How many of you have experienced trading via an online brokerage in Pakistan? What has your experience been like? How would you rate the company?
I have experienced 4 different online brokerages, and the experience has been a mixed one so far. Average at times, good at others. But thats pretty much at par with online brokerages in the USA that I have used.
My first experience was with www.akdtrade.com. AKD is the pioneer of online trading in Pakistan. Apart from being the (perhaps) the largest offline brokerage and arbitrage it is the first to have introduced online trading. Their speed is good, their management is knowledgeable, and their service is above average. They began with browser based trading. I think they have moved on to a software based solution, of which Im not sure. Their website provides mediocre help to investors and traders, and is not that badly organized. Id give it a 7 out of 10.
Min required deposit…Rs. 250,000
Second experience was with www.kasbdirect.com. KASB is another big name on the KSE, and while they fell behind AKD in starting up online trading, their software based solution was much more streamlined than that of AKD. However, they have always lagged behind AKD, because of the fact that a software based system does not give traders as much mobility as does browser based. You cant trade from libraries or net cafes, of course, unless you install their software.
That said, kasbdirect.com provides much more in resources than does akdtrade.com. Id give it 7 out of 10 as well.
Min required deposit…Rs. 50,000
Third experience was with www.fysltrade.com. A relatively small name in the market, Fawad Yusuf securities have used a barebones browser based system to attract online traders, who basically dont need, or want, any help. Their website provides nothing other than the ability to buy and sell. Id give them 3 out of 10.
Min required deposit…Rs. 10,000
Others that I have researched, but not used, are www.cliktrade.com, www.livetradeonline.com, www.ecltrade.com, www.amztrade.com and www.adamsecurities.com. They all get 3 out of 10.
All of them claim to be the ‘fastest’ online traders, but fact is, the speed depends on market volume, and if the volume is huge, it doesnt matter if youre on dialup or a T3 line, and vice versa.
Commission rates vary, based on the company, number of shares, type of trade, period of holding and the price of the share. kasbdirect.com is the only company that provides flat 5 paisa per share commission rates. Rest all vary based on the above factors. The commission rate ranges from 1 paisa per share to 20+ paisa per share.
My overall take on online trading in Pakistan is that the system is still maturing, and is at least a year or so away from providing reasonable service. If you wish to take a step in this direction, my personal recommendation is kasbdirect.com.
DAYUM!