Retail investors can now purchase FG Bonds for as little as N5,000 thanks to the FGN bond’s design by the Debt Management Office, which caters to inexperienced, retail investors.
This was disclosed Mr Abiodun Fagbohun, the Chief Executive Officer of a stockbroking firm, who stated that the current arrangement was a departure from the past, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
FGN products were historically used by organizations like banks and pension fund administrators. Now, the Federal Government Securities Issuance Awareness Program, which is being run by DMO and CSL Stockbrokers Limited in different parts of the nation, encourages more Nigerians to diversify their investment portfolios by purchasing different Federal Government securities.
What he is saying
Fagbohun claims that the DMO is working with the stockbroking industry to make sure that everyone can participate in the bond market.
He said, “We created this window through the FGN Savings Bond, whereby retail investors with as low as N5,000 can also participate in the market. For example, if you put about N10,000 in your savings account, you will earn like 2% interest per annum.”
“With the FGN savings bond, you can earn between 9% and 10% interest per annum. It is a good opportunity which was not there for the retail investors before now,” he added.
He claimed that the necessity to bring consciousness close to the people led to the holding of the enlightenment program in specific regions of the nation.
“We have been to Lagos, Enugu and Ibadan. We will be in Kano next week informing the general public about the availability of this product and how it works,’’ he said.
Fagbohun claims that the response to the awareness campaigns has been positive and that all that is required now is better publicity.
“We should let people know about the product and also make it easy for them to subscribe,’’ he said.
According to him, as long as the borrowings were used wisely, the idea of the Federal Government borrowing through the various FGN securities was not an issue.
“Nobody has a problem with debt; households take loans; businesses take loans. Such debts should be used for infrastructure projects and for the productive sector of the economy. The government has to make sacrifices and ensure fiscal prudence and continue to ensure that scarce resources are judiciously allocated,’’ Fagbohun said.
What you should know
- The Debt Management Office (DMO) on behalf of the Federal government has offered for subscription N225 billion worth of FGN bonds by auction in June 2022.
- Speaking earlier at the FGN Security Issuance awareness programme jointly organized by DMO and the stockbroking firm of FG, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, Director-General of DMO, Patience Oniha stated that it is more profitable for Nigerians to invest their funds in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) savings bonds than to save in banks.
- The DMO stated that subscription to FGN savings bonds has increased from about N100 million to over N1 billion in the last few months.
