From Changxin to UNITREE: Brokerages Realize Sci-Tech Innovation Dividends Through Diversified Layouts

The "investment + investment banking" model of brokerages is accelerating the realization of dividends.

Recently, UNITREE disclosed its issuance announcement, revealing an issue price of RMB 150.80 per share, corresponding to a total market capitalization of approximately RMB 60.993 billion, significantly higher than earlier market expectations.

This highly anticipated hard-tech IPO is not only a capital milestone for the embodied intelligence sector but also reflects a new paradigm for the brokerage industry's participation in sci-tech innovation projects. A look through the shareholder register shows that at least 12 brokerages completed their layouts before listing through direct investment subsidiaries, industrial funds, and LP contributions; meanwhile, more than 20 brokerage proprietary accounts participated in offline subscriptions at the maximum limit.

In this UNITREE IPO, the participation of brokerage institutions exhibited distinct "dual-line layout" characteristics, highly consistent with the participation paths in previous major hard-tech projects such as Changxin Technology.

The first line is early positioning in the primary market. As early as around the time of the company's joint-stock reform in 2024, several brokerages secured stakes in existing shares through their alternative investment subsidiaries and private equity fund subsidiaries, either by direct shareholding or contributing to industrial funds, accompanying the enterprise's growth to the listing stage. These shares have longer lock-up periods, earning value appreciation gains as the enterprise's valuation moves from the primary to the secondary market.

The second line is offline new share subscription in the secondary market. According to statistics by Jiemian News, more than 20 brokerage proprietary accounts participated in UNITREE's offline inquiry and subscription at the maximum limit, betting on short-term premium gains after the new shares list. These funds have stronger liquidity and represent routine operations for brokerage proprietary trading in new share markets.

"Securing long-term value appreciation in the primary market, earning new share subscription gains in the secondary market, and adding underwriting and sponsorship income from investment banking—the value of top-tier hard-tech projects to brokerages is far more than just a single transaction," an industry insider told Jiemian News. Since the implementation of the registration-based IPO system, competition among brokerages for high-quality sci-tech innovation projects has extended from mere sponsorship qualifications to a contest of full-chain capabilities including investment research, investment, and underwriting.

As the exclusive Sponsor Institution (lead underwriter) for this IPO, CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. is the brokerage most deeply bound to the project, with its investment layout spanning the entire listing process.

The prospectus shows that CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.'s equity investment in UNITREE began in 2024. During the company's first round of capital increase that year, Jinshi Growth Equity Investment (Hangzhou) Partnership (hereinafter referred to as "Jinshi Growth"), established by CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.'s private equity subsidiary Jinshi Investment, entered the scene; in the second round of capital increase, CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.'s alternative investment subsidiary CSI Investment also followed suit with shareholdings. These two rounds of investment completed the equity layout prior to listing.

Prior to the issuance, Jinshi Growth held 15.1142 million shares of UNITREE, accounting for 4.15% of the total share capital before issuance, making it the seventh-largest shareholder; CSI Investment directly held 1.2294 million shares, accounting for 0.34%. In addition, in accordance with the co-investment rules for Sponsor Institutions on the STAR Market, CSI Investment will be allocated 808,900 shares as a co-investor. Calculations show that CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. holds over 4 million shares of UNITREE through its subsidiaries combined. If the stock performance is favorable after listing, it will bring substantial paper floating profits.

The revenue from the investment banking business is also substantial. According to the issuance fee scheme disclosed in the prospectus, the sponsorship fee is fixed at RMB 4 million; the underwriting fee adopts a tiered pricing model: a rate of 4% for the portion of funds raised within RMB 2 billion, 2% for the portion between RMB 2 billion and RMB 4 billion, and 1% for the portion above RMB 4 billion. Based on the estimated total funds raised of approximately RMB 6.099 billion, the total underwriting fees received by CITIC Securities Co., Ltd. will exceed RMB 140 million.

Besides CITIC Securities Co., Ltd., at least 11 other brokerages indirectly hold equity in UNITREE through various paths, forming a pattern of "leading investment by the 龙头 (leader) and follow-on investments by multiple parties." Notably, five of these brokerages achieved their layout by acting as Limited Partners (LPs) in CITIC Securities Co., Ltd.'s Jinshi Growth Fund, sharing in the project's returns.

Specifically, Hualong Securities' alternative subsidiary Hualong Jincheng Investment holds a 2.4% stake in Jinshi Growth; Huafu Ruixing Investment, the alternative subsidiary of Huaan Securities, and Hongzheng Junfang Investment, the alternative subsidiary of Hongta Securities, each hold approximately 0.6% stakes, corresponding to indirect shareholdings of approximately 360,000 shares, 90,000 shares, and 90,000 shares, respectively. Looking through to the third-layer shareholders, the alternative investment subsidiaries of China Securities Co., Ltd. and Shenwan Hongyuan also indirectly hold stakes in Jinshi Growth through investments at different levels.

