Author: Ali Silat

When investing, one should diversify into different asset classes in order to diversify risks and returns. Traditionally, one would invest in the capital markets. But with the advancement in technology, it is now possible to invest in digital assets. A capital market is a market where sellers and buyers, like individuals and institutions, engage in trade of financial instruments such as stocks and bonds. A stock market is a market where stocks are bought and sold. In Pakistan, stocks are traded as a way to invest in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Apart from the conventional form of asset class, cryptocurrency is a digital form of asset class. It is classified as a new medium of exchange, which relies on block chain technology. Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies, which are backed by decentralized systems that allow for secure online payments. Both the asset classes differ in how they are bought and sold along with having a different investment strategy.

Investing in Pakistan Stock Exchange paves way for an individual to increase their capital. The Stock Market is a part of the Capital Market. A Capital market is any marketplace where financial securities or assets are exchanged. A stock market is a specific category that falls under the capital market. A stock market deals with the exchange of shares issued by a Company. Issued shares are available to the general public to either be bought or sold. Trading on the Stock Exchange is one of the best ways to invest money in Pakistan.

The first step to invest in Pakistan Stock Exchange is to open a brokerage account. It is opened with a reliable brokerage house of the investor’s choice. It is a financial account opened to buy and sell securities like mutual funds, bonds and stocks. Money can easily be deposited into or withdrawn from a brokerage account.

K-trade is a retail stock trading application owned by K-trade Securities (formerly Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Securities). The app delivers a seamless process of signing up for a brokerage account and online stock trading. The application was launched in 2019, over 250,000 users have registered on the application to date. K-trade is also known for charging the lowest commission in the industry.
The application is easily downloadable from the Play store/ App store, once downloaded the users can sign up for a trading/virtual account straight away. Upon launching the application for the first time, a sign-up window will pop up which requires basic details like name, cellphone number, email address, and city of the user, once the required details have been submitted the user will receive an OTP (one time password) on the provided email address. The submission of OTP will mark the conclusion of the sign-up process and the user can log into their K-trade account. K-trade allows its customers to start stock trading as low as PkR 5,000.
The application has two modes real and virtual. The app allows you to switch to the virtual mode by selecting the option on the top right corner, by choosing the virtual mode, the user will have PkR 1 million of virtual money and can start virtual trading with that. This mode is an excellent opportunity to practice trading before investing real money. Apart from this, the users of K-trade are also provided with customer service, trader’s assistance, and access to an exclusive research portal to guide the investors in making a well-informed decision. The research portal includes detailed research reports on companies, economy, and performance indicators of all the listed companies.

All the users of K-Trade application are provided with a standard watchlist initially. However, you can modify the watch list and add/ remove as many stocks as you want. The watchlist displays the real-time update of the stock performance and is linked with the PSX portal. To add stock, the users simply need to type the desired stock’s symbol on the search bar provided and select it. The stock will then permanently be added to the watchlist. To remove a stock from the watchlist, select the already added symbol and opt for the removal from the watchlist option. Shares can be bought or sold through two options on the application, directly from the watchlist or through the “trade” option in the listed menu on the left. To buy/sell directly from the watch list, simply select the desired stock and choose “the buy/sell” option, this will direct the users to the trade window. To execute an order, two fields are required i) the number of shares to be bought/sold and, ii) the rate at which the user wants to buy/sell. To confirm the order, the app requires a pin code which is “0000” by default for all the users.
Once the order is executed, the application will show a confirmation pop-up. The users can view the orders in line (not executed yet) by selecting the transaction option from the list down menu, the user can also cancel the non-executed orders in this window.
The other option along with the watchlist on the main screen is the portfolio, the users can see their real-time portfolio performance in this section. This option shows the total investment, net worth, buying power, and profit/loss of the user at a particular time.
The portfolio shows a detailed breakdown of return from each stock to date

In an economy, some individuals/ institutions have an idle cash surplus, while some have a cash deficit and are struggling to raise funds, which is where capital markets step in.

Capital markets are financial markets where the trade of different financial assets takes place. It is a channel for buyers and sellers to trade bonds, stocks, currencies, etc. Capital markets provide the opportunity to deploy idle savings of individuals and institutions. They provide access to market participants for raising funds and are closely linked with the development of an economy.