Shareholders list factors for restoring confidence in stock market

Shareholders’ groups have reiterated the need for industry regulators to restore investors’ confidence by ensuring that regulatory activities in the stock market portrayed transparency and fairness.

Besides, they advocated for enhanced collaboration between various regulatory authorities in the entire market ecosystem to boost market recovery.

The shareholders, who spoke in a chat with The Guardian, explained that if regulators would portray high level of transparency and fairness in every transaction and dealings in the market, investors, especially the local ones would develop more confidence that their investments are protected in the market.

They added that collaborative efforts among regulators in the entire market ecosystem would reduce penalties slammed on listed firms, which, according to them, impacts negatively on investors’ dividend.

Specifically, the President, Constance Shareholders Association, Shehu Mallam Mikail, said aside operating with high level of transparency, regulators in the entire capital and financial market must work together to restore confidence in the market.

“Our regulators must have coordination within themselves in order to understand themselves, checkmate regulatory lapses and sustain market development.

“It is this synergy that would help them to also understand these quoted companies and the challenges they are facing. These challenges may be in form of regulatory approvals or policies.

“Again, understanding these companies would also help the firms to comply with directives by the regulators to help forestall any form of penalty because these penalties erode investors’ confidence, and impact negatively on our dividend payment.”

The President, Proactive Shareholders Association, Taiwo Oderinde, said transparency and fairness is compulsory to restore investors’ confidence in the market.

He said: “For regulators to restore investors’ confidence and sustain it, they must be transparent. If not, even other market operators will not take them serious, and corruption will take the centre stage in the market. Foreign companies and investors will only be attracted to a market where regulators are transparent.”

The President, Renaissance Shareholders Association, Olufemi Timothy, argued that the level of transparency in the stock market must be enhanced, and the risk management framework must also be strengthened to boost investors’ confidence to attract more companies or their subsidiaries to be listed on the nation’s bourse.

According to him, “That’s a fact; anything done without being transparent will kill the market. Investors’ confidence feeds on transparency, fairness and others.”