Securities Industry Executive Turnover Accelerates: Over 60 Retire Since 2025
Since 2025, more than 60 core executives at about 40 Chinese securities firms have retired, accelerating a wave of promotions for business-line veterans. Notable examples include Li Jun, who rose from a Chengdu branch to become general manager of Southwest Securities, and Li Geng, who spent 16 years at Changjiang Securities to reach senior management. The trend spans brokerage, investment banking, research and other lines, with many new executives having started at branch level. The retirements reflect the ageing of the industry's first generation of leaders.
The securities industry is seeing accelerated turnover among senior executives, with a cohort of managers who rose from grassroots business roles now moving into leadership positions. The latest case is Li Jun, general manager of Southwest Securities, whose career began at the Chengdu branch and progressed through roles such as assistant general manager and head of business lines, with a long focus on regional markets. Similarly, Zhang Bo of Changjiang Asset Management, Dong Dong, acting chief executive of Hualin Securities, and Zhang Heng, soon to become deputy general manager of Guosheng Securities, all advanced from frontline positions.
Brokerage business lines have been a primary source of these promotions. Li Geng, vice president of Changjiang Securities, joined the Wuhan Wuluo Road branch in 2009, starting as a trading assistant and administrative assistant, and took 16 years to reach the core management team. Yin Tao, vice president of Western Securities, began as general manager of the Shijiazhuang branch at Ping An Securities and later led the wealth management transformation. Hu Zengyong, who becomes vice president of Zhongtai Securities in 2026, hails from brokerage, while his successor Zheng Hanyin has 30 years of experience. Xia Hongjian, chairman and president of Nanjing Securities, started as an on-site representative at the Shanghai Stock Exchange and later served as general manager of several branches. Zhou Zhongshan, president of Great Wall Securities, rose from deputy manager to general manager of branches, became vice president in 2024, acted as president in 2025, and was formally promoted to president in early 2026. Zhang Ming, chairman of Caida Securities, joined the predecessor institution in 1996 and progressed from a branch employee to the top role; Jiang Wei, chairman of Aijian Securities, began in 1992 as assistant general manager of a branch and later managed multiple branches.
Other business lines also show similar ascents. Huang Yue, executive committee member of Guoyuan Securities, entered the industry with a technical background, starting as a business assistant in the information technology department before moving to the president's office, focusing on corporate governance and internal coordination. Yuan Xing, board secretary of Western Securities, joined in 2008 as a lobby manager at the Xi'an Lianhu Road first branch and took 17 years to become corporate secretary. Ruan Huixian, board secretary of Great Wall Securities, began as finance head of the Suzhou branch.
This collective promotion of business backbone staff is closely linked to the industry's generational shift. With more than three decades of development in China's capital market, the first generation of securities executives, born in the 1960s, are entering retirement in a concentrated wave. Since 2025, more than 60 core executives across the industry have stepped down upon reaching retirement age, covering about 40 securities firms, predominantly established and large-scale players.
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