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Beginner3 min readThe Stock Market for Beginners · 6/11

How to Choose a Brokerage Firm in Egypt

The brokerage firm is the door your orders pass through to the exchange. Before choosing because of an ad or a friend, run five simple checks. The first matters most.

What you will learn

  • Check for yourself that the firm is FRA licensed.
  • Ask about all the costs, not just the commission.
  • Tell the broker from the custodian, and track your shares yourself.
The lesson as a short video · 30 seconds · Watch on YouTube
In this lesson
  1. 1. The license comes first
  2. 2. All the costs, not only the commission
  3. 3. Try the app
  4. 4. Who holds your shares?
  5. 5. Support when you need it
  6. Check yourself
  7. Summary

1The license comes first

Trading on the exchange goes through brokerage firms licensed by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA). Do not rely on what a firm says about itself; check in two minutes:

  1. Open the FRA websitefra.gov.eg, then the registers of capital-market firms.
  2. Pick the activitySecurities brokerage.
  3. Search the exact nameYou will see the firm and its license date. If it is not there, do not send it any money.
Watch outA social page or a WhatsApp number using a name close to a licensed firm proves nothing. Deal only through the firm's official channels, and never transfer money to a personal account.

2All the costs, not only the commission

Ask the firm for its written fee schedule and ask about: the commission per trade and whether it has a minimum, any other charges added to a trade, the custody fee for holding your shares, and any deposit or withdrawal charges. A minimum matters most on small orders.

3Try the app

Before funding, look at the app: does it show the order book? Does it tell you your order status (waiting, partly filled, filled)? Can you change or cancel an order easily? Is there a clear statement of every trade and its costs?

4Who holds your shares?

Your shares are not kept by the broker just because it executed the order. They are held by a custodian and recorded at MCDR. That works in your favor: to switch broker, you sign with the new firm and file a request with your custodian.

1
Brokerage firmExecutes your buy and sell orders
2
CustodianHolds your shares
3
MCDRThe central record, which you can query yourself
Three parties, each with its own role.
ExampleAfter the trade settles, your broker's statement says you hold 500 shares of an invented company, Al Noor. You subscribed to MCDR's inquiry service with your unified code and it also shows 500. All good. Had it shown only 300, that is a question for the firm right away.

5Support when you need it

Ask how they respond, at what hours, and whether someone answers during the session if the app goes down. If the firm leaves a problem unsolved, the FRA has a complaints portal for investors.

Learn before you choose

While comparing firms, browse the FoudaLens stock pages to learn which figures an app should be showing you.

Browse stocksOrder book

Check yourself

1. How do you check that a brokerage firm is licensed?

The FRA publishes the register of licensed firms with their activity and license date.

2. You want to switch broker. After signing with the new one, who gets the request?

Your shares sit with the custodian, so the switch request goes to it.

Summary

  • Check the license yourself on the FRA website before any money moves.
  • Get the full fee schedule in writing, and try the app before funding.
  • Your shares sit with a custodian, and you can track them yourself at MCDR.

Related lessons

The Stock Market for BeginnersHow to Protect Yourself from Stock-Tip Groups and "Guaranteed Profits"Trading on the Egyptian ExchangeOrder Types: Market Orders and Limit Orders
Previous · 05How to Open a Stock Account in EgyptNext · 07How to Place Your First Buy Order, Step by Step

Educational content only, not investment advice. Companies and figures in the examples are invented for illustration.