The Money Behind Iran's Brokerages: Mofid Tops the Registered-Capital Ranking of the 10 Largest Tehran Brokerages With 1,000 Billion Tomans (Wednesday, August 19, 2026)

"How much money stands behind Iran's brokerages, and does higher registered capital actually mean a stronger brokerage?" The registered-capital ranking of Tehran's 10 largest brokerages, as of Wednesday, August 19, 2026 (28 Mordad 1405), shows the ten firms hold a combined 5,735.1 billion tomans in registered capital, with Mofid Securities at the top with 1,000 billion tomans. But as the numbers below show, the ranking by itself does not tell the full story of a brokerage's strength.

Background

A company's registered capital, brokerages included, is the figure recorded in its bylaws and incorporation filing, representing the minimum capital shareholders have committed to provide; it is the same concept behind the Article 141 threshold in Iran's Commercial Code, which is calculated against registered capital. Iran's Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) requires a minimum registered capital for different categories of brokerage licenses (equity brokerage, online trading, investment advisory, underwriting commitments, and similar activities); that is why many large brokerages have multiplied their registered capital in recent years, in the same way Bank Mellat's own capital grew nearly tenfold across four stages.

Ranking Table and Key Figures

The combined registered capital of these 10 brokerages is 5,735.1 billion tomans; the average is 573.5 billion tomans and the median is 475 billion tomans (the average of the fifth and sixth-ranked firms). The gap between first and second place is just 50 billion tomans, meaning Mofid holds about 5.3% more registered capital than Pasargad; but the gap between first and tenth place reaches 630 billion tomans, and Mofid's registered capital is 2.7 times that of Mobin Sarmayeh, the tenth-ranked firm. The eighth and ninth spots, Iran Bourse Bimeh and Iran National Investment, are tied exactly at 400 billion tomans. Because of rounding, the sum of the share percentages may differ slightly from 100.

Drivers: Why Brokerages Raise Their Registered Capital

Higher registered capital typically serves three functions. First, many of the more lucrative brokerage licenses, such as underwriting commitments in large IPOs or extending high-volume margin credit, are conditioned by the SEO on a minimum registered capital. Second, higher registered capital increases a brokerage's capacity to post collateral and cover trading risk. Third, a capital increase funded by cash contributions or retained earnings is read as a signal of major shareholders' commitment to the brokerage's long-term development; for example, Pasargad Bank and Bank Mellat's second and third-place positions on this list trace directly to their capital ties with their parent banks' balance sheets.

Outlook: Does More Capital Mean a Stronger Brokerage?

Short answer: not necessarily. Registered capital is only one indicator of a company's financial size, and it is not the same as trading value, market share, client count, or assets under management; a brokerage can have relatively low registered capital while leading in daily trading volume or the quality of its online platform, and vice versa. To gauge a brokerage's real strength, analysts typically look at these indicators alongside registered capital: daily trading value and volume, market share among brokerages, active (not just registered) client count, operating revenue and net profit, assets under management at affiliated funds, the scope of credit services, and the quality of online trading infrastructure. These operational figures can be tracked through the SEO's periodic reports and Sahmino's own Tehran Stock Exchange prices page; a precise comparison of them across brokerages is the subject of a separate report built on official, dated data.

Bottom Line

As of August 19, 2026 (28 Mordad 1405), Mofid leads the registered-capital ranking of Tehran's large brokerages with 1,000 billion tomans, more than two and a half times the tenth-place figure. But this is not a ranking of brokerage "strength"; high registered capital is only one indicator of a company's financial size, and judging whether a brokerage is genuinely stronger requires looking at operational indicators such as market share, trading volume, and service quality, not just a single figure in its bylaws.

What to Watch

In the months ahead, capital-increase announcements from the mid-table brokerages (particularly those close to the 400-billion-toman mark) and any SEO decisions on minimum capital requirements for new brokerage licenses are among the developments that could reshuffle this ranking. Readers who want to learn more about registered capital and capital increases can visit Sahmino Academy.