.Pledges effective market regulation
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged retail investors to approach the market through the Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) which has grown from N1.1 trillion at the beginning of 2020 to about N2.1 trillion at the end of October 2023.
Director General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda while giving his remarks at the just concluded 2023 Journalist Academy, held at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Lagos Zonal Office, in Lagos, noted that the CIS provides opportunity for retail investors to have their investments managed by knowledgeable investment professionals.
To manage risk and entrench trust in CIS, SEC had mandated that all CIS funds be held in custody.
Yuguda however, maintained that the initiative helped the growth of these funds.
He also said that SEC is advancing plans to introduce internal solutions that align with its mission of effective market regulation.
According to him, the Commission is in the process of rolling out best in class technology in terms of infrastructure and solution, adding that effective market regulation can greatly benefit from the use of up to date technologies.
Collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Financial Sector Deepening Africa, Yuguda said the Commission has made significant progress in the launching a co-location hosting regime for its data centres.
He stated that these data centers will house the Hyper Convergence Infrastructure, which will serve as the foundation for the Commission’s solutions.
The SEC DG also noted that the Commission is establishing robust connectivity through two dependable service providers to ensure uninterrupted availability, and implementing a sophisticated surveillance system to enhance precise market regulation.
Also, it is introducing a user-friendly electronic registration and returns analysis solution that provides market operators with a simple yet comprehensive interface for compliance reporting.
Speaking further, he said, “To help solve the perennial problem of unclaimed dividends, the Capital Market Committee, under the leadership of the Commission, has embarked on the creation of a new e-dividend portal, which is expected to become operational on the 30th of November 2023.
“Once operational, this portal will simplify the process of mandating accounts for e-dividend. This will improve efficiency and ultimately leading to a significant fall in unclaimed dividends.
“In furtherance of its efforts to ensure that new dividends do not become unclaimed, the Commission is presently supporting work on an identity management system that would ensure that investors and market participants are properly identified so as to forestall the problems that led to accumulation of unclaimed dividends.
“In line with the Commission’s developmental role, the zonal offices continue to conduct investor clinics.
“These clinics provide solutions to investors dealing with issues relating to their investments in the capital market. They also serve as good platforms for investor education and awareness.
The SEC DG maintained that the clinics also support the financial inclusion efforts of the Commission, stressing that over the past four years, the Commission has worked hard to expand and deepen the market through the creation of new products and the expansion of existing ones.
