Learn · Track 8: Track, practise and review · lesson 2 of 4 · Intermediate
Multiple broker accounts on PSX: combine the portfolio
Shares at more than one PSX broker? How to combine holdings, reconcile average cost and dividends by hand, and how SuperX's import will do it.
To combine a PSX portfolio held at several brokers (alag alag broker ka portfolio ek jagah), add up the quantity of each symbol across every account, then compute one weighted-average cost: total money paid for the symbol divided by total shares. For example, 300 shares at Rs 150 plus 200 shares at Rs 180 is Rs 81,000 for 500 shares, an average of Rs 162. The CDC statement confirms quantities but carries no prices, so the cost has to come from each broker’s own screen or trade ledger. SuperX’s import, which opens to the first invited users on 23 November 2026, is built to do this arithmetic from screenshots and statements.
Why do investors end up with more than one broker?
It usually happens one reason at a time:
- Account limits. In March 2026 the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) raised the Sahulat account limit from Rs 1 million to Rs 3 million, and, as ProPakistani reported, allowed Sahulat accounts at multiple licensed brokers with one Sahulat account per broker. A saver who outgrows one broker’s account can therefore open another. Whether the cap counts each broker separately or all of them together is something to confirm with the broker and in SECP’s own text, which SuperX could not open directly when checking. The Sahulat guide explains the account itself.
- Different tools. One broker has a good app, another has a better research desk or a margin facility, a third came with a bank account.
- Account origin. An overseas Pakistani investing through a Roshan Digital Account gets a broker via the bank. The same person may also have an older account opened in Pakistan.
Each broker holds your shares in a sub-account under its own CDC participant account, and some investors also hold a direct CDC Investor Account. The CDC account guide explains the difference. All of it ties to the same CNIC and NCCPL UIN.
What does CDC show across sub-accounts?
CDC records custody. Its statement lists each security you hold and the quantity, and nothing about money. The Account Balance Statement is emailed monthly to the registered address, according to CDC’s Investor Account Services pages. CDC’s own description of its CDC Access portal says one login, based on your UIN, opens all of its online services, and its consolidated dashboard covers both Investor Accounts and sub-accounts. SuperX could not open the CDC pages directly (they returned an access error), so this summary comes from search results of those pages. Check the exact layout against your own statement.
What a custody record cannot give you is the price you paid. The table shows which source answers which question.
| Source | Quantity | Average cost | Trade dates | Sold positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDC statement or CDC Access | Yes, across accounts | No | No | No |
| One broker’s holdings screen | Yes, that broker only | Yes, as that broker computes it | No | No |
| One broker’s trade ledger | Yes, that broker only | Derivable from the rows | Yes | Yes |
The first row is the cross-check; the last is the raw material. More on the formats in CDC statement vs broker screen vs ledger.
How do you reconcile average cost across brokers by hand?
Do it per symbol, never per broker. The rule: total rupees paid divided by total shares held. The numbers below are illustrative, not real trades.
| Symbol (illustrative) | Broker A shares | Broker A avg cost | Broker B shares | Broker B avg cost | Combined shares | Combined avg cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUBC | 300 | Rs 150.00 | 200 | Rs 180.00 | 500 | Rs 162.00 |
| OGDC | 400 | Rs 120.00 | 100 | Rs 150.00 | 500 | Rs 126.00 |
| LUCK | 20 | Rs 900.00 | 0 | none | 20 | Rs 900.00 |
The HUBC row is (300 × 150 + 200 × 180) ÷ 500 = (45,000 + 36,000) ÷ 500 = Rs 162.00. The OGDC row is (400 × 120 + 100 × 150) ÷ 500 = (48,000 + 15,000) ÷ 500 = Rs 126.00. A simple average of the two prices (Rs 165 for HUBC) would be wrong, because the lots differ in size.
Three traps appear in practice:
- Different conventions. Some brokers include commission and levies in the average, others do not, so two screens are not strictly comparable. The same applies after bonus shares: one broker may rebase the average, another may show the bonus shares at zero cost. Bonus shares explained covers why.
