Ali Farid Khwaja

analyst and former CFO of SafeCharge

Compiled from 2 recorded interviews. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Ali Farid Khwaja is the chairman of KTrade Securities. After his master's, Khwaja received job offers from UBS and Google. He joined UBS in 2006.

Early life and background

Khwaja is from Islamabad and used to live in Pindi. He lives in London. [2]

Education

Khwaja did his A levels. He began his undergraduate studies in 1999 and completed them in 2003. He did a double major in computer science and economics at LUMS. He completed a master's in economics in 2004. [2]

He received the Rhodes scholarship and went on to Oxford. At Oxford's business school he completed a master's in financial economics. [2]

Career

After his master's, Khwaja received job offers from UBS and Google. He joined UBS in 2006. At UBS he covered the technology sector on the investment banking side. As a technology analyst he advised large institutional investors to invest in the companies he covered. The technology companies he covered included Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel. [2]

He then worked at a hedge fund that invested in emerging markets. The hedge fund's markets included Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan and Africa. He did technology research at Berenberg, covering Apple and Samsung. He has said he was the top-ranked technology analyst in Europe. [2]

SafeCharge and Autonomous Research

Khwaja was CFO of SafeCharge. He has said SafeCharge, where he was CFO, was acquired for a billion dollars. He made acquisitions in Singapore, Tel Aviv, Dublin and Germany. He then became a partner at Autonomous Research. Afterwards he felt there was a massive opportunity in Pakistan. [2]

Investment app

Khwaja has said KASB was the oldest capital market business in Pakistan, set up in 1952. He has said KASB was a founding member of the Lahore and Dhaka stock exchanges. He has said that until 2015 that business was Merrill Lynch's partner in Pakistan. He has said the bank had issues and was forced to merge with another bank. He has said he relaunched the business under the same brand name in 2018. [2]

Khwaja has said the app launched in April 2018 and is the number one investment app in Pakistan. He has said his company has a million downloads, 260,000 registered users and 5,000 paying customers. [2]

He has said his company does not encourage anyone to trade actively. He has said its mission is to get as many people as possible to invest, not to trade. [2]

Views

Khwaja has said Pakistan is a huge economy, the sixth largest country in the world with 220 million people. He has described Pakistan as having been a market of 220 million people with nothing to acquire. He has said there is a higher return in Pakistan because few people invest there. He has said Pakistan's market is hugely undervalued. He has said some Pakistani companies have dividend yields of 14 to 16 percent. [2]

He has said only 250,000 people in Pakistan invested in stocks, about 0.1% of the population. He has said 1 to 2 percent of people in Bangladesh invest in stocks, and 60 to 70 percent of people in the US and UK. He has said there are 585 companies listed on the Pakistan stock market. He has said digital apps like KTrade let anyone open an account and invest. [2]

Zero-risk product

Khwaja has said ready future arbitrage is a technical term and is basically a zero-risk product. He has said zero risk means investors' money can never go down. He has said the return on the zero-risk product is fixed for one month. [2]

Timeline

1999
Began his undergraduate studies.[2]
2003
Completed his undergraduate studies.[2]
2004
Completed a master's in economics.[2]
2006
Joined UBS.[2]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-10-10 Pakistan's stock market will double, but the onboarding is broken Thought Behind Things
2021-10-13 Why only 0.1% of Pakistan invests in stocks Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Ali Farid Khwaja do?

Ali Farid Khwaja has worked as a technology analyst, advising large institutional investors to invest in the companies he covered. He was CFO of SafeCharge and became a partner at Autonomous Research. He has also said an investment app launched in April 2018.[2]

Where did Ali Farid Khwaja study?

Ali Farid Khwaja did a double major in computer science and economics at LUMS and completed a master's in economics in 2004. He received the Rhodes scholarship and went on to Oxford. At Oxford's business school he completed a master's in financial economics.[2]

Where is Ali Farid Khwaja from?

Ali Farid Khwaja is from Islamabad and used to live in Pindi. He lives in London.[2]

Which companies did Ali Farid Khwaja cover as an analyst?

At UBS, Ali Farid Khwaja covered the technology sector on the investment banking side. The companies he covered included Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel. At Berenberg he did technology research covering Apple and Samsung.[2]

What has Ali Farid Khwaja said about investing in Pakistan?

Ali Farid Khwaja has said only 250,000 people in Pakistan invested in stocks, about 0.1% of the population. He has said Pakistan's market is hugely undervalued. He has also said there is a higher return in Pakistan because few people invest there.[2]

What is a zero-risk product, according to Ali Farid Khwaja?

