New mutual funds trading platform
IN A BID TO INCREASE and connect Nigeria’s existing 13.9million investors’ accounts with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), the NSE has hatched a plan that will grant the exposure of wider access to the capital markets through mutual funds.
IN A BID TO IN CREASE and connect Nigeria’s existing 13.9million investors’ accounts with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), the NSE has hatched a plan that will grant the exposure of wider access to the capital markets through mutual funds.
This is according to Oscar Onyema, the CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) who launched the NSE Mutual Fund Trading and Distribution Platform at the Lagos Exchange house last Friday.
Onyema noted that the platform which took an 18 month collaborative effort of the NSE alongside Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN); Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and the CSCS provides an opportunity for the 256 brokers in the market to distribute mutual fund asset classes to existing investors and attract new investors that may be interested in gaining exposure to the market.
“The Mutual Fund trading platform will bring together market participants to facilitate electronic transactions with seamless interaction between NSE, CSCS Plc, Fund Managers and Brokers Dealers. Investors will have the benefit of a single view of their mutual fund investment and ease variety of transactions like subscription, redemption, cancellation etc.
Olumide Bolumole, head of listing business division, NSE, explained that the platform will provide a solution that will enhance visibility for the listed mutual funds and promote financial inclusion, while stimulating retail investor participation in the market.
“This reinforces our commitment to provide market professionals, issuers, fund managers and investors with a reliable, efficient and an adaptable exchange hub in Africa, to save and to access capital. Through this platform investors can pool funds into chosen basket of securities which have proven to be a veritable means to optimise returns and reduce risks,” explained Bolumole.
In welcoming the launch of the trading platform, Haruna JaloWaziri the managing director/CEO CSCS stated that the launch marks yet another milestone for the Nigerian capital market. “We believe that it will serve as a step towards improving the level of financial inclusion in Nigeria by giving investors varieties of investment products”.
“As part of our commitment to providing far-reaching benefits to the capital market, CSCS Plc has proactively invested in technology that would enable us provides seamless post-trade services to a wide range of financial instruments including collective investment schemes.
Additionally, Fund managers can now augment their product distribution strength using the brokerage communities’ network. We believe this will also contribute towards increasing secondary market participation whilst growing funds under management for Asset managers”, Jalo-Waziri added.
According to the President of Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Dayo Obisan, “It is a great pleasure to see the platform launched and become operational. One of the initiatives in the FMAN 5-year road map was to develop and implement a nationwide distribution/trading platform for mutual funds.
Also, Patrick Ezeagu, Chairman of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) noted, “We in the ASHON are highly delighted to have been a part of the development and emergence of the Memorandum Trading Platform. The project was directed at reawakening the small savers in order to take advantage of investing via mutual fund to have the synergistic benefit of a better return in the market”.