Huatai Securities was established on 9 April 1991 in with a registered share capital of RMB 10 million.

[4][8] In 2016, Huatai Securities acquired AssetMark, a wealth management technology provider from Aquiline Capital Partners and Genstar Capital for $780 million in cash.

[9] In January 2018, the China Securities Regulatory Commission granted Huatai Securities permission to perform proprietary trading in overseas markets.

[10] On 17 June 2019, Global depository receipts of Huatai Securities were listed on London Stock Exchange with the stock code of HTSC.

[11][12] In June 2020, Huatai Securities launched Zhangle Global, a US stock trading mobile app that targeted Chinese living overseas.