Ali Farid Khwaja has said ready future arbitrage is a technical term and is basically a zero-risk product. He has said zero risk means investors' money can never go down. He has said the return is fixed for one month.[2]

References

  1. Pakistan's stock market will double, but the onboarding is broken . Thought Behind Things , 2025-10-10.
  2. Why only 0.1% of Pakistan invests in stocks . Thought Behind Things , 2021-10-13.
Show the source passages (60 statements)
  1. He did his A levels. I used to go to St. Mary's Academy mein se maine A levels kiya.
  2. He is from Islamabad and used to live in Pindi. I'm from Islamabad. Um I used to live in Pindi.
  3. He lives in London. I live in main London mein rehta hoon.
  4. He did a double major in computer science and economics at LUMS. LUMS mein maine computer science aur economics mein double major kiya.
  5. He began his undergraduate studies in 1999 and completed them in 2003. So I went there in 1999, completed undergrad in 2003.
  6. He completed a master's in economics in 2004. Uske baad maine masters in economics bhi wahan se kiya 2004 mein.
  7. He received the Rhodes scholarship. Um and then I got the Rhodes scholarship.
  8. He went on to Oxford. Aur phir main Oxford chala gaya.
  9. At Oxford's business school he completed a master's in financial economics. Haan wahan pe main business school gaya, wahan pe financial economics mein masters kiya.
  10. After his master's he received job offers from UBS and Google. Achcha masters karne ke baad mere paas do job offers thi. Ek thi UBS mein technology research karne ki aur doosri thi Google mein.
  11. He joined UBS in 2006. So I joined UBS in 2006.
  12. At UBS he covered the technology sector on the investment banking side. Magar of course I was on the investment banking side jahan pe main technology sector ko cover karta tha.
  13. As a technology analyst he advised large institutional investors to invest in the companies he covered. as a technology analyst mera kaam tha ki jo duniya ke bade institutional investors hain unko main advice karta tha ki in companies mein aap invest karo.
  14. The technology companies he covered included Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel. main technology sector ko cover karta tha. Nokia, Ericsson, Alcatel, ye us zamane mein bahut badi companies hoti thi.
  15. He then worked at a hedge fund that invested in emerging markets. Phir wo karne ke baad main ek hedge fund mein chala gaya jismein main khud duniya bhar ki stock markets mein emerging markets ke andar invest karta tha.
  16. The hedge fund's markets included Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan and Africa. Toh ye markets thi Russia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Pakistan, Africa, South Africa tak.
  17. He did technology research at Berenberg, covering Apple and Samsung. I again did technology research at a bank called Berenberg. Usmein main Apple ko cover karta tha, Samsung ko karta tha.
  18. He has said he was the top-ranked technology analyst in Europe. And I was the top ranked technology analyst in Europe.
  19. He was CFO of SafeCharge. Jab main SafeCharge mein CFO tha
  20. He has said SafeCharge, where he was CFO, was acquired for a billion dollars. SafeCharge jiska main CFO tha it got acquired for a billion dollars.
  21. He made acquisitions in Singapore, Tel Aviv, Dublin and Germany. Maine acquisition kiye Singapore mein, Tel Aviv mein, Dublin mein, Germany mein.
  22. He then became a partner at Autonomous Research. Aur wo karne ke baad main partner ban gaya Alliance Bernstein ki company autonomous research mein.
  23. He then felt there was a massive opportunity in Pakistan. And then I I felt that there was this massive opportunity in Pakistan.
  24. He has said Pakistan was a market of 220 million people with nothing to acquire. Pakistan ek aisi market thi jahan pe 220 million log the aur koi cheez hi nahi thi acquire karne ki.
  25. He has said there is a higher return in Pakistan because few people invest there. Opportunity isliye hai ki yahan pe koi karta nahi hai so there is a higher return for whatever you do, in whichever sector.
  26. He has said Pakistan is a huge economy, the sixth largest country in the world with 220 million people. we are a huge economy, matlab sixth largest country in the world, 220 million population.
  27. He has said the app launched in April 2018. Ji so we launched it in April 2018 and right now it's the number one investment app in Pakistan.
  28. He has said the app is the number one investment app in Pakistan. right now it's the number one investment app in Pakistan.
  29. He has said his company has a million downloads. We have a million downloads.
  30. He has said his company has 260,000 registered users. We have 260,000 registered users
  31. He has said his company has 5,000 paying customers. we have 5,000 paying customers.
