STOCK EXCHANGE HOLDS INVESTOR AWARENESS SEMINAR

The South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE), in its continuing efforts to create investor awareness, held an introductory seminar on Tuesday to explain how the stock market works.

Attendees learned how to start investing in shares, ways to capitalise on savings and grow their wealth long-term and the risk factors related to stock market investment. “Our aim was to explain to the attendees that if they choose the right investments, monitor their performances regularly and adjust investment strategies as necessary, they may find themselves on the road to a strong financial future,” said SPSE business development manager Pretesh Prasad.

“To complement our efforts, we also had the presence of licensed stockbroker representatives to provide further information and the necessary guidance to those who attended.”

The seminar follows the launch of a national essay competition for secondary school students from Years 11 to 13.

The essay requires students to write about savings and investments with the intention of improving their knowledge in the two areas.

“In this day and age, more people want to be financially better-off in the future,” Mr Prasad said.

“It is necessary for investors who are looking for higher rates of returns to understand that there is a stock market in existence and they should not just limit their investments options to fixed income securities.

“There are many incentives in place, such as: tax-free dividends and exemption from Capital Gains Tax for those investing in the stock market.

“Historically, the average returns from the stock market in Fiji has ranked higher in comparison to the other alternative forms of investments.”