Professional Strength Under the New "Guosiu Conditions": Third-Party Investment Advisors Serve as Market "Stabilizers" and Investment "Educators"

Currently, China’s investment advisory industry is experiencing unprecedented market opportunities. Choice data shows that by the end of 2025, the total number of securities industry practitioners will drop to 328,900, a decrease of nearly 7,800 from the end of 2024. In stark contrast, the number of professional wealth management-focused investment advisors is rising against the trend. By the end of 2025, the number of securities investment consulting (investment advisory) professionals will reach 86,100, an increase of 5,782 from the end of 2024, setting a new record. Behind this rise and fall, it deeply reflects the industry transformation driven by the upgrading of residents’ wealth management needs.

“Stabilizer” and “Educator” Dual Responsibilities

Today’s wealth management market is undergoing a profound structural change. First, the full net asset value of financial products has broken the old dream of rigid guarantees; second, the continuous decline in deposit interest rates has squeezed the space for traditional risk-free returns. Under these dual pressures, the massive household savings are accelerating to find new outlets. The equity market has become the core destination for this “migration,” while long-standing structural issues in the market are sharply amplified in the process.

Although funds have entered the market through stocks, funds, and other forms, increasing market activity, many individual investors still participate through high-frequency redemption and chasing gains, exhibiting significant high share and high turnover characteristics. These trading behaviors not only fail to smooth market volatility but also, under increased capital volume and emotional-driven trading, intensify short-term market fluctuations.

Moreover, today’s market is flooded with a vast array of financial products, but the key contradiction in wealth management has shifted from “product scarcity” to “professional service scarcity.” Investors’ challenge is no longer “where to invest,” but “how to invest scientifically”—how to identify risks and opportunities within complex assets, how to allocate based on personal risk preferences, how to navigate market cycles to achieve long-term goals, and how to stay rational amid volatility. The core of these pain points lies in the market’s lack of truly client-centric, full-lifecycle asset allocation and behavioral guidance services from professional investment advisors.

However, at this intersection of pain points, the value of third-party licensed securities investment advisors becomes evident. Unlike traditional financial institutions that may have conflicts of interest, third-party advisory firms, with their more independent and objective stance, can help clients smooth market fluctuations and reduce irrational trading through scientific asset allocation strategies.

One of the core advantages of third-party advisors is their strategic positioning as “buy-side” advisors. Their income mainly comes from charging clients for advisory services rather than transaction commissions or product sales commissions. This fee structure ensures their core value is to stand in the client’s shoes, providing independent, objective, and flexible asset allocation advice and investment planning. Because their interests are more aligned with clients, their goal is to “help clients make money,” rather than “encourage more trading,” effectively alleviating the traditional “conflict of interest” issues in the seller’s model and avoiding short-term profit-driven behaviors.

Secondly, the business model of third-party advisors naturally favors the introduction of long-term asset allocation and value investing strategies. Their survival depends on gaining long-term client trust, motivating them to conduct in-depth investor education, improve financial literacy and risk awareness, and introduce medium- and long-term investment “fresh water” into the market, fostering a healthy ecosystem. By helping clients “navigate bull and bear markets” together, the trust built between advisors and clients tends to be more solid and enduring.

Therefore, more and more third-party advisory firms realize the importance of focusing on “teaching people to fish” through investor education. By systematically providing knowledge, ongoing market insights, and supportive communication, they aim to help investors understand market cycles, recognize risks and returns, establish investment discipline, and fundamentally cultivate rational, scientific, and long-term investment habits. This prevents losses caused by short-term chasing and selling, transforming speculative “hot money” into disciplined “allocation funds,” naturally aligning with the philosophy of value investing—buying good companies at reasonable prices and holding long-term.

