Investor education key to market development – SEC DG

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mounir Gwarzo has again emphasized on investors’ education both for retail and institutional to develop the market and improve the level of investment from the domestic side in the country.

Gwarzo, who spoke in Abuja when he received members of the Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN) on Monday, disclosed that one of the strategies of the new management is to embark on huge public enlightenment programme with other stakeholders to educate the investing public.

He said, “Fund management is close to our heart as it is directly under our purview. In dealing with others, we partner with other Self Regulatory Organisations (SROs).

“We will collaborate with you anytime we want to commence the enlightenment through the use of town hall meetings, radio jingles among others. We are ready to put in money for market development and that is one of the cardinal objectives of this management”.

Gwarzo also stated that the management is working to empower SROs and trade organisations to enable them handle some complaints cases and deal with them with dispatch adding that the strategy of the management is not to create committees but to focus on prescriptions and ensuring that they are executed within reasonable time frames.

“We have finished the rules on complaints management framework and very soon, it will be exposed. One of the highlights is to allow complaints to be managed at the lower level” he said.

President of Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Michael Adebola, disclosed that Nigerians need to have a lot of understanding about what mutual funds is all about adding that the enlightenment will assist to boost the industry.

He said: “We have 52 funds in 10 different sectors with the largest being the equity based ones which presently stands at 45. Between 2008 and 2009, all we had invested in funds was about N19billion, but as at last week, we had N152billion.

He promised that the association would work with the SEC on enlightenment of the investing public, which he believes would translate into a bigger fund market in the country.