentially; and stock index funds grew 9.94% sequentially. The growth mainly came from bond and other funds, which increased 16.1% in the first half. Securities firms showed clear advantages in stock index fund distribution, growing 9.9% in the first half while capturing over 55% of the total market share, demonstrating absolute dominance in index products.

Banks saw non-monetary fund growth of 4.3%, with stock index funds growing 38.7% in the first half, increasing market share by 1.3 percentage points to 6.4%. Driven by the industry's indexation trend, many banks experienced rapid growth in stock index fund holdings, actively catching up in index products. In terms of absolute scale, banks remain solid in traditional active equity and fixed income advantage areas.

Looking specifically at securities firms' public fund distribution in the first half, several highlights emerge:

**First, leading securities firms dominate distribution scale, maintaining high industry concentration.** In the first half of 2025, the "head effect" in securities firms' public fund distribution remained significant. From the table, CITIC SEC led with 142.1 billion yuan in equity fund holdings, ranking 8th on the top 100 list, followed closely by HTSC with 126.6 billion yuan (ranking 10th). Leading firms like Guotai Junan (97.8 billion yuan, 12th), CMSC (83.8 billion yuan, 13th) also occupied top positions in equity fund holdings. Industry concentration at the top remains high, with the top ten securities firms' non-monetary distribution scale exceeding one trillion yuan combined.

In non-monetary market fund holdings, CITIC SEC led significantly with 239.7 billion yuan, while HTSC (175.2 billion yuan) and Guotai Junan (160.5 billion yuan) also maintained first-tier positions. Leading brokers generally showed small ranking changes (such as CITIC and HTSC with "ranking change" of 0), indicating that leading securities firms have formed strong "barriers" in public fund distribution, with extensive client bases, mature research systems, and brand influence allowing them to maintain leadership and keep industry concentration at high levels.

**Second, ranking changes reflect intense competition among leaders, with some mid-sized firms achieving breakthroughs.** Regarding ranking changes, competition among leading securities firms has intensified. Guotai Junan rose 11 positions, becoming the most significantly improved among leading firms, partly due to the merger of two brokers. CMSC rose 6 positions with solid performance, CITIC Securities Construction Investment rose 4 positions, and CICC rose 9 positions.

Some mid-sized securities firms also achieved breakthroughs: Founder Securities Co.,Ltd. rose 6 positions, Huaxi Securities Co.,Ltd. rose 4 positions, Huabao Securities rose 3 positions, and First Capital Securities Co.,Ltd. rose 3 positions. Huayuan Securities, Chengtong Securities, and Caida Securities appeared on the public fund distribution top 100 rankings for the first time this year.

**Third, fund distribution structure differentiation shows varied broker strategies.** Different securities firms showed significant differences in their distribution structures for equity funds, stock index funds, and bond and other funds, reflecting each firm's strategic preferences. From fund structure proportions, equity funds remain the focus of securities firm distribution, generally accounting for over 60%. Some mid-sized firms had equity fund distribution ratios exceeding 90%, such as Chengtong Securities and Tianfeng Securities, while Xiangcai Securities, Bank of China Securities, and AVIC Securities exceeded 85%. Among leading firms, Galaxy Securities had the highest equity fund distribution ratio at 84.51%.

In contrast, Guojin Securities had an equity fund ratio of 47.27%, CICC at 49.19%, and Shanxi Securities as low as 36.13%, indicating significant room for improvement in equity product expansion for these firms.

The popularity of equity funds stems partly from favorable Chinese capital market conditions in the first half, with sustained investor demand for equity asset allocation, and partly from securities firms' significant investment in equity fund research and promotion, guiding investors toward long-term value investing.

Specifically, securities firms generally had higher stock index fund distribution ratios than active equity funds, with only Societe Generale Securities and Huayuan Securities having active equity ratios higher than stock index funds. Some firms also emphasized bond and other fund distribution, developing into bond-specialized brokers: Shanxi Securities had bond and other funds accounting for 63.87%, CICC Wealth at 48.73%, Guojin Securities at 52.73%, and Caitong Securities at 46.86%.

**Fourth, scale changes show clear differentiation among brokers, with both Matthew effects and specialization coexisting.** Sequential growth data reveals further intensified differentiation among securities firms, with prominent industry Matthew effects as leading firms and some mid-sized brokers achieved impressive growth through different strategies, while some firms experienced declines in various fund categories.

In non-monetary market fund holdings growth, CICC led with an impressive 61.04% increase, while CITIC Securities Construction Investment achieved solid 29.45% performance, further highlighting leading firms' advantages in overall non-monetary fund distribution. Leading securities firms including CITIC SEC, HTSC, GTHT, CMSC, EB SECURITIES, CITIC Securities Construction Investment, and Galaxy Securities achieved growth across all fund categories.

Many firms experienced sequential declines in fund holdings: Guojin Securities saw equity fund holdings growth of -2.60%, non-monetary market fund holdings growth of -7.75%, and bond and other holdings growth of -11.93%. Northeast Securities saw equity fund growth but bond fund declines. Cinda Securities, Wanghai Securities, Nanjing Securities, Dongxing Securities, and Wanlian Securities all experienced declines in both equity and bond fund distribution holdings.

Notably, some securities firms, despite lacking advantages in equity fund distribution, achieved non-monetary fund distribution holdings growth through bond fund growth, including Changjiang Securities, Great Wall Securities, Guoyuan Securities, Central China Securities Co.,Ltd., Southwest Securities, and Donghai Securities.

**New Classification Evaluation Rules Will Guide Industry Transformation**

On August 27, the China Securities Regulatory Commission's newly revised "Securities Company Classification Evaluation Regulations" added special indicators including fund advisory services and equity fund distribution holdings. Specifically, the "equity fund distribution holdings growth" indicator awards 1 point for top 10 industry performance and 0.5 points for top 20 performance in the previous year.

Previously, some securities firms had "emphasizing initial offerings over retention" issues in fund sales, harming clients' long-term returns. The introduction of "holdings growth" indicators guides securities firms to focus more on long-term client asset preservation and appreciation.

The first half 2025 public fund distribution holdings top 100 rankings also reveal the half-year scoring situation for the "equity fund distribution holdings growth" indicator in the newly revised regulations, which is of market interest. Based solely on first-half equity fund distribution holdings growth, firms like GTHT, CITIC Securities Construction Investment, and CMSC ranked in the top 10 for growth. Societe Generale Securities, CICC Wealth, and Orient Securities ranked 11-20.

This scoring mechanism not only affects securities firm classification ratings but will also guide industry resources toward equity fund sales, pushing firms to further enhance investor services and optimize wealth management business structures.