  32. He has said his company handles around 5 million dollars of trade daily. we handle around 5 million dollars of trade on a daily basis.
  33. He has said stocks are traded entirely through the app, and that commodity trading is only just starting and runs through a desktop terminal. Uh stocks is all through the app, commodities we're just starting it right now. Toh usmein that's through a desktop terminal.
  34. He has said KASB was the oldest capital market business in Pakistan, set up in 1952. So KASB uh was the oldest capital market business in Pakistan. Set up in 1952.
  35. He has said KASB was a founding member of the Lahore and Dhaka stock exchanges. It was the founding member of Lahore Stock Exchange, founding member of Dhaka Stock Exchange.
  36. He has said that until 2015 that business was Merrill Lynch's partner in Pakistan. till 2015 ye Pakistan mein Merrill Lynch ka partner tha.
  37. He has said the bank had issues and was forced to merge with another bank. And then the bank had issues and it was forced merged with another bank.
  38. He has said he relaunched the business under the same brand name in 2018. In 2018 I relaunched the business with the same brand name.
  39. He has said his company had no legacy infrastructure, so it could focus purely on digital. hamare paas koi legacy infrastructure nahi tha toh we could focus purely on digital.
  40. He has said half of his company's revenue comes from institutions. Toh hamare half of our revenues come from institutions.
  41. He has said the other half of his company's revenue comes from 5,000 individuals. The other half comes from 5,000 individuals.
  42. He has said only 250,000 people in Pakistan invested in stocks, about 0.1% of the population. So there were only 250,000 people who invested in stocks in Pakistan. Which is 0.1% of the population.
  43. He has said 1 to 2 percent of people in Bangladesh invest in stocks. Even Bangladesh mein 1 se 2% log invest karte hain.
  44. He has said 60 to 70 percent of people in the US and UK invest in stocks. Aur US, UK mein jahan pe main rehta hoon, 60 to 70% karte hain.
  45. He has said digital apps like K Trade let anyone open an account and invest. digital ki wajah se aur K trade app ki wajah se log ab anybody can reach out and open up an account and invest.
  46. He has said that investors always go where things are bad. as an investor aap hamesha wahan jaate ho jahan pe cheezein kharab ho.
  47. He has said there are 585 companies listed on the Pakistan stock market. Pakistan stock market ke andar 585 companies listed hain.
  48. He has said ready future arbitrage is a technical term and is basically a zero-risk product. Wo there's something called ready future arbitrage. Where wo thoda technical term hai. Basically it's a zero risk product.
  49. He has said zero risk means investors' money can never go down. Zero risk ka matlab hai ki unke paise kabhi neeche nahi ja sakte unki investment.
  50. He has said the return on the zero-risk product is fixed for one month. Uh so the the return is fixed for one month.
  51. He has said his company does not encourage anyone to trade actively. Active trading hum kisi ko encourage nahi karte.
  52. He has said his company's mission is to get as many people as possible to invest, not to trade. hamara mission logon ko trade karwana nahi hai hamara mission zyada se zyada logon ko invest karwana hai.
  53. He has said stock investing is a partnership and is Islamic. So generally stocks or investing in companies is partnership and it's Islamic.
  54. He has said stock investing is an extremely powerful tool because it aligns investors with successful people. So stock investing is actually extremely extremely powerful tool because it aligns you with the guys who are successful people there
  55. He has said some Pakistani companies have dividend yields of 14 to 16 percent. Pakistan mein kuch companies ki dividend yield yani ke invest jitna aapne invest kiya us pe jo aapko return mil raha hai sirf dividend se wo 14 15 16% hai.
  56. He has said Pakistan's market is hugely undervalued. Pakistan market is hugely undervalued.
  57. He agreed that account opening was extremely cumbersome. Aapne bilkul sahi kaha ke account opening was extremely cumbersome.
  58. He has said that in earlier days, opening an account with his company gave the customer a booklet needing signatures in about 36 places. us zamane mein agar aapne humse hamare sath account khulwana tha to aapko ek book milti thi jiske andar aapne I think 36 jagah signatures chahiye the.
  59. He has said accounts can now be opened fully digitally without speaking to a broker. Now you can open an account completely digitally without talking to any broker.
  60. He has said the reforms and changes made by the SECP and the Pakistan Stock Exchange over the past 24 months were amazing. Pichle 24 months mein SECP ne jo reforms laye aur jo changes kiye aur Pakistan Stock Exchange ne jo changes kiye they're amazing.