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The &#34;salary reduction wave&#34; in the financial industry is showing signs of easing its impact on brokerages, with a comprehensive rebound in brokerage employee compensation expected in 2025.
According to Wind, among the 29 brokerages that have disclosed their 2025 annual reports so far, 28 have seen varying degrees of increase in average employee compensation, with only Huaxin Co., Ltd. (600621.SH) experiencing a slight year-on-year decrease of 3.16%. In 2024, over 40% of these brokerages had reported a decline in average employee compensation.
In contrast to the rebound in employee compensation, management compensation continues to tighten. Data shows that the total compensation for management at these 29 brokerages in 2025 is 407 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.31%, but the decline has significantly narrowed from the previous year's 33.76%.
Additionally, the Hong Kong annual reports of leading brokerages such as CITIC Securities (6030.HK), Guotai Junan, Haitong Securities (2611.HK), and Huatai Securities (6886.HK) indicate that there remains a &#34;salary ceiling&#34; in the industry with annual salaries in the millions, but those receiving such salaries are not members of the board of directors or supervisors. Among brokerage executives, the chairman of Dongfang Caifu (300059.SZ) currently tops the list with a salary of 4.9222 million yuan.
Regarding the phenomenon of &#34;one rising, one falling&#34; in average employee compensation versus executive compensation, Yu Fenghui, a senior researcher at Pangoal Institution, told Yicai that this change reflects brokerages' increased focus on the overall combat effectiveness and long-term development of their teams in response to market challenges. On one hand, as industry competition intensifies, retaining and attracting top talent has become crucial, prompting brokerages to prefer raising the compensation of grassroots and middle-level employees. On the other hand, executive compensation is under significant pressure from regulation and public opinion, and many brokerages have proactively reduced executive pay to reflect improvements in corporate governance.
Three Brokerages Have Employees with Annual Salaries in the Millions
From the perspective of average compensation, &#34;salary increase&#34; has become the key term for the brokerage industry in 2025.
Among the 29 brokerages that have disclosed their annual reports, 28 have seen a year-on-year increase in average compensation, while only 16 of these brokerages reported an increase in average compensation in 2024.
As the number of brokerages increasing salaries grows, the extent of salary increases has also expanded. In 2024, only 9 brokerages had an average compensation increase of over 10%, with the largest increase coming from Industrial Securities (601377.SH), which saw a 37.59% rise. In 2025, the number of brokerages with an average compensation increase exceeding 10% has expanded to 15, with Guolian Minsheng Securities (601456.SH) reporting the highest increase at 49.23%.
In terms of average compensation levels, &#34;the top&#34; CITIC Securities leads with an average compensation of 812,800 yuan, marking a return to above 800,000 yuan for CITIC Securities after two years
The widespread increase in this type of compensation is closely related to the significant recovery of brokerage firms' operations in 2025. Annual report data shows that the net profit attributable to shareholders of these 29 brokerage firms in 2025 all achieved year-on-year growth, with 8 firms exceeding 10 billion yuan in net profit.
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It is noteworthy that the &#34;ceiling&#34; for annual salaries in the tens of millions has reappeared. CITIC Securities' 2025 Hong Kong annual report indicates that among the top 5 highest-paid employees in the group last year, one employee's salary was between 15.01 million and 19 million yuan, while the other 4 had salaries between 9.01 million and 15.01 million yuan. However, CITIC Securities did not disclose the specific positions of these employees, only stating that all 5 were localized employees hired by overseas subsidiaries, and their salaries were based on the services provided to the group.
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In addition, the 2025 Hong Kong annual reports of Huatai Securities and Guotai Haitong Securities also reported employees with annual salaries exceeding 10 million yuan. These two brokerage firms also did not disclose the specific positions of these high-salary employees.
Yu Fenghui told Yicai that annual salaries in the tens of millions typically appear among employees with special skills or those who have made outstanding contributions to specific projects. This more reflects the intense competition in the talent market and the demand and recognition for top professionals, but it will not become a common long-term phenomenon.
Reduction in Executive Salaries Slows
While employee compensation is generally rising, most brokerage executives are still in a &#34;salary reduction cycle,&#34; but the extent has clearly diminished.
Wind data shows that the total compensation for the management of the 29 brokerage firms in 2025 was 407 million yuan, a decrease of 6.31% compared to 2024, significantly narrowing from the 33.76% salary reduction in the previous year.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OL_BKz_bY6I9ThYZlMAc6w81AFelmVW2MsLfQWUMXhCNgAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="Image" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OL_BKz_bY6I9ThYZlMAc6w81AFelmVW2MsLfQWUMXhCNgAA/641"/> Looking solely at the management salaries of individual brokerage firms, signs of a narrowing salary reduction are also very evident. Among these 26 brokerage firms, 19 saw a year-on-year decrease in total management compensation in 2025, with only Shenwan Hongyuan (000166.SZ) and China Galaxy (601881.SH) experiencing the largest reductions, at 37.41% and 30.76%, respectively. However, in 2024, 22 of these 26 brokerage firms saw a decline in management compensation, with 13 firms experiencing reductions exceeding 30%. At that time, CITIC Securities, which had the largest salary cut, reduced management compensation by 69.61%
Looking at the longer timeline, the management salaries of several brokerages, including Dongfang Securities (600958.SH), CITIC Securities (601066.SH), and Everbright Securities (601788.SH), have significantly decreased over the past three years. Taking CITIC Securities as an example, Wind data shows that the total management salary for the company from 2023 to 2025 is projected to be 47.0192 million yuan, 20.1468 million yuan, and 16.1152 million yuan respectively, indicating a decline of over 60% in management salaries within three years.
At the same time, the management salaries of seven brokerages, including Guolian Minsheng Securities, Western Securities (002673.SZ), and GF Securities (000776.SZ), are expected to rise &#34;against the trend&#34; in 2025. For instance, Guolian Minsheng Securities is projected to have a total management salary of 24.7822 million yuan in 2025, a substantial increase of 69.24% compared to 14.6429 million yuan in 2024.
Yu Fenghui believes that the narrowing decline in executive salaries releases a positive signal, indicating that as the market environment gradually stabilizes, the operational conditions of brokerages are also improving. This also suggests that brokerages are seeking a new balance, responding to external concerns about the salary levels of financial institutions while maintaining reasonable salary incentives. This trend indicates that executive salaries may stabilize in the future, with a greater emphasis on performance orientation and long-term incentive mechanisms.
(This article is from Yicai)

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The salary reduction wave in the financial industry is easing, with brokerage employee compensation generally rebounding in 2025, as 28 out of 29 brokerages reported an increase in average compensation. Management compensation, however, decreased by 6.31%, but the decline is significantly narrower than the previous year. Executive compensation is influenced by regulatory pressure, leading brokerages to focus more on the treatment of grassroots employees to attract talent. Overall, the key word for compensation in the brokerage industry in 2025 is "salary increase."

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Securities firm employee compensation has fully rebounded, and annual salaries of over 5 million for directors and supervisors have "disappeared."