NSE Records Three Million Retail Investors

• NSE Records Three Million Retail Investors

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has said the number of retail investors has increased to three million.

The Divisional Head, Trading Business, NSE, Mr Jude Chiemeka, while speaking at the Maiden Edition of the Retail Investor Workshop tagged ‘Investment masterclass: Making your money work,’ said the NSE aimed to provide vital and strategic information targeted at equipping existing and prospective investors with useful skills to effectively manage and grow financial resources at their disposal, as well as present retail investment opportunities available in the capital market.

Chiemeka said, “Nigeria has a population of over 190 million people and is the second largest economy in Africa. However, the current financial inclusion indices of 48 per cent leave much to be desired.

“Financial inclusion is a priority of stakeholders in the capital market and the Nigerian Stock Exchange makes it a primary concern to contribute towards the achievement of Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy of reducing the proportion of adult Nigerians that are financially excluded to 20 per cent in the year 2020.

“Currently there are about three million retail investors in the Nigerian capital market, representing only three per cent of the total adult population in the country.”

He said the Exchange recognises the need to improve investor participation and was leveraging recent capital market initiatives such as the tiered Know Your Customer requirements for capital market investments, as well as promoting the introduction of globally competitive investment products with low entry thresholds, to achieve financial inclusion goals.

Chiemeka added that the initiatives had begun to yield positive results as the market had, in recent times, witnessed an upturn in retail investor participation.

He added that the market data from 2019 showed that retail investors outperformed institutional investors by eight per cent in January, and again by two per cent in March 2019.

He said, “The Retail Coverage Department of the NSE will be rolling out measures directed at encouraging retail investor involvement in the capital markets. Over the next few years, various investment workshops will be held across the country, starting with this one here in Lagos.

“Investors can look forward to regular engagements targeted at promoting financial literacy, building investor confidence, as well as the introduction of innovative and technology-driven solutions to stimulate investor participation.”