The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed optimism that Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) or mutual funds in the capital market will hit N1.5 trillion before the end of the year.
CIS is an arranged pool of funds managed on behalf of investors by a professional money manager, which may invest in; ventures capital, portfolio of stocks Bonds and other securities.
The Acting Director-General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, made this disclosure at the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) forum sponsored by the commission in Lagos.
The industry regulator said the commission was adopting new strategies to develop the mutual fund segment in the Nigerian capital market.
Uduk, who was represented by the Head, Office of Economics at SEC, Mr. Okey Umeano, noted that the segment, which currently stands at N1.2 trillion, is growing and urged retail investors to use the funds as a means to access the market.
“In any advanced market, the Collective Investment Scheme form a very big part of the market.
“We at the commission have discovered that some of the investors who lost their savings during the crisis in 2008 are low on confidence.
“That is the reason why we are encouraging retail investors to go through these mutual funds because they are set up and approved by capital market operators and the SEC and the SEC regulates them (operators).
“Currently the size of the segment stands at N1 trillion but we expect it to grow much higher.
