Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The role of stockbrokers in the capital market can never be pushed aside because they are a very critical part of the ecosystem.
In fact, investors, both retail and institutional cannot transact securities available at the market without going through them. They are just like the part of the Bible which says no one gets to the Father except through Me.
However, the choice of stockbrokers by investors at the equity market is swayed by different factors. Some traders prefer those who offer lower commission, while others like stockbrokers who are customer friendly.
Every brokerage firm wants to be the most preferred, pulling the highest volume and value of transactions and due to this, many try to position themselves before investors to be able to maintain leadership position in the business.
Data gathered by Business Post showed that in March 2020, EFG Hermes Nigeria Limited emerged the most active stockbroker both by volume and value.
During the period under consideration, the brokerage company traded a total of 2.693 billion units of shares, accounting for 12.33 percent of the market’s turnover for the month.
Rencap Securities, which occupied the second position, managed 1.468 billion units, accounting for 6.72 percent, while Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, which was the most active for February 2020, dropped to the third place in March after transacting 1.409 billion stocks, accounting for 6.45 percent.
Cardinalstone Securities traded 1.232 billion securities (5.64 percent), CSL Stockbrokers Ltd traded 907.8 million stocks (4.16 percent), Morgan Capital exchanged 767.3 million units (3.51 percent), Quantum Zenith Securities and Investment Ltd traded 729.5 million shares (3.34 percent), ARM Securities transacted 665.3 million equities (3.05 percent), FCSL Asset Management Company exchanged 662.6 million shares (3.03 percent), while Coronation Securities Ltd transacted 644.9 million stocks (2.95 percent).
The above 10 brokerage firms pulled a total of 11.180 billion units of stocks traded at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last month, resulting in 51.18 percent of the total volume.
By value, as earlier stated, EFG Hermes Nigeria Ltd was the most active stockbroking firm last month, pulling stocks worth N39.651 billion in the month, accounting for 16.30 percent of the total value of transactions for the month.
Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, which came second, traded shares worth N30.163 billion to account for 12.40 percent of the overall transaction value, while Rencap Securities transacted stocks valued at N20.721 billion to account for 8.52 percent of the trades.
CSL Stockbrokers exchanges equities worth N12.996 billion (5.34 percent), Tellmer Capital Ltd transacted N11.298 billion shares (4.65 percent), ARM exchanged N10.155 billion stocks (4.18 percent), Cardinalstone Securities transacted N9.187 billion equities (3.78 percent), Cordros Securities Ltd traded N7.520 billion shares (3.09 percent), Chapel Hill Denham Securities transacted N6.723 billion stocks (2.76 percent), while Quantum Zenith Securities and Investment Ltd traded N6.463 billion equities (2.66 percent).
In all, these 10 stockbroking firms traded shares worth N154.9 billion in the month under review, contributing 63.68 percent to the total value of transactions recorded in March.
