CIS increased to over N3tr in 2024 — SEC

The Director General of the SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, who disclosed this on Wednesday during an interaction with reporters in Abuja, explained that collective investment schemes are a part of the market system that allows people to diversify their risk via different angles besides going straight to the companies to invest.

He said, “In the collective investment schemes, you get a bucket of shares and ask people to invest. Therefore, if you are investing through a collective investment scheme, you probably will be investing in 10 companies via one route as different from investing directly in any company.

“It reduces your risk; it diversifies your potential, and of course, it takes care of the ups and downs in the market whenever it does exist, and it is for us a very good area for Nigerians to invest in because when you do not understand it, do not go into it. With a collective investment scheme, you do not need to understand it because someone is there to understand it for you and invest on your behalf, understanding the vagaries of the market, its dynamics, and how it runs.”

The SEC DG disclosed that beyond the CIS, the capital market aided in the development of the economy through the recapitalisation exercise of banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to him, “As you are all aware, the banks are a very important element in our development and economic sphere. Last year, in 2024, the CBN came up with a regulation to increase capital for all banks. Many people thought it was too daunting a task for the capital market. However, where else will the banks who already loan money short-term get money from, other than the capital market?

“But of course, the capital market came to the rescue. For all of the issuances that happened in the market last year, we were able to raise more than N2 trillion, precisely about N2.2 trillion for the banks, which means the capital market is actually the element that helps to galvanise growth and development.”