With the rapid expansion of institutional investors, securities companies are also strengthening their research business.
According to incomplete statistics, last year, more than a dozen securities companies began to develop the business of the Institute. The scale and number of them exceeded that of previous years. Among them, there are not only the head securities companies that have greatly expanded the research business scale, but also the small and medium-sized securities companies that have made great efforts for the first time, as well as foreign securities companies and the third tier sellers who are trying to revive their vitality.
For a time, there was a huge talent gap for analysts. A number of industry insiders said that now the poaching is more intense than before. The director of the Securities Research Institute told the securities times that its analysts were soon hollowed out. Another director of the Institute believes that talents are scarce and it is difficult to introduce analysts at high prices.
Under the huge demand, young analysts have obviously benefited and ushered in a good era. It is not uncommon for analysts to change two or three employers within a year - they get promotion and salary increase through continuous job hopping, and some even become chief analysts after two years of employment.
Whether high salary poaching can continue is controversial in the market. The director of the research institute predicted to reporters that with the replenishment of manpower, the seller will enter the de inventory stage in the next year, and the money burning mode of small and medium-sized securities companies will be difficult to maintain.
became the chief in less than two years
How long does it take a new researcher to become a chief analyst? During the interview, many directors of research institutes said that it usually takes five or six years to complete the career path of "research assistant analyst senior analyst senior analyst chief analyst".
But recently, the "fast-growing" chief appeared frequently. Take a securities firm Research Institute in South China as an example. An analyst in the science and technology communication industry entered the industry in 2020 and registered as an analyst in August 2021. Three months later, he switched to his new employer and became the chief analyst - he achieved a great leap in his career in less than two years. There are also many analysts in the Institute.
The deputy director of a medium-sized brokerage Research Institute told the securities times that the chief leaders of some brokerage research industries have not even obtained the qualification of analysts - mainly fresh students who have just worked for more than a year from their peers.
For the above phenomenon, the director of a small and medium-sized securities firm Research Institute in Southwest China told the securities times that the above situation will mainly occur in some popular industries, such as macro, fixed income and new energy. Because there is a great demand for investment and investment research in these industries, it will bring opportunities to more young analysts. "If some young analysts are excellent and active, they may become chief analysts in three or four years." But he also said that in fact, it is difficult to have an in-depth understanding of an industry without about ten years of experience.
Among them, some "fast-growing chief" often get promotion through continuous job hopping, and their salary has also been greatly improved. The director of a small brokerage Research Institute in North China said, "some analysts have just jumped to me. After only two or three months, they jump to other research institutes." He believes that "this is not about martial virtue".
In the face of high liquidity, the director of a listed securities research institute told the securities times that the high mobility of personnel disrupted the planning of the Securities Research Institute, and it was difficult for employees to form stable expectations. "Under normal circumstances, analysts should focus more on improving their ability, which is the right way. But now there are great temptations outside, and some people are impetuous. They think that even if they don't do their best, there is still a place to go outside and their salary can still increase."
In addition, some young analysts have not experienced the bull bear cycle, and the improvement of research level requires continuous accumulation of time. In the view of the above director, many analysts jump around. Although the salary and title have been improved, the research level may not be improved accordingly.
talent gap increases greatly
With the growing group of institutional investors, institutional business has become the focus of various securities companies. Seller research is an important link for securities companies to provide comprehensive services to institutional customers. The seller's industry is expanding. Securities companies have announced the establishment of research institutes to promote the seller, constantly attract analysts, and provide more and more chief positions and promotion space.
According to incomplete statistics by the reporter of the securities times, since 2021, more than a dozen securities companies have said that they will focus on building research institutes. In this context, the research talent gap has increased significantly since 2021. "It's hard to find a division (Analyst) and a sale (Sales)," said the deputy director of a medium-sized brokerage Research Institute
So, how many job opportunities can the new force seller's securities companies bring to the industry? Generally speaking, the staff size of large research institutes with complete industry configuration is more than 100. Every securities firm that intends to join the competition will bring more than 10 chief positions to the industry. In terms of industry, the number of analysts in different industries also varies widely. For example, individual securities companies can have more than 20 researchers in "reconfiguration" industries such as new energy.
"Our people are almost hollowed out!" The director of the aforementioned North China small brokerage Research Institute told the securities times. According to the director of the Institute, who has worked for more than ten years, although the research field is indeed a highly liquid industry, it has reached a state of extreme competition in 2021.
The director of a Securities Research Institute in Beijing told reporters, "the loss of personnel is not terrible, but in 2021, the loss rate of core personnel in several securities research institutes even exceeded 50%, which has a great impact on the Institute."
Among them, not only small and medium-sized securities companies made efforts to research business for the first time, but also the head securities companies expanded the research scale. In addition, some research institutes that once fell to the third tier announced to "rise again", while foreign-funded securities companies are also unwilling to show weakness.
