Buying an investment bank is a notoriously difficult task, so we asked our readers last week what chance they gave to Citic Securities acquisition of CLSA, the respected Hong Kong-based broker.
The Chinese investment bank is paying just over $1.25 billion in the first big acquisition of a foreign broker by a Chinese competitor. It will be a challenging integration. CLSA, founded by two former journalists, has gained a reputation for strong, independent research and canny marketing from the celebrity speakers it invites to speak at its annual investment forum, to its witty feng shui report.

Citic Securities, on the other hand,...