SEC moves to reduce transaction costs in capital market

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday disclosed that it was taking steps to reduce transaction costs in the Nigerian capital market, to shield investors from high charges.

The Acting Director-General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, stated this during a meeting with the Association of Corporate Trustees in Abuja.

Uduk, who was represented by Acting Executive Commissioner, Operations, SEC, Mr. Isyaku Tilde, also reiterated the determination of the commission to ensure that the investors in the Nigerian capital market are adequately protected in all transactions.

She said, “We are doing a lot to boost investors’ confidence in our market. But I want to say that both local and foreign investors are very good for the market.

“For instance, the foreign investors, because they trade their shares all of the time it leads to price discovery as against the local investors that just takes a long term view on their investments.

“Investors’ fears can be of two folds, firstly they could be afraid because they feel that capital market operators will mismanage their investments, secondly is looking at the volatility of the market that makes investors skeptical.

“For the first scenario, we have a number of initiatives that we have 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. For the second category, 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.”

Uduk further stated that investors were also protected through the National Investors Protection Fund (NIPF), risk-based supervision that enables the SEC to supervise the operators to ensure that they do not do what they are not supposed to do.

She added, “We are committed to protecting investors in the work we do. We will keep working on our rules and the possibility of amending them when the need arises, we want more transparency in the market so that investors will feel comfortable and the market can be better.”