According to the statistics of the Securities Times reporter on the data of the Securities Industry Association, as of January 22, 2022, compared with the beginning of last year, there were nearly 50 securities companies with a decrease in the number of analysts, accounting for more than 45% in the industry. The number of Founder Securities Co.Ltd(601901) and Haitong Securities Company Limited(600837) analysts decreased significantly, of which the number of Founder Securities Co.Ltd(601901) was "halved", and Haitong Securities Company Limited(600837) was reduced from 138 at the beginning of last year to 118 at present.
In addition, new era securities, Anxin securities, Zhongtai Securities Co.Ltd(600918) , China Greatwall Securities Co.Ltd(002939) , Caitong Securities Co.Ltd(601108) , Changjiang Securities Company Limited(000783) , Donghai securities, The Pacific Securities Co.Ltd(601099) securities, Everbright Securities Company Limited(601788) also experienced a "double-digit" loss of analysts.
Accordingly, the securities companies with a large increase in the number of analysts are: China International Capital Corporation Limited(601995) , an increase of 38; Citic Securities Company Limited(600030) increased by 28; China Securities Co.Ltd(601066) add 20. In addition, the analyst team of securities companies such as Huaxin securities, Hualong securities, Sealand Securities Co.Ltd(000750) , China Industrial Securities Co.Ltd(601377) and Debang securities has increased significantly.
In fact, it takes time for analysts to grow, and it takes two years to obtain the formal analyst qualification, which makes young analysts with certain experience sought after by the industry. Under the changes of market supply and demand, the rising value of analysts has become a prominent phenomenon.
can high salary poaching continue
In recent years, some research institutes of small and medium-sized securities companies have stepped out of the mode of "holding high and fighting high". By attracting a group of star analysts, they have quickly become famous and received commissions. It can be seen that now there are a number of small and medium-sized securities companies working according to this model.
The reporter of the securities times learned that although studying all functions such as collaborative investment banking, wealth management and asset management can also quickly make a reputation for securities companies, whether the research institutes can make money independently is still the main factor restricting most small and medium-sized securities companies' research institutes to continue to follow the seller's line.
A person from a securities firm Research Institute said that the large platform can continue to burn money for the Research Institute, but it is difficult for the small platform. "Now the premium is higher than before. Five years ago, it may have invested tens of millions of dollars a year to power the seller. Now it is easy to exceed 100 million. Many small securities firms have a net profit of hundreds of millions of yuan a year, so it is impossible to invest 30%."
The director of an old brokerage Research Institute also shared his insights from many years of practice. He believes that small and medium-sized brokerage research institutes should be sellers for a long time and break through a certain critical point of scale. Once the scale effect is realized, they can be relatively calm.
"At present, the small and medium-sized securities companies that have been established have a characteristic, that is, they attract a large number of star analysts to join directly and quickly cross the critical point. These star analysts bring enough traffic and quickly open institutional seats to help the starting small and medium-sized sellers quickly enter the top 10 and top 15 of the buyer's institutions in terms of scale and ranking," he said
Many insiders also agree with this statement, "if small and medium-sized securities companies want to cross the threshold, they must first recruit star analysts. If they only recruit the first assistant and the second assistant in the mature analyst team, although the cost is low, the buyer does not recognize it."
The director of the aforementioned North China Institute of small and medium-sized securities companies said that when the Institute gradually forms a stable research system, accumulates research resources and builds a customer network, its dependence on Star analysts will be reduced.
destocking in the next year?
It is expected that the whole seller's research market will stabilize after the personnel of each new research institute are supplemented. The director of the Research Institute of securities companies predicted to the reporter of the securities times that 2022 will be the peak year of the seller's Research Institute, and the next year will enter the "de inventory stage".
He explained to reporters that there are many reasons: first, it is difficult to copy the money burning mode, which may be a flash in the pan and eventually become ordinary; Second, the business of a large number of small and medium-sized research institutes cannot be sustained. As the business shrinks and the income decreases, there will be a loss of personnel; Third, the researchers trained by the head Research Institute will change jobs in the future, seek greater personal development and impact the existing ecology of small and medium-sized securities companies research institutes; Fourth, the head securities companies do not rely on high salaries to recruit people, but rely on the platform to attract people.
The reporter of the securities times learned that now, small and medium-sized securities companies have left sadly after testing the seller's business. "Our company used to do the seller's business for two years, but now it basically doesn't do it." A former person in charge of the Research Institute of small and medium-sized securities companies who just transferred to another post said.
He introduced that during the two years of water test seller business, the company invested tens of millions of yuan every year, and the team was once expanded to the scale of more than 60 people. "Other business lines of our company are not very strong, but the Research Institute was still very popular in those two years. Although it did not create much benefits, the exposure of the company has increased a lot."
The former head of the securities firm Research Institute found that once the Institute raised the company's popularity to a certain height, it was difficult to continue, "Many small and medium-sized securities companies are ambitious when they start to research their business. When they find that they have achieved little after a year or two, they will adjust their direction in time. They think that the research institute has made a reputation for securities companies, so they need the research institute to quickly become a profit center from a cost center."
