The managing director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, has advised investors to take advantage of the current low prices of equities on the Nigerian stock market.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) to Fidelity Bank in Lagos, Okonkwo said that it is the better to invest when prices of stocks are low.
He said most of the investors are still reluctant to patronise the stock market because of their experience during the last market down turn.
“Now that prices are low, it is the best time to invest and as things turn around, people will harvest. Like Warren Buffet said, ‘be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy’. People are greedy when the market is rising because they can see and fearful when the market is down. Unfortunately, for many Nigerians the only time they knew about the market was when the market was booming, people were putting their money and they lost their money. So many of them are still skeptical about shares,” he said.
Okonkwo stressed the need for stakeholder education on financial inclusion in order to increase the numbers of domestic investors participating in the market, urging CAMCAN members to create more awareness about shares investment.
“We need stakeholder education more now because we would be relying on journalists to let the people know, especially those who keep their money out of financial system that financial inclusion is not just about people opening accounts in banks. It also includes access to capital market that is those who do not know about shares. That is not only on opening accounts but also to learn to assess the capital market.