On the evening of September 18, Everbright Securities Company Limited (601788.SH) issued an announcement stating that its Executive Director and President, Liu Qiuming, has resigned from all his positions due to "term reasons" and will no longer serve as the company's legal representative. The terse wording of the announcement, specifically the phrase "personal reasons for not renewing upon expiration of term," indicates this was Liu's own decision rather than an organizational reassignment. Born in 1976, Liu just turned 50 this year—an age when most financial executives are in their prime—making his voluntary departure worthy of closer examination.

Taking the Helm of a Leaking Ship

When Liu took over as President in early 2020, the circumstances were far from ordinary. This marked the first time Everbright Securities Company Limited had hired a president through an external market-based selection process, as the position had historically been filled internally by the Everbright Group system. The very decision to go the market-based route suggested that no suitable internal candidate could be found, or that an "outsider" was needed to stabilize the situation. Before his arrival, in 2019, the company's wholly-owned subsidiary Everbright Capital was hit by the MPS acquisition scandal, involving multiple lawsuits and arbitrations with Huarui Bank, China Merchants Bank, and Shenzhen Hengxiang, with potential compensation amounts reaching billions of yuan. The case ultimately led to a make-up payment letter signed by Everbright Capital to priority partners, which the company claimed was "executed without following statutory procedures." In other words, an executive of a subsidiary had signed off privately, and the company was left to foot a multibillion-yuan bill. This was the situation Liu stepped into.

The Six-and-a-Half-Year Ledger: Profits, but Not Entirely "Real Money"

Looking at the performance during Liu's tenure, two sets of data stand out most. According to Choice data, from 2020 to 2025, Everbright Securities Company Limited's net profit attributable to shareholders grew by nearly 60%, but its net profit attributable to shareholders after deducting non-recurring gains and losses actually declined slightly by 3%. A 60% increase in reported net profit alongside a 3% decline in deducted profit suggests that a significant portion of the growth came from non-recurring income—government subsidies, asset disposals, and reversals of contingencies—often described as "one-time" money. Looking at the half-year report alone: in H1 2026, net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 2.229 billion, up 32.45% year-on-year; but deducted net profit was RMB 2.062 billion, a gap of RMB 167 million, primarily due to RMB 182 million in government support funds. Additionally, in H1 2026, the company recorded a RMB 32.46 million "reversal of estimated liabilities," which was unrelated to its core operations. In other words, stripping out this "money from the sky," the company's profit growth would be significantly discounted. The profit growth during Liu's tenure was largely driven by the rebound in brokerage business following the market recovery—in H1 2026, brokerage revenue was RMB 2.37 billion, up 39.3% year-on-year, accounting for 39.2% of total operating revenue—rather than a fundamental improvement in the company's core competitiveness. Liu himself was well aware of this. At the 2024 results conference, responding to the MPS case, he said: "The growth in deducted net profit proves that asset quality is improving and operations are on a steady development track." He emphasized deducted profit, yet over five years, that very metric had declined slightly. The statement may have been a confidence-boosting remark in that context, but the data speaks for itself.

What He Actually Achieved: Solidifying the Wealth Management "Foundation"

Focusing solely on profit growth risks overlooking a more important development: during the latter half of Liu's tenure, the business structure of Everbright Securities Company Limited underwent substantial change. In H1 2026, the wealth management business cluster generated revenue of RMB 3.5 billion, accounting for 57% of total revenue. More critically is the gross margin: wealth management achieved a gross margin of 69.19%, far higher than the 21% of corporate finance and the high volatility behind the 93% of investment trading. Wealth management contributed 86.47% of the company's profits, solidifying its role as the true "ballast stone." This was not achieved overnight. Since 2020, the company has steadily advanced its retail client base and investment advisory brand building. By the end of June 2026, total clients reached 7.504 million, up 5% from the start of the year; total client assets stood at RMB 1.71 trillion, up 4%. Fund investment advisory scale grew 47% year-on-year, with an average holding period of 371 days. The "Golden Prism" diagnostic tool under the "Jinyangguang Investment Advisory" brand served client assets exceeding RMB 120 billion, with revenue surging 144% year-on-year. At the 2025 results conference, Liu noted that total client assets exceeded RMB 1.6 trillion, hitting a five-year high. Six months later, that figure had grown to RMB 1.71 trillion. This growth curve demonstrates that the wealth management transformation at Everbright Securities Company Limited is not just lip service but is being implemented substantively. However, wealth management also carries concerns. Everbright Pramerica Fund Management, a controlling subsidiary, posted a net profit of only RMB 48.47 million for the first half of the year in its fund management business. Of its total AUM of RMB 120.5 billion, public funds accounted for RMB 105.7 billion, but excluding money market funds, that figure drops to just RMB 55.2 billion. The fund industry's competitive landscape is already fiercely contested, and Everbright Pramerica is not a top-tier player in this arena.

