The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) achieved an impressive return of 86% in dollar terms during 2024, yet it remains critically underutilized. With only 357,419 registered accounts, a mere 0.3% of the population over 20 has a trading account—a stark reflection of the market’s limited penetration.
This low investor participation stems from multiple barriers: widespread financial illiteracy, deep-rooted distrust in financial intermediaries, and limited market accessibility. Enter KTrade, a potential solution to these systemic challenges.
KTrade was launched in April 2018 under the leadership of Ali Farid Khwaja and Mahmood Bukhari, where it aimed to democratize capital markets by empowering retail investors and serve as a conduit between global investors and growth companies in Pakistan. The enterprise has since emerged as one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing brokerage firms, rapidly expanding its account base and challenging traditional market dynamics.
However, KTrade’s meteoric rise prompts a critical question: How did this fintech startup transform the investment landscape where others have struggled?
The origins of KTrade (formerly KASB Securities)
The younger generation of professionals became familiar with KTrade during the VC funding boom of 2021–22 in Pakistan when the company raised $5 million from leading venture capital firms. Investors included HOF Capital and Mentors Fund from the US, as well as angel investors such as TTB Partners from Hong Kong, Shorooq Partners from the UAE, Zayn VC from Pakistan, and Dragonstone Capital from China. Several prominent individuals also participated in the round, including Waleed Saigol, the management of Careem, Haider Chaudhry, Simon Chisholm, David Mortlock, Sardar Durrani, and Omar Shah (co-founder of COLABS).
However, KTrade’s roots trace back decades to 1952, when Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari founded KASB Securities. Despite being a novice in the trade at the time, Mr. Bukhari rapidly grew the company by building a strong and loyal customer base, serving both individual and institutional investors. His sharp business acumen and exceptional relationship-building skills helped KASB Securities gain prominence. By the 1970s, both Bukhari and the firm had become household names in Pakistan’s brokerage industry, earning widespread respect from key stakeholders.
In the 1980s, when Nasir, Mr. Bukhari’s son, overtook the business, he pushed the company towards modernization by transitioning from a sole proprietorship to a public company, while in the 1990s, he publicly listed the company and established a partnership with Merrill Lynch. The company also became one of the pioneers to introduce electronic trading in the country, ushering in a new era for the brokerage industry in Pakistan.
KASB Securities emerged as a pioneer in digital brokerage, introducing online trading platforms that allowed retail investors to execute trades through websites, desktop software, and eventually mobile apps. This innovative approach propelled KASB to become the largest retail brokerage in Pakistan, leading in both investor numbers and trading volume. However, the company’s trajectory took a dramatic turn when its parent company, KASB Bank, was auctioned to Bank Islami Pakistan Limited by the State Bank due to capitalization issues, resulting in its merger and rebranding as BIPL Securities in 2014. Prior to the merger, KASB had built an impressive customer base of 22,000 and controlled a 15% share of overall trading on the Karachi Stock Exchange.
The merger marked the beginning of a decline. BIPL Securities struggled to maintain the operational excellence that had defined KASB, failing to replicate its predecessor’s market approach. Consequently, thousands of customers abandoned the firm, and those who remained significantly reduced their trading volumes.
This demand gap meant that there was an opportunity up for grabs. Ali Farid Khwaja, along with the youngest generation of the Bukhari family, latched onto this opportunity to relaunch KTrade, drawing inspiration from the heaps of wisdom embedded within the rich legacy of KASB Securities.
KTrade, darling of the retail segment
KTrade has developed a forte in extending equity research and brokerage services through leveraging financial technology. However, the company also offers services related to domains like corporate finance. Moreover, it has established divisions for money market and commodity futures trading as well. The head office of KTrade, situated in Karachi, serves as its nerve center; however, it has several branches spread across cities like Lahore, Islamabad, and Multan.
Although KTrade, ever since its rebirth in 2018, has managed to claw its way back into both retail and institutional customer segments, its primary focus remains the retail segment.
If we consider the retail investors in Pakistan, they are apprehensive of investing in the stock market due to their diabolical experiences with prop trading and substandard services of brokerage institutions. Furthermore, there is a dearth of financial awareness among the majority of the population in Pakistan, which compels them to invest in asset classes like real estate and savings accounts, exacerbating the situation overall.
However, KTrade realized the significance of the participation of retail investors in the growth of the stock market and capital markets overall.
Hence, KTrade has developed a chic app equipped with a sleek user interface that can be comprehended intuitively and used effortlessly, creating a seamless experience for users. The app has been downloaded more than a million times, with a 4.2 out of 5 rating on Google Play Store—the highest rating and most downloads for a capital markets-related app in Pakistan.
The growing footprint of KTrade among institutions
Nevertheless, the success story of KTrade isn’t restricted to retail investors as it has had a profound impact in the arena of institutional clients as well. KTrade has assisted several venerated companies like Mughal Steel in raising capital and facilitated IPOs of upcoming companies like Big Bird. Moreover, the company has another six IPO deals lined up, which will be disclosed by the management in due time. KTrade also has a strategic equity trading partner in the form of Jefferies Group, one of the veterans of the investment banking industry in the US.
KTrade’s Strategic Initiatives and Recognition
KTrade is a mission-driven company rather than merely profit-driven. Hence, it reinvests the majority of its profits to realize its goals. It believes that bountiful profits will follow once it fulfills its ambition of ensuring widespread participation in financial markets from retail investors and serving as a bridge between global investors in search of alpha (α) and growth companies in Pakistan, promoting robust and sustainable growth in the country.
KTrade as a financial entity has expanded beyond the domain of a traditional brokerage institution, delving into an eclectic set of spheres to spread financial literacy and augment the common man’s access to capital markets. Its future plans entail offering a comprehensive suite of investment products including ETFs, mutual funds, and personalized portfolio management through robo-advisory platforms, solidifying KTrade as the paragon of ingenuity revolutionizing investment in Pakistan’s capital markets.
