LAGOS - A capital market analyst, Mr Olisaemeka Amaeze, has attributed the current fluctuations in the prices of listed equities to the attitude of most investors.
Amaeze, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos said that the present crop of investors lacked the knowledge of the intricacies of the capital market.
“The problem I have in the capital market today is the type of investors we have. They are the type of investors ‘I call in and out investors’.
“The situation in the market now is such that if any stock gains by two or three per cent these investors exist. This is not the type of investors that can develop the market.
“The capital market is supposed to be a market for long time investment.
“It is a place where you buy and wait for three to five years for the investment to mature or you may invest for retirement purposes.
“What we have now is simply speculators and speculation will not help this market to grow,” Amaeze, the managing director of Apex Securities Ltd, said.
He said that he did not see a “very bright” future for the capital market should these investors remain.
He said there was the need for the government to intervene by encouraging foreigners, who are willing to wait for sometime, to bring in fresh funds.
“That I feel is what can help. As it is now, I have my doubts with the future of the market,” he said.
The analyst, however, agreed that investors lost a lot of money during the global financial meltdown.
“People have lost so much in the market in terms of depreciation from N13.8 trillion in March 2008 to the present N5.54 trillion.
“Considering the quantum of loss, investors are very cautious. They are no longer in a hurry to play the market.
“But that notwithstanding, investment is risk and the depression happened everywhere and that does not mean the capital market will no longer bounce back,” Amaeze said.
|
