Hard-Tech IPOs in August 2026 Spotlight Divergent Strategies of Brokerage-Backed Equity Investors

In recent months, hard-tech companies including ChangXin Memory Technologies and Changcun Holdings have filed for IPOs one after another, drawing attention to brokerage-backed equity investment arms. Public information shows that leading brokers hold an edge in sponsorship and underwriting, while many smaller brokers have taken limited partner (LP) roles, gaining early exposure through private funds and other channels.

Large brokers generally adopt a "fund-of-funds plus direct investment" model, whereas smaller brokers participate through LP structures to keep their involvement asset-light. Brokerage-backed equity investors rarely appear directly on the shareholder lists of listed companies; identifying their stakes often requires tracing through multiple layers of equity ownership.

Regulators impose strict constraints on the proprietary capital, leverage ratios, and risk capital provisions of brokers' alternative investment subsidiaries. Direct equity investment consumes significant capital and places heavy pressure on risk controls. Brokers' private fund subsidiaries, by contrast, rely on LP investments in industrial funds and state-guided funds, mobilizing state capital, industrial capital, and various market-based social funds. Some brokers, having entered the field late, with limited deal-sourcing capabilities and insufficient industry research expertise, choose to invest indirectly through state-backed or industrial funds.

Leading brokerage investment arms such as CICC Capital and Guotai Haitong Kaiyuan employ a "fund-of-funds plus direct investment" approach. CICC Capital has built a fund-of-funds system covering a range of sub-fund managers, using flagship funds to invest early and in small companies, while direct investment takes over in subsequent rounds. Among companies newly listed on the STAR Market in 2026, about seven received direct investment from CICC Capital-affiliated funds. Guotai Haitong Kaiyuan has directly invested in more than 1,000 startup companies, with cumulative direct investment exceeding RMB 70 billion, and its fund-of-funds business has invested in over 130 sub-funds.

Xingye Investment follows a principle of "direct investment first, LP as supplement," leveraging the synergy of investment banking, research, and investment, with LP investments serving as a complement to direct deals. Huafa Capital deepens its "major institutes, major research, major players" strategy, focusing on key regions such as Fujian, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta, and operates with a flat management structure. Guohai Innovation Capital has tracked biomedicine across different indications and technology routes for ten years, with its portfolio covering innovative drugs in various sub-sectors as well as upstream raw materials and service providers. Some smaller brokers participate as limited partners in funds established by their industry peers.