More brokerages achieved indirect shareholdings through market-oriented industrial funds and top-tier venture capital firms. Dongwu Securities' alternative subsidiary Dongwu Innovation Capital indirectly holds approximately 120,000 shares of UNITREE by holding a 2.6% stake in the Shenzhen Capital Group SME Development Fund. Guotai Haitong's Zhengyu Investment and Innovation Equity Investment Fund of Funds completed their layout through a two-layer nesting structure involving the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center No. 2 Fund and Hechuang Investment (Tianjin) Partnership. Caitong Securities' alternative subsidiary Caitong Innovation Investment also holds shares indirectly through Hechuang Investment (Tianjin) Partnership.

In addition, CICC's subsidiaries CICC Capital and CICC Private Equity participated through fund-of-funds and industrial funds; China Merchants Securities' alternative subsidiary holds shares indirectly through the Shanghai China Mobile Digital Transformation Industrial Private Equity Fund; and China Postal Securities achieved its layout through Guangzhou Chuzhe Zhixin Equity Investment Partnership.

This model of "fund nesting and dispersed contributions" is particularly suited to the positioning of small and medium-sized brokerages and those with state-owned backgrounds. Taking Huaan Securities as an example, relying on its Huaan Jiaye platform, it has previously deeply participated in domestic hard-tech projects such as Changxin Technology, replicating its investment research logic from the memory chip sector to the humanoid robot sector. For such institutions, the goal is not to pursue large single heavy positions, but to cover a batch of hardcore technology enterprises through industrial funds, thereby dispersing risk while enjoying the elastic returns of asset revaluation as projects list one after another.

The aforementioned industry insider further told Jiemian News that the brokerage participation model presented in the UNITREE IPO is a microcosm of the industry's transformation in the era of the registration-based system. In the past, brokerages' profits relied heavily on channel-type incomes such as trading commissions, margin financing and securities lending interest, and investment banking underwriting fees, with the listing marking the end of the service cycle. Under the registration-based system, the revenue chain for high-quality hard-tech projects has been significantly lengthened: brokerages can obtain basic income from underwriting and sponsorship, share in the dividends of enterprise growth through sponsorship co-investment and primary market direct investment, and enhance returns through proprietary trading participation in offline new share subscriptions, with multiple revenue streams overlapping.

Previously, Jiemian News reported that during the Changxin Technology IPO, multiple listed brokerages participated in Changxin Technology's equity investment through diverse channels such as their own subsidiaries and industrial funds.

As capital market reforms deepen, the "sci-tech innovation attribute" of domestic brokerages is continuously strengthening, with their service role upgrading from traditional channel intermediaries to full-cycle capital enablers. On June 18, 2025, the CSRC officially released the "1+6" reform plan for the STAR Market, systematically reshaping the listing and service system for hard-tech enterprises. Institutional dividends have accelerated the capitalization pace of sci-tech innovation enterprises and opened up long-term growth space for related brokerage businesses.

As the core hub connecting the real economy and the capital market, brokerages' services for sci-tech innovation enterprises now cover the complete lifecycle from early incubation and listing financing to industrial integration. Zhao Ran, Chief Analyst of Non-Bank Financials and Fintech at China Securities Co., Ltd., told Jiemian News that this deep involvement means brokerages' sci-tech innovation attributes are no longer limited to traditional channel business but extend to the level of capital empowerment, becoming a key variable driving brokerage performance growth and promoting the restructuring of the industry's valuation system.

From the perspective of revenue composition, the paths for brokerages to participate in sci-tech innovation enterprises can be divided into two levels. The first level is the binding model of sponsorship underwriting plus co-investment. Sun Yin, Chief Analyst of the Non-Banking Industry at Western Securities, told Jiemian News that as the sponsorship and issuance institution for sci-tech innovation enterprises, brokerages can on one hand obtain sponsorship and underwriting fees by providing investment banking services; on the other hand, in accordance with STAR Market rules, they must participate in strategic co-investment in sponsored projects through their alternative subsidiaries. The shares held generate fair value fluctuations with changes in the target's valuation during the 2-year lock-up period, and returns can be realized by exiting through the secondary market after the lock-up period expires.

The second level is market-oriented equity investment, which is a business direction with greater growth potential. Brokerages participate directly or indirectly in growth-stage sci-tech innovation enterprises through their alternative investment subsidiaries and private equity fund subsidiaries, using their own funds or by raising industrial funds. They realize exits and obtain equity value appreciation gains or private equity performance fees when the enterprise undergoes an IPO, is merged or restructured, or through subsequent equity transfers.

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