The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged stockbrokers to recruit more first-time investors and help businesses raise long-term finance.
The call came as SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama put the value of listed equities at N165.02 trillion.
Agama said the market’s growth should be judged by what it finances, from homes and factories to jobs and pensions.
Agama puts households at centre of market growth
Nigeria’s stockbrokers should judge their growth by how many first-time investors they bring into the market, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director-General Emomotimi Agama said on Wednesday at the 30th Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers “Themed From Capital Mobilised to Prosperity Financed: Financing Nigeria’s Next Era of Growth and Global Competitiveness” at Harbour Point in Lagos.
- He also urged them to help more businesses raise long-term capital and to strengthen safeguards for customers’ money.
Agama said equities listed on the Nigerian Exchange were worth N165.02 trillion as of 3 November.
He asked what a farmer, a market trader or a recent graduate could see from that growth in their daily lives. “Prosperity is the mandate,” he said.
Market growth exposes gaps in participation
Agama put the wider market value at roughly N220 trillion.
- He said transactions in the first four months of 2026 reached N5.95 trillion, more than twice the N2.71 trillion recorded in the same period of 2025.
- Assets under management had risen above N10 trillion over two and a half years, he added.
Agama estimated Nigeria’s market capitalisation at about 33% of gross domestic product, against about 92% for India, a comparison he used to point to room for growth.
He also said too few Nigerians owned shares, bonds or fund units.
- Alongside participation, he identified trust and competitiveness as priorities.
He noted that unresolved complaints and the collapse of unlicensed schemes can erode confidence, while global investors weigh settlement speed, disclosure quality and how readily they can exit.
Agama cited the Investments and Securities Act 2025 as part of the legal foundation for new asset classes, stronger enforcement and oversight of risks to the financial system.
- He also pointed to the shift to one-day settlement from 1 June 2026 as an example of changes already made to how the market operates.
Small savings could reach more businesses
Agama placed the National Savings Scheme, launched on 19 October alongside the Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan 2.0, at the centre of the effort to widen participation.
- He said the SEC was working to bring capital-market education into schools and make opening an investment account as straightforward as opening a mobile wallet.
- He urged the industry to judge the Dangote offer in part by the number of investors it brought into the market for the first time.
For businesses, Agama called for a faster and less costly route to raising long-term funds.
- He said the SEC approved the Dangote offer within five days, citing it as an example of how quickly the regulator could act.
- He urged brokers to help issuers structure bonds and funds to finance housing, agriculture, infrastructure and smaller enterprises.
He described factories, roads and hospitals as examples of what those savings could help build.
The distinction between the primary market and trading in existing shares matters for those projects.
- When an issuer raises money through a new issue, it can put the proceeds to work.
- Trading in existing securities can support liquidity, but the proceeds go to the sellers.
Brokers face a test on investor protection
Agama urged brokers to put clients first through fair pricing and by keeping client assets separate from their firms’ own assets.
- He called for investment in data, systems and cybersecurity to support settlement one business day after trading.
- He also asked the institute to keep raising standards for qualifications, continuing education and ethical conduct.
On the regulatory side, he said the SEC was investing in technology to detect abuse earlier and was strengthening fixed-income safeguards.
- For bondholders, he singled out trustees, guarantees and covenants as protections that must work when an issuer runs into trouble.
- He called for a quick, transparent response to defaults and said the commission would continue consulting on major rules and work to reduce the cost of legitimate market activity.
The jobs of widening access and protecting investors fall to many of the same firms.
- Brokers are often a saver’s first point of contact, Agama said.
- Their handling of fees, client assets and complaints will help determine whether first-time investors continue to use the market.
Path Forward – Widening Access While Protecting Household Savings
Agama’s immediate priorities were to widen access through the savings scheme, investor education and digital onboarding, while improving enforcement and bondholder protection.
He asked brokers to bring more productive companies to market and count the new investors they recruit.
Those measures would show whether more households can participate and whether more of their savings can finance businesses and infrastructure.