The Persistent "Bond-Strong, Equity-Weak" Issue in Investment Banking

During Liu's tenure, the investment banking business of Everbright Securities Company Limited never found a breakthrough. In H1 2026, investment banking revenue was RMB 270 million, down 24.69% year-on-year. The company completed no equity financing project issuances in the first half of the year, with only 10 IPO pipeline projects, ranking 14th in the industry. In contrast, bond underwriting performed well: main underwriting scale reached RMB 236.3 billion, up 20.3%, ranking 11th in the industry. The debt financing business has established a presence in technology, green industry, and rural revitalization sectors, and has completed benchmark projects such as the nation's first capital metropolitan area sci-tech bond. The "bond-strong, equity-weak" pattern is not unique to Everbright Securities Company Limited, but its equity financing weakness is more pronounced than that of its peers. In the context of fully implemented registration-based IPO reform and a recovering IPO market, equity financing capability determines a brokerage's perceived "ceiling" among clients. A brokerage that cannot help companies go public will struggle to attract the most premium clients.

Who Will Be the Next President?

This time, Everbright Securities Company Limited did not announce a successor simultaneously. The announcement merely stated that the company "will carry out the election procedures for new directors and the selection process for a new president and legal representative in accordance with relevant regulations." This stands in stark contrast to Shenwan Hongyuan Group, where when General Manager Huang Hao departed in August due to work arrangements, successor Huang Jianjun was appointed in tandem, transferred from China Jianyin Investment, representing an "internal rotation" within the state-owned system. Everbright Securities Company Limited, however, has chosen to leave the position vacant and select slowly. There are two possible explanations: either the Everbright Group has not yet decided who will take over, or another market-based selection process is planned. Given that Liu himself was a product of market-based selection, and given the absence of a simultaneous successor appointment, the latter possibility is quite plausible. But market-based selection also entails uncertainty. The parent company, China Everbright Group, holds a full financial license covering banking, securities, insurance, trust, and leasing. If the new president can more deeply leverage group resources, it would provide substantial support for business synergy at Everbright Securities Company Limited. Conversely, if an internal candidate or someone from the banking system is chosen, the approach may lean more toward stability than aggressiveness.

In the Context of a Broader Industry Trend

2026 is a major year for executive changes in the securities industry. As of mid-September, nine brokerages—including Shanghai Securities, Tianfeng Securities, Hualin Securities, Southwest Securities, China Merchants Securities, Guotai Haitong, Shenwan Hongyuan, Guolian Minsheng, and Everbright Securities Company Limited—have seen their general managers resign voluntarily this year. Including position changes at Huaxi Securities and Guoxin Securities, the number approaches ten. Some departures are due to state-owned system work reassignments, some are market-based departures, and others are normal term expirations. Liu falls into the last category—his six-and-a-half-year tenure is already relatively long among brokerage presidents. Compared to Hualin Securities, which cycled through seven CEOs in seven years with an average tenure of under one year, Liu's stability is an outlier in the industry. But stability does not equal success. Over six and a half years, Everbright Securities Company Limited resolved the legacy MPS risk and made substantive progress in wealth management transformation, yet deducted profit remained stagnant, investment banking saw no breakthrough, and the proportion of non-recurring gains remained high—these issues were not fundamentally addressed.

An Honest Assessment

Liu Qiuming can be characterized as a "transitional president." He took over when the company was mired in the MPS quagmire and leaves with the company back on a normal track. From this perspective, he accomplished his mission. But the tasks of a transition period differ from those of a growth period. The core challenge for the next president is not "survival" but "how to thrive"—how to find a second growth curve on top of the wealth management foundation, how to address the equity financing shortfall, and how to make deducted profit genuinely accelerate rather than relying on government subsidies and one-time income for appearances. For Liu, choosing to step down at 50 after his term is a rational personal decision. For Everbright Securities Company Limited, it may also be an opportunity to rethink its strategic direction. Behind a one-page resignation announcement lies the end of one era and the beginning of another. Liu Qiuming, born in 1976, currently serves as Executive Director and President. He previously held roles including Head of Institutional Business at Shenyin Wanguo Securities, Managing Director at UBS Securities, Executive Committee member at Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China (listed on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange under code 601318 and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under code 2318), Vice President of Ping An Securities, and Chairman and President of Minsheng Investment Capital Management.