SEC to Address Impact of Fees on Capital Market Investments

By Dipo Olowookere

Plans have been concluded to discuss ways to deepen financial literacy in the country and look into the basics of investing, the importance of assessing the impact of fees when choosing an investment, among others.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a notice on Wednesday, said it would organise a series of events from Monday, October 26 to Friday, October 30, 2020.

These events would be used to discuss these issues in the Nigerian capital market to commemorate the fourth annual World Investor Week (WIW) under the auspices of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

“The WIW is a week-long event aimed at raising awareness about the importance of investor education and protection, towards engendering the financial and overall wellbeing of the individual, and particularly in view of the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic,” the apex capital market regulator in Nigeria said.

Trading the different financial assets in the market comes with various statutory charges like the VAT, stamp duty, trade alert fees, brokerage commission and a few others.

While some have argued that some of these charges are unnecessary, others have asked for the lowering of these fees to attract more participation.

During the week, SEC said it has made arrangements to interact with the public through radio and television interviews, newspaper articles, social media and a host of other events on this issue and others.

The agency noted that it is working with the Financial Literacy Technical Committee (FLTC) to host a webinar titled Mobilising Savings and Investments to lecture participants on the risks involved in the different investments tools.

“The WIW will stress messages regarding mobilising savings and investment and will also deliver a key message on financial literacy,” it said.

To make the week a success, SEC has invited all stakeholders across the nation to join hands to “raise the awareness on the important need to educate and protect the investor.”

“This becomes more important with the realisation that the investor, as our customer, is the king without whom there will not be a market,” it explained.