The Central Bank of Russia published an analysis of retail brokerage client investment returns for 2023 to 2025, based on data from the largest firms and covering portfolios worth RUB 10,000 to RUB 10 million. It found an average annual return of 2.9%, with outcomes unevenly distributed across investors. While 63% of clients achieved positive returns, 5% recorded losses of more than 10%, and about one-third either posted smaller losses or merely preserved capital. Most profitable investors still delivered modest performance. Returns of 0.1% to 6.7% a year, below the Moscow Exchange Russian Government Bond Index Total Return, were recorded by 41% of clients. Another 13% outperformed that bond benchmark with returns of 6.71% to 17.2% a year, a range whose upper end corresponds to the MOEX Russia Total Return Index, while only 9% of all retail brokerage clients exceeded those indicators. The study also found that age and experience affected outcomes, that the strongest results came from investors holding units in unit investment funds, and that non-qualified investors earned an average 17.9% a year on those instruments over the past three years. By contrast, derivatives were more likely to worsen client outcomes. The central bank noted that the results may contain minor inaccuracies because brokers use different calculation methodologies and because the assessment excluded some income, including bond coupons and share dividends credited directly to clients' bank accounts. It also said brokers should independently and regularly analyse client portfolio returns, as such assessments can help gauge the long-term resilience of market participants whose income depends on client investment volumes and trading activity.

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