The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), at the weekend continued its enlightenment campaign, as part of efforts to grow the nation’s investment community, thereby helping to develop the Nigerian capital market.
As part of the efforts, the Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Mary Uduk, held a one-day enlightenment programme for the Nigerian Army Ordinance School, Ojo Cantonment, Lagos, at the weekend, where she urged investors to diversify their investment portfolio in order to mitigate risk.
Represented by the Head Lagos Zonal Office of the SEC, Stephen Falomo, Mrs. Uduk noted the importance of investing in various asset classes to mitigate risks and exposure.
She explained that “investment in the Nigerian capital market, just as in any other capital market across the world is a mixed bag of fortunes.
“A smart investor is expected to have this consciousness at the back of his mind at all times, even as he wades into the market, to pick his choice instruments or instrument of investments.”
She said that there were good opportunities to achieve decent returns on investment in the market and urged investors to seek knowledge before investing.
An investor, she continued, must be smart to avoid some obvious mistake which could lead to capital erosion through mixed bag of investment, adding that an investment portfolio connotes a mixed bag of investment instruments such as shares and bonds, adding that investment in mutual funds continues to be a worthwhile investment in the recent time.
The SEC, she continued, has a number of initiatives that have been put in place to boost investors’ confidence.
“We have the E-Dividend mandate system, the Direct Cash Settlement as well as multiple subscriptions in place. Investors have to take ownership of their investments. They have to be able to monitor their investments, attend Annual General Meetings as well as read the annual reports sent out to them.
“We also protect them through the National Investors Protection Fund (NIPF) Risk-Based supervision that enables us to supervise the operators to ensure that they do not do what they are not supposed to do. And again the Complaints Management Framework enables investors to know where to complain to and how long it takes for such complaints to be resolved,” she added.