IFMP Stock Brokers Certification (SBC), Pakistan study plan

Map the regulatory architecture: identify the roles of SECP, PSX, the Central Depository Company, and the National Clearing Company, and state which body licenses brokers, which supervises trading, and which handles settlement.

List the core statutes and rulebooks governing Pakistani brokers (securities law, broker regulations, PSX rulebook, CDC and NCCPL regulations) and note for each what conduct it controls.

Define the main financial instruments traded in Pakistan (equities, debt securities, mutual funds, derivatives where applicable) and distinguish their risk and cash-flow features.

Describe the licensing and registration path for a stock broker, including eligibility, capital and net-worth conditions, and ongoing compliance duties.

Build a one-page regulatory map linking each regulator to its enforcement powers and the penalties it can impose.

Explain the conduct-of-business obligations of a broker toward clients: know-your-customer, client onboarding, segregation of client assets, record keeping, and reporting.

Summarize anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing duties, including customer due diligence, suspicious transaction reporting, and record retention.

Outline market-abuse prohibitions: insider trading, market manipulation, front-running, and misleading disclosure, with the regulator's investigative powers.

Describe the complaint-handling and disciplinary process, from client grievance to broker arbitration or regulator action.

Draft a compliance checklist a broker's desk would use before accepting an order from a new client.

Walk through the primary-market lifecycle of an equity offering: origination, due diligence, prospectus preparation, regulatory approval, book-building or fixed-price subscription, allotment, and listing.

Distinguish public offerings, rights issues, preferential allotments, and private placements by eligibility, pricing, and investor protection features.

Explain the role of the underwriter, the lead manager, and the registrar in a public issue.

Interpret key prospectus disclosures (use of proceeds, risk factors, financial statements, management discussion) and identify red flags.

Compare the pricing mechanisms used in Pakistani offerings and the factors that determine subscription success.

Describe the secondary-market structure: trading floors, the automated trading system, order types, trading sessions, and price limits or circuit breakers.

Explain order matching, trade confirmation, and the difference between quote-driven and order-driven markets.

Identify the major PSX indices, how they are constructed and weighted, and what they signal to investors.

Compute simple trade outcomes: gross value, brokerage commission, regulatory levies, and net settlement amount for a buy and a sell.

Explain margin trading and short selling rules for brokers, including collateral and exposure limits.

Trace the settlement cycle from trade execution to final settlement, identifying the roles of the clearing house, the depository, and the settling broker.

Explain the T+2 (or applicable) settlement convention and what happens on each settlement day.

Describe the depository account structure: beneficial ownership, participant accounts, sub-accounts, and the difference between immobilization and dematerialization.

Explain clearing-fund and risk-management mechanisms, including margin requirements and default handling.

Outline the corporate-action process (bonus shares, rights, dividends, splits) and how it flows through the depository to the investor.

Distinguish client categories (individual, joint, corporate, non-resident) and the documentation and authority each requires.

Explain the broker's fiduciary duties: best execution, suitability, disclosure of conflicts, and handling of client money.

Describe the investor-protection framework: compensation or protection funds, dispute resolution, and the limits of protection.

Analyze common broker misconduct scenarios (unauthorized trading, churning, misappropriation of client funds) and the controls that prevent them.

Explain client-account statements, confirmations, and the client's right to inspect records.

Explain the role of central banks and monetary policy, and how interest-rate changes transmit to equity valuations.

Define inflation, GDP growth, fiscal deficit, and balance-of-payments measures, and describe their effect on market sentiment in an emerging economy.

Describe how exchange rates and foreign portfolio flows influence a small open market's equity prices.

Apply basic valuation concepts: price-to-earnings, dividend yield, and discounted cash flow, and interpret what each reveals.

Explain the relationship between bond yields, interest rates, and equity risk premiums.

Consolidate the regulatory and conduct domains into a single reference sheet covering obligations, penalties, and client protections.

Rehearse calculation questions: commissions, settlement amounts, margins, and valuation ratios, targeting speed and accuracy.

Complete two full-length timed mock exams and review every wrong answer to identify the underlying rule or concept missed.

Identify the three weakest domains from mock results and re-read only those sections.

Build a final one-page cheat sheet of formulas, deadlines, and regulator responsibilities for last-week review.