JF SMARTINVEST (09636): Technology + Research-driven, exploring new development models at home and abroad with the help of AI.

The development of AI is accelerating the realization of technological visions in various aspects. As one of the most sensitive industries to technological advancements, the financial industry naturally needs to think in advance about how to deeply integrate business with AI. After all, this is likely no longer just about efficiency improvement as an "optional" choice, but rather a "strategic imperative" that determines future core competitiveness and survival space. Take JF SMARTINVEST (09636), recently disclosed its interim performance, as an example. Since entering 2025, the company's attention to AI has transitioned from the early stages to actual implementation, with a noticeable acceleration in related strategic layouts. By the end of the reporting period, the company had 505 R&D personnel, an increase of about 15.6% from the beginning of the period, accounting for 17.59% of the total number of employees. With intensive R&D investments, the company has launched multiple core AI products this year, such as Jiufang Lingxi and the Stock Learning Machine, empowering investment advisors and research analysts in various scenarios. Additionally, to better seize the opportunities of the AI explosive development era, JF SMARTINVEST has established a wholly-owned technology subsidiary - Jiufang Zhiqing, which will serve as an important carrier for the group's AI strategic layout and explore various possibilities of "AI+." By observing JF SMARTINVEST's strategic layout around AI and its continuous development, one can expect that the company's "digitally intelligent" transformation achievements will soon be intensively implemented, and the "AI content" in the company's financial reports may become increasingly significant. Leveraging "investment research + technology" as a strategic cornerstone to drive business development Looking at the latest financial report of JF SMARTINVEST, a strong value signal is evident the company's current stage is characterized by a more pronounced dual drive of "investment research + technology." Firstly, in terms of investment research, by the end of the reporting period, JF SMARTINVEST had 462 licensed investment advisors and a total of 1935 securities practitioners. The high-quality talent pool provides important support for the company to continuously deliver high-quality and compliant content. The data shows that in the first half of the year, the company's Jiufang Financial Research Institute conducted nearly 70 surveys of listed companies and produced approximately 560 in-depth analysis articles covering macroeconomics, industry trends, and company fundamentals. They also wrote a professional investment research internal reference called "Top 50 in Technology Self-Controllable." On the technology side, based on the self-developed Jiuzhang Securities Big Model, the company launched core AI products such as Jiufang Lingxi earlier this year. Jiufang Lingxi possesses four core capabilities: autonomous thinking chain decision reasoning, tool invocation, user memory construction, and graphic text response, providing intelligent, professional, and personalized stock investment services for target users from the dimensions of intelligent experience and professional investment advisors. While empowering business with technology, JF SMARTINVEST also continues to reach users through refined traffic operations to more accurately meet the increasing demand from a wide range of investors for professional investment advisory services. Furthermore, during the reporting period, JF SMARTINVEST's Jiufang Zhitou core product "Yizhi Stock Road" established a matrix structure of "content, tools, and transactions," focusing on six core modules including courses, live broadcasts, information, market trends, tools, and transactions. In terms of technological innovation, by integrating AI technology, the stock learning machine has introduced multiple indicators and stock selection strategies, providing investors with a more efficient, comprehensive, and cost-effective product experience. If the company's strong "technology + investment research" capabilities serve as the foundation, then the fine-tuned traffic operation ability can be considered as the "catalyst" for the company's performance. In the first half of the year, with the combined effect of investment research content, technological empowerment, and traffic operations, JF SMARTINVEST achieved steady business performance, continuously creating value for shareholders. Adding a new focus to the "digitally intelligent" transformation On August 26, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Implementation of the 'AI+' Action," making AI a national strategic development direction following the "Internet +" policy in 2015. AI has become a driving force for reshaping the underlying logic of industries with a focus on cultivating and developing new quality productivity. The "Opinions" point out that by 2027, AI will be extensively and deeply integrated into six major domains, with a penetration rate of over 70% for applications such as new generation intelligent terminals and intelligent entities. By 2030, AI will comprehensively empower high-quality development in China, with a penetration rate of over 90% for applications like new generation intelligent terminals and intelligent entities. By 2035, China will enter a new stage of intelligent economic and social development, providing strong support for the basic realization of socialist modernization. With the onset of an era of innovation, JF SMARTINVEST's choice is to ramp up investments directly. It is important to note that as early as 2019, the core brand under JF SMARTINVEST, Jiufang Zhitou, initiated and foresaw the "digitally intelligent" transformation process. In 2025, after years of deep cultivation in the "digitally intelligent" field, Jiufang Zhitou has built a complete product matrix covering Jiufang Zhitou APP, Jiufang Zhitou Mini Program, Jiufang Zhitou Stock Learning Machine, etc. In terms of technological foundation, the company has independently developed the Jiuzhang Securities Big Model and will further build the Jiufang Lingxi intelligent network FAN, continuously strengthening the "AI brain" of full-cycle products. Earlier this month, the newly established Jiufang Zhiqing entered China's first large model innovation ecosystem community, "Model Space," quickly seizing the AI innovation highland. It is reported that Jiufang Zhiqing will focus on the research and application of financial category big models, aiming to create an open intelligent engine, and serving as the main force of AI innovation for JF SMARTINVEST's continuous expansion in the financial field, adding a new focus to the company's "digitally intelligent" transformation. At this critical juncture of the "digitally intelligent" transformation entering a deepwater zone, JF SMARTINVEST will continue to deepen AI's all-encompassing empowerment of product services, business operations, and management. Additionally, the company will actively deploy overseas to promote diversified and globalized development. Just last month, JF SMARTINVEST completed a placement, providing financial support for the company's global expansion. The funds raised will be used to nurture and develop upstream financial resources, layout digital asset services, and explore new models of digital asset investment advisory services. Standing at a new starting line for the "AI + investment advisory" transformation and upgrade, JF SMARTINVEST will continue to build a diversified product matrix, promote diversified business operations, and explore new cooperation models with securities firms to build a service ecosystem. GMTEight believes that the newly disclosed financial report of JF SMARTINVEST can be seen as a window to verify the company's phase achievements in deepening the "digitally intelligent" transformation. Its core advantages of "intelligent algorithms + professional investment research + ecological services" are continuously fermenting, providing a continuous driving force for steady business growth. Compared to financial data, investors may need to pay more attention to the clear and distinct growth paths and value signals hidden behind the numbers. With a higher concentration of technology, JF SMARTINVEST not only meets policy expectations but also garners more attention and "votes" from the capital market. So far this year, more than 10 securities firms have initiated research coverage of JF SMARTINVEST for the first time and have given positive ratings.