- Moved shares. If shares were transferred from one broker to another, ask the receiving broker whether its screen carries your original cost or starts afresh. SuperX has not verified how each broker handles this, and it is a common reason for a screen showing a “cost” you never paid.
- Sold lots. A holdings screen forgets what you sold. If realised profit matters for tax, you need the ledger from each broker. The capital gains tax post explains why the dates and quantities matter.
How do dividends work with several brokers?
Each broker’s sub-account earns its own entitlement. The company pays a cash dividend per share to whoever is on the register, and the money goes to the bank account recorded on each CDC account. If you hold the same stock at two brokers, you get two payments, possibly into two banks, on slightly different days.
To reconcile, multiply the per-share amount by the shares in each account, then add. An illustrative case, using the per-share figure from a real notice: The Hub Power Company declared a final cash dividend of Rs 5 per share (50% of the Rs 10 face value) for the year ended 30 June 2026. With the illustrative holdings above, Broker A’s 300 shares earn Rs 1,500 and Broker B’s 200 shares earn Rs 1,000, a total of Rs 2,500 before tax. Tax is withheld at source, so the amount credited is lower; the withholding tax post explains how. The percent-of-face-value guide explains the “50%”.
The risk most often missed is an out-of-date dividend bank account at one broker. CDC Access shows what each account has on record, so check it once a year.
How will SuperX’s import combine them?
The import page describes three ways to bring holdings in: a screenshot of a broker’s holdings tab, a pasted CDC or broker statement, or a one-tap Smart Log for trades from today onward. The app is not open yet, so everything below is in the future tense.
- You will import one broker’s screen at a time. SuperX will read symbol, quantity and average cost from the image and show every row for review before anything is saved. Each symbol is checked against the live PSX list, and a row that does not match is flagged, not guessed.
- A CDC statement will bring in symbols and quantities. Because it carries no prices, a holding without a cost will be labelled “cost unknown” instead of being shown with an invented gain.
- Nothing asks for a broker login, and nothing places an order.
- After you confirm, the page says your P&L, weighted-average cost and sector exposure are on screen.
The import page does not say that the app labels which broker each lot came from, so keep a note of that yourself. It also states that a screenshot is read by an AI vision model and sent to the provider for that one request, while a pasted CSV never leaves SuperX’s servers. For a statement full of positions, the paste route is the more private one.
The Portfolio Coach’s checks, such as how much of the total sits in one stock or sector, only mean something when every broker is counted. The Coach help article lists them, and the portfolio tracker page shows the rest.
A one-hour routine for three brokers
- Download the CDC statement and write down each symbol and quantity. This is the master list.
- Screenshot or export each broker’s holdings screen and trade ledger.
- For every symbol, check that broker quantities add up to the CDC quantity. A mismatch means a transfer, a pledge or a corporate action you missed.
- Compute the combined weighted-average cost per symbol with the formula above.
- Note the dividend bank account on record at each broker.
If step 3 does not balance, fix it first. A cost basis built on wrong quantities is wrong however clean the arithmetic.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have accounts with more than one broker on PSX?
Yes. Many investors do. As reported in March 2026, SECP allows Sahulat accounts at several brokers, with one Sahulat account per broker, and a normal brokerage account has no Sahulat ceiling. Each broker opens its own sub-account for you.
Does CDC combine my holdings across brokers?
CDC’s description of CDC Access says its dashboard consolidates your accounts under one login based on your UIN. SuperX could not open the CDC pages directly, so check how your own statement and portal show it. Either way, CDC records quantities and not prices.
How do I find the combined average price of a share bought at two brokers?
Multiply shares by price at each broker, add the two totals, then divide by the total shares. A simple average of the two prices is wrong unless the lots are the same size.
Will I get one dividend or several?
Several. Each CDC account is paid separately, to the bank account on its record. Add the payments yourself to see the total, and remember that tax is withheld before the money arrives.
What does SuperX need from each broker?
Only what you show it: a screenshot of the holdings screen, or a pasted CDC or broker statement. It does not ask for a broker login and does not place orders.
Try it
When the app opens to its first invited users on 23 November 2026, the import page is where each broker’s holdings will go in, one screen at a time. To be invited, join the waitlist.
Education, not investment advice.
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