Economy
Experts Give Useful Stock Trading Tips at Stanbic IBTC Webinar
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Knowledge, they say, is power and with the changing world, it is very important to always update what someone knows so as to be well-informed, especially in the investment world.
This was the main reason Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, recently hosted a virtual session to enlighten Nigerians on the potentials of investing in the stock market.
The Stanbic IBTC webinar themed You Don’t Know About Stocks? Come On Now featured stockbroking experts like Afolabi Gbenro, Head, Sales Trading and Benjamin Jesumuyiwa, Head, Mandate and Settlements, both of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers with Tosin Olaseinde, founder of Money Africa, Jennifer Awirigwe, Certified Financial Educator and Solafunmi Oyeneye of Wealth Motley, a Personal Finance Educator as panellists.
The goal of the session was to acquaint individuals new to the stock market with basic stockbroking terms, useful stock trading tips and how to use the Stanbic IBTC stockbroking app.
Afolabi stated the importance of diversifying investments in stocks and listed factors that affect the prices of stocks as supply, demand, news, and investor sentiments.
He stated that the benefits of investing include dividend yield, capital appreciation, equity shareholder privileges and utilising investments as collateral, stressing the importance of research and advising Nigerians to conduct their own research and evaluate companies before investing.
On considerations before entering the stock market, he said, “You would need capital, investment objective, and risk profile assessment to determine the kind of investment you should venture into. You would also need to stay abreast of market updates.”
Benjamin Jesumuyiwa, Head, Mandate and Settlements, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, urged Nigerians to invest in stocks to reap long term rewards.
He said: “The stock market makes it easy to buy shares of companies and they can be purchased through a broker or via online platforms. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers offers a discounted rate of 0.7 per cent on brokerage fees. Once you have set up an account, stocks can be purchased in minutes.”
Benjamin talked about the ease of using the Stanbic IBTC web and mobile applications platforms, stating that the platforms have been designed to allow customers to sign up themselves, with direct access to the market.
Tosin Olaseinde commended Stanbic IBTC for making stock trading accessible and affordable for Nigerians, as individuals can open a stockbroking account with zero naira.
She advised beginners to invest while gaining knowledge about the stock market and recommended Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as an entry point especially for people who have an aversion to high-risk investments.
She said: “As a beginner, the best place to start is the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). It is a mixture of different equities in one stock. It offers you the opportunity to participate in a couple of stocks without buying everything individually.”
Solafunmi Oyeneye mentioned liquidity and dividends over a long period of time as advantages of trading stocks, encouraging beginners to access the Stanbic IBTC stockbroking app through their smartphones for convenience and less paperwork.
Jennifer opined that the stock market is a good place to invest because it is highly regulated, and the risks can be easily assessed. She also recommended the Stanbic IBTC Stockbroking app for trading stocks for ease of use and speed.
The stockbroking investment series by Stanbic IBTC further reaffirms the commitment of the financial institution to equip individuals with the essential information required to make informed investment decisions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
