By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Emomotimi Agama, has disclosed that the 2024 World Investor Week taking place from October 7 to 14 would be used to educate Nigerians on the various investment opportunities in the capital market.
He stated that it was time for members of the public to know what asset class they could put their funds into to create wealth for themselves, saying efforts would be made to protect them from entities engaged in illegal fund management activities.
According to him, the commission will always protect investors and also educate them to boost confidence in the Nigerian capital market.
He, therefore, warned illegal fund managers to desist forthwith or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.
“Section 13(a) of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 gives the SEC the power to regulate Investments and Securities business in Nigeria. So, within the law, we have the power to do so.
“What we are doing is strengthening our enforcement mechanism in collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force and the Federal Ministry of Justice. This serves as a notice to anyone not playing by the books to desist or face the law,” he warned.
Mr Agama, while speaking over the weekend in Abuja ahead of the WIW themed Technology and Digital Finance, Crypto Assets and Sustainable Finance, explained that the week is a global initiative of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) established to raise financial literacy among the general public.
“During the week-long events, we will be reaching out to everyone who is interested and needs to know some of the plans and strategies that the SEC has in place to attract more investors to the market.
“One of the major plans within the WIW is investor education. You cannot overrule the value and essence of education. A lot of people are not aware of investment opportunities or investment windows, not because they don’t want to invest, but because they just don’t know.
“So, the idea of the World Investor Week is to bring to the fore the opportunities that exist, the rights of the investor and the dispute resolution mechanisms that are available in case they have those challenges and also to let them understand the value of investments and preparing for the rainy day,” the DG stated.
The SEC chief noted that the regulator would leverage social media and other traditional media channels to reach out to the populace to educate and enlighten them further.
“People have to know exactly what their appetite is. It’s not everyone that has a strong risk appetite. So you need to understand that if you do not have a strong risk appetite, there is an investment meant for you, but if you have a strong risk appetite, there is also an investment meant for you.
“Therefore, having that education and being able to reach out to an investment advisor when you are not sure is a critical part of educating you so you do not get burnt again. With the right education, even when you are burnt, you know you are burnt for a good reason,” he averred.
Business Post reports that activities lined up for the week-long events include bell-ringing ceremonies, panel discussions, investor outreach as well as investor clinics at the SEC head office and all its zonal offices.