Economy
Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Invests N350b in Nigerian Stock Market
By Dipo Olowookere
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Ltd. (SIPML) Mr Eric Fajemisin, said the firm invested 12.5 percent of its Assets Under Management (AUM) worth N2.53 trillion, representing N350 billion, into the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Speaking at a media parley in Lagos, Mr Fajemisin disclosed that the investment in equities comprised Mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds and private equity funds, among others.
He also said that from 2004 to 2017, the firm paid a total of N66.5 billion to 37,700 retirees. The payment, according to him, was made monthly and quarterly as required by retirees without hitch in the last 14 years.
He also stated that the company’s AUM was in excess of N2.53 trillion with over 1.6 million retirement savings account across the country.
However, he emphasised that, “There is still more land to conquer in the industry and great improvement is also required.”
Mr Fajemisin said SIMPL was now Nigeria’s largest Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in terms of clients.
On the micro pension scheme, he said if properly harnessed, it has a great potential, saying it has the capability of landing the industry into the next phase of growth and development.
According to Mr Fajemisin, the scheme had the capacity to deepen the country, considering the fact that 70 percent of Nigerian working population operate in the informal sector.
He highlighted other benefits of the scheme to include improved standard of living for the elderly, safety of funds, access to mortgage facilities and health insurance, among others.
On the part of SIPML Executive Director (Investments), Mr Oladele Sotubo, the multi fund structure to kick off on July 1, would compel PFAs to invest not below the required threshold.
According to him, the multi fund structure is divided into four different funds tagged Fund one, Fund two, Fund three and Fund four, saying age was determinant factor in PFAs investment exposure in the proposed multi fund structure.
Mr Sotubo said Fund one was the most aggressive fund for below 49 years, pointing out that PENCOM rule stipulated that PFA equities exposure in Fund one should be a minimum of 20 percent and maximum of 75 percent.
He explained that the Fund two is for 49 years and above with a minimum equity investment of 10 percent and a maximum of 55 percent, while under Fund three, 50 years and above were allowed to invest a minimum of 5 percent in equities and maximum of 20 percent.
He said that PFAs equity exposure under Fund four would be zero to 10 percent to minimise risk.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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