ASHON chairman tasks investors on risk management

Sam Onukwue, chairman of Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has urged investors to take advantage of opportunities that abound in the Nigerian financial market despite the continuous state of uncertainty.

Onukwue, who spoke on some media reports that investors are facing bleak future in the second half of 2022, following continuous macroeconomic vagaries, supply chain disruptions arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, drop in production and trade growth, rising higher energy, food prices, and inflation among others said there would always be investment opportunities.

According to him, regardless of the state of uncertainties in the global financial markets, investors that take sound investment advice from certified securities dealers, commonly called stockbrokers can enjoy superior return on investment on constant basis.

Onukwue lamented that many investors often lose huge amount of money by relying on their own intuition or consulting unqualified investment advisers.

He explained that investment in any asset class required a lot of variables, including an investor’s investment objective, risk tolerance, sources of funds and time horizon, among others.

“Investment is a trade-off of risk and return, whereby an investor aspires to post highest return at lowest risk. This is achievable if proper analysis is done by certified investment advisers. Our Association- ASHON shall continue to engage investors on the need to work closely with stockbrokers for sound investment advice. We are not saying that there are no risks. Even asset classes that are believed to be risk free contend with inflation risk, exchange rate risk and a host of others. What we are saying is that risk can be managed to ensure superior returns.

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“In every risky situation, there are opportunities. The same applies to investment. It is all about understanding and deploying appropriate investment strategy. It’s not a game of one-size-fits all. Contacting a professional investment adviser is in itself a risk management strategy. Investment professionals’ profile their clients as a precondition for advice on the appropriate investment opportunities.

“There shall always be challenges as long as human beings exist. This doesn’t mean that one cannot post superior return on investment. This is where consulting certified investment professionals becomes essential. We shall continue to guide investors on how to identify the registered investment professionals as they have the skills, competencies and integrity to assist investors make the right decision,” said Onukwue.

He noted that ASHON placed premium on professionalism of its members and would always collaborate with other stakeholders in the financial market to ensure that market integrity is protracted.

“ASHON has always been at the forefront of ensuring that its members operate professionally while the Association collaborates with the capital market regulators, operators and other members in the ecosystem. ASHON shall continue to play pivotal roles in policies that positively impact the capital market. We were at the forefront of banks’ recapitalisation, demutualsation of The Exchange among others,” he said.