Christians, Muslims and Religious Clerics laud NSE over Investors’ Clinic

The Stock Exchange Building in Lagos became a melting pot of diverse religions as Nigerians of different religious backgrounds came together to participate in a special Retail Investors Clinic organized by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for religious organizations. The clinic, themed “Investing Strategies for the Prudent Investor” was graced by clerics and leaders from both the Christian and Islamic faiths and experienced facilitators who moderated discussion on key areas such as Investment Fundamentals, Understanding Market Cycles and Asset Balancing through Diversification.

The state coordinator, Regional Council of Muslim Organizations, Lagos State Chapter, Abdulfatai Raji, noted that the training made participants aware of the sensitivity on investment and the current state of the market. All present realized that a long term plan for the stock market is advisable and unlike having the sole mind-set of making quick returns, participants are better convinced and educated about the stock market as a whole.

“A lot of people were concerned about the downfall of 2008 and it made them lose interest in the capital market but with all we were exposed to today, we know what we need to do and what we need to guide against. This initiative deserves commendation as what we got today is highly informative and as such I am making a passionate appeal to The NSE to extend this kind of opportunity to other bodies because Nigerians need to be more informed about the capital market” said Raji.

Speaking on the event, the parish pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Faith Connection Parish, Pastor Akinwale Rotimi, said: “From the teachings of the facilitators and with what I have seen today, we can use the information to reposition our portfolio in diversification and also inform people that one can play in the capital market space and make good returns for oneself.  Those not here today have surely missed a lot. I will encourage The NSE to put the materials for today’s seminar online for interested individuals to access.”

“You will agree with me that quite a lot of Nigerians are religious, whether in the Islamic faith, or Christian faith or probably a traditionalist, so religion will play a very pivotal role in this time in that we have many of our congregation filled with uninformed people about the economy. The role of religion basically is to motivate and get the people informed with relevant information that can help them move their lives up the ladder –this is what The NSE has successfully kick-started here today” added Pastor Rotimi.

When asked about his assessment of the Retail Investors’ Clinic, the Chief Missionary of Islamic Education and Faith Initiative, Imam AbduSemiu Ajani Alkilany, revealed that the training was timely and going by the recent trends in the market, it is high time Nigerians and specifically religious bodies are given accurate and appropriate consideration to partake more in the Nigerian capital market.

“The training has afforded me personally and I think the religious bodies represented here today, the opportunity to be able to streamline many things about the capital market that used to be so difficult for us to understand. To highlight some, in the area of access to stock market, we have been able to know that Islamic bonds are also welcome along with the concept of Sukuk. I would like to invite others that were not here today and I actually suggested having this kind of seminar quarterly, so that we can have more people learn about this” said Imam Alkilany

“I believe many of the religious bodies here are now keen to partake more in the capital market. I will put this on my Friday sermons so we can motivate more people who are interested in this kind of program. The NSE should please make this type of Clinic a point of duty because there are other religious bodies that need to be exposed to this kind of knowledge” added the Imam

It can be recalled that between 2009 and the first half of 2012, local investors eschewed the market on account of losses they sustained in the aftermath of the near meltdown of 2008 with transaction values being controlled by foreign investors to the tune of 80% in certain instances. It is encouraging to note that a new turn of events occurred from January 2013 till date with local investors accounting for over 50% (50.07) of transaction value in the Nigerian capital market as at end of third quarter 2013.

The NSE kicked off its financial literacy program In February 2012 as a first step in protecting investors. This program aims to enhance investors’ understanding of the basics of investing around portfolio construction, asset allocation and risk diversification. The “Investor Clinic” aspect of the program was delivered in partnership with Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital in two separate events, while delivery to retail investors was completed in over 400 workshops across Nigeria. This year, the bourse started off with a focus on retail investors working through the professional bodies, trade associations and finally religious bodies in December.