As part of the ways of securing the investments of investors, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the launch of Complaints Management Framework (CMF) to address the complaints of market investors.
The acting Director-General of SEC, Mary Uduk said the new initiative would enable investors to lay complaints through the appropriate channel which would help the regulator intervene in the shortest time possible. She also noted that several people had gone through various means like the involvement of uniformed men to regain investments.
“Before this framework, people complained to many offices, some go to EFCC, some went to the police, some went to any person that they think even thugs, to come and get their investment back but then, it was not yielding fruit and it was dragging the regulator on many fronts, we, therefore, saw the need to change our strategy and come up with a more robust framework,” Uduk said.
What you should know about the Complaints Framework: The Complaints Management Framework is expected to guide investors and ultimately protect their investments in the market. It is also meant to function like a customer care facility where questions can be asked about the capital market, according to Uduk.
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Uduk added that SEC had begun to monitor and supervise the capital market so that investors investments would not be tampered with or mismanaged under any circumstance.
“We have now set up a framework where we now monitor them more regularly. We also have other initiatives arising from our 10-year master plan, which is to protect investors and bring confidence in the market such as the e-dividend mandate. When people invest in the capital market they expect returns, they expect to make money. So one of it is to be able to protect your dividend and get your dividend as at when due.”
She also warned stakeholders with multiple subscriptions to come forward and regularize them in order to enjoy the benefits of investing in the capital market.
“In the past, people subscribed to shares and bond in many different names. Some as many as five, six different names and because of that they were not able to get the benefit of investing in the Capital Market. For instance, if you have a bank account, a bank account recognises only one name with only one BVN. If you have different names, they are not your real names and your share certificate does not carry those names and the banks do not recognise those names, you are not able to get the dividend of investing in the market. Therefore, we have given the stakeholders of the market a window of opportunity for people that engaged in multiple subscriptions to come and regularise those holdings that they have and consolidate them to be able to get the benefit of investing in the capital market.”
Speaking of all the new initiatives that have been introduced into the capital market, she noted that they were geared towards protecting investors in the market as well as making the Capital market more attractive to investors.
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