How to invest in the Nigerian Stocks Market

The Nigerian stock exchange can be tough to figure out because it’s not very popular. Only a small percentage of Nigerians are investing in the Nigeria Stock Exchange due to the poor economy and a discouraging stock market performance. Also, most people don’t know where to go or how to get started with investing in the Nigerian Stock Market.

There are two ways to investing in the Nigeria stock exchange

1. Acquire the stock directly from the primary market at the Nigeria Stock Exchange office when there are new offerings.
2. Buy from through secondary market from approved broker-dealers.

How to purchase Nigeria Stocks from the primary or secondary market

The buyer must go through a stockbroker/dealer who is a registered member of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) to open an account for trading.

Central Securities Clearing System PLC (CSCS) is the licensed Central Depository, clearing and settlement of transactions in the Nigerian stock market.

Account requirements

A buyer must fill our Know Your Client (KYC) requirement before he or she could be able to trade Nigeria stocks.  The broker provides KYC forms to the buyer.

Steps to Client Onboarding/KYC

• Investors must contact the broker
• Broke will give the client the necessary forms
• Investors submit the form
• The broker processes CSCS account opening and advice the investors of account details.
• Investors can now trade on the NSE (Buying or Selling)

 How to Trade on the Nigeria stock exchange

• It can be done remotely after the account has bee opened
• Through a Dealer
• Traders who wish to trade remotely must send mandate through remote trading platforms provided by the OMS software (Order Management system)
• Dealer OMS forwards the order to NSE Central Order Book
• The trade is settled into clients account with the dealer within 3 business days.
• For orders through the dealer, the broker will send the client’s order through the trading interface to NSE Central order book and the order is filled into the Clients account.

How long does it takes for Nigeria Stock Exchange orders to settle

1. Investors can place trades through their broker or remotely through their broker Order management systems (OMS)
2. The investor’s securities are domiciled with an appointed