For example, Jiufang Zhituo has built a systematic investment learning system to help investors form clear and complete investment logic. It collaborates with economists and industry analysts to produce content ranging from macro policy interpretation to in-depth stock analysis, presented in an easy-to-understand format, enabling users to gain professional insights during fragmented time. Additionally, Jiufang Zhituo has developed an AI stock trading system supported by hardware, AI technology, and research systems, integrating six core modules—courses, live streams, market data, trading, etc.—covering stock selection, timing, risk control, and more, providing a step-by-step learning path to address scattered knowledge and practical application challenges.

To meet different investor preferences and needs, Jiufang Zhituo also offers tiered products and services such as “Stock Path Navigator” and “Super Investor,” assisting novices in mastering the full process from stock picking to risk management, and helping experienced investors optimize asset allocation and improve investment systems, achieving rational decision-making and scientific investing. Particularly, the AI monitoring feature of Jiufang Zhituo’s AI stock trading system enhances efficiency and professionalism, helping retail investors say goodbye to “unable to monitor” and “unable to see through” market movements.

Learning from Others: From Sell-Side Agency to Buy-Side Advisory

The rise of third-party advisors is not only a natural development in the wealth management market but also a crucial professional force to address current market pain points and promote a healthy capital market ecosystem. Its development trajectory will profoundly influence residents’ wealth preservation and appreciation, and whether China’s capital market can smoothly transition from “transaction-driven” to “asset allocation-driven.”

Currently, China’s advisory business is at a turning point similar to the United States in 2000. Market environment and investor behavior changes are driving the industry from “sell-side agency” to “buy-side advisory.”

U.S. investment advisory services originated in the 1920s. Between 1990 and 2000, the wealth management industry completed a transformation from a single sell-side fee model to a buy-side fee model, forming a client-centric advisory approach. Currently, managed assets by U.S. investment advisors account for a significant portion of the country’s wealth management industry.

Analyzing the opportunity for this transformation, at that time, the U.S. securities market’s efficiency was continuously improving, and funds became more sensitive to cost changes. The difficulty of generating excess returns from active management funds increased significantly. With the influx of passive mutual funds, ETFs, and no-commission funds, passive funds’ net assets exceeded 40%. Since 2000, most equity funds have underperformed their benchmarks in many years; over a twenty-year period, the proportion of funds with returns below the S&P Composite 1500 index reached 86.01%. Against this background, investor behavior shifted from focusing on selecting “top-performing funds” to seeking professional “asset allocation” services from advisors.

Meanwhile, the middle class in the U.S. continued to grow, with pension and other long-term funds entering the market, making mutual funds an important investment vehicle for the masses. As market experience and investment concepts matured, investors became more rational and cautious, increasingly establishing long-term, trust-based relationships with advisors.

From an industry development perspective, U.S. advisory account management has become diversified, providing valuable reference for China’s industry. As China’s advisory services deepen, the scope and form of services are expected to expand comprehensively. For example, service offerings may extend from traditional securities investment to portfolio management, tax planning, education planning, retirement planning, insurance, and other areas; service models will evolve from simple investment consulting to account management, offering more comprehensive and in-depth solutions.

Looking at the mature trajectory of the U.S. industry, it has undergone a long evolution from early exploration to specialized service, gradually establishing a client-centric service philosophy. This development provides important lessons: to achieve the leap to “buy-side advisory,” the industry must continue to deepen service models and professional capabilities. Based on international experience, China’s advisory industry is also expected to steadily advance toward a new stage of high-quality development.

Currently, the new “Guo Jiu Tiao” emphasizes “strong regulation, risk prevention, and high-quality development,” explicitly prioritizing “strengthening investor protection” and “promoting long-term capital market participation” as key reforms. Third-party advisors are not only implementers of policies but also builders of the market ecosystem, bearing significant responsibilities for protecting investors’ rights, guiding long-term capital inflows, and stabilizing market expectations. Only by adhering to the principle of “client interests first” and continuously improving professional services can the industry remain steady and far-reaching in the new round of capital market reform.