Investment schemes surged to N3trn in 2024 –SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission says its Collective Investment Schemes increased to over N3 trillion in 2024.

The Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said this in a notice in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said that CIS were part of the market system that allowed people to diversify their risk via different angles besides going to companies to invest.

Agama said that CIS allowed an individual to invest in 10 companies through one route which was different from going to invest directly in a company.

“In the collective investment schemes, you get a bucket of shares and ask people to invest. It reduces your risk, it diversifies your potential and of course takes care of the ups and downs in the market whenever it does exist. It is for us, a very good area for Nigerians to invest in.

“With a collective investment scheme, you do not need to understand it because someone is there to understand it for you and invest on your behalf and also understand the dynamics in the market,” he said.

The SEC DG disclosed that beyond the CIS, the capital market aided the development of the economy through the recapitalisation of banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He added, “As you are all aware, the banks are a very important element in our development and economic sphere.

“In 2024, the CBN came up with a regulation to increase capital for all banks. Many people thought it was too daunting a task for the capital market. However, where else will the banks who already loan money short term get money from other than the capital Market?

“But of course, the capital market came to the rescue.”

Agama said that for all the issuance that happened in the market in 2024, the commission raised about N2.2 trillion for the banks.

He said that apart from the banks, other institutions also came to raise capital from the market.

Agama stated that within the period under review, many government bond issuances geared toward infrastructure development also took place.

“The only place you can get long-term capital for infrastructural development is the capital market. There has always been this mistake of people going to the money market to loan money that will be used for long-term projects. It is a recipe for failure,” he said.

(NAN)