J.P. Morgan resumes European platform coverage, downgrades St. James's Place and Aberdeen

Brokerages are shifting from developing their own large models to collectively joining third-party AI platforms. In early September, Tencent's WorkBuddy open platform went live, and GF Securities became the first brokerage to enter the ecosystem zone, launching 12 self-developed skills and 9 expert capabilities in the first batch, describing its Buddy application zone as a digital flagship store within Tencent's AI ecosystem. In late September, six AI skills from China Securities' self-developed Dragonfly Skill went live on the WorkBuddy skills marketplace. On September 7, Alibaba's Qwen open platform launched more than ten financial intelligent agents, with four brokerage bots among the first to join: Guotai Haitong's Lingxi, Industrial Securities' intelligent investment assistant, Soochow Securities' Xiucai, and CICC Wealth Management. Moonshot AI's Kimi released a financial industry solution, with China Securities and CICC among those deploying or co-building it in their operations. Jiemian News found that brokerages joining third-party AI platforms have formed two clear paths: one is listing professional tools as skills on AI office workbenches such as Tencent WorkBuddy, and the other is joining general AI assistants such as Alibaba's Qwen as standalone bots for conversational services. Yang Ling, a securities industry analyst at Analysys Qianfan, pointed out that the primary purpose of brokerages' intensive integration is to expand new user touchpoints, and the real value lies in first building user awareness and then gradually guiding users to their own apps, investment advisory, and wealth management services. According to Analysys data, in June 2026, the combined visits of 17 mainstream desktop AI-native office agent platforms in China exceeded 60 million. Tencent Marketing disclosed on September 15 that in 2026 it has completed the full chain of account opening and customer acquisition with brokerages, with more than 40 traditional brokerage headquarters investing in customer acquisition during the year, and leading brokerages' budgets reaching the tens of millions of yuan level. In terms of self-developed investment, the 2025 annual reports show that Guotai Haitong Securities ranked first with information technology investment of 3.235 billion yuan, Huatai Securities at 2.679 billion yuan, and China Merchants Securities, China Securities, CICC, GF Securities, China Galaxy Securities, Guosen Securities, and Shenwan Hongyuan also above 1 billion yuan.

SCB WEALTH, Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited, or SCB, has announced a partnership with InnovestX Securities Company Limited, or INVX, to link investment portfolios into Siam Commercial Bank's wealth ecosystem, giving customers greater access to status, services, and privileges suited to their level of wealth. The arrangement takes effect from October 1, 2026. Ms. Paramashiri Manolomai, Head of Wealth Business at SCB, said the partnership helps customers receive care from personal advisors, along with financial and lifestyle solutions, under the concept Your Success, Our Success. Ms. Ekachai Panyakhamlerd, Chief Executive Officer of INVX, said the partnership reflects the connection of capabilities within the SCBX group, combining InnovestX's strengths in investment platforms with SCB WEALTH's expertise in wealth customer care. In addition, SCB WEALTH is launching two special programs: the Fast Track program, which gives customers the opportunity to upgrade their status to SCB PRIME and SCB FIRST more quickly, and the Up-Tier Program under the concept ELEVATING YOUR WEALTH, REFINING EVERY JOURNEY, for customers with cumulative new investment of 3 million baht or more in participating mutual funds and products while maintaining asset balances under the conditions, who will receive gifts and lifestyle privileges such as limousine airport transfer service and special privileges for international travel.

Charles Schwab is expected to report quarterly earnings of $1.66 per share when it releases results for the quarter ended September 2026 on October 15, a year-over-year increase of 26.7%, on revenues of $7.19 billion, up 17.3% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate has been revised 0% lower over the last 30 days, and the Most Accurate Estimate sits below the Zacks Consensus Estimate, producing an Earnings ESP of -0.08% alongside a Zacks Rank of #3. That combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict an earnings beat, though the company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the last four quarters, including a surprise of +5.88% in the last reported quarter when it posted $1.62 against an expected $1.53. Separately, Wells Fargo, another stock in the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, is expected to post earnings of $1.85 per share for the quarter ended September 2026, a year-over-year change of +6.9%, on revenues of $22.15 billion, up 3.3%; its consensus EPS estimate has been revised 1% up over the last 30 days, but it carries an Earnings ESP of -0.15% and a Zacks Rank of #3, and it surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times over the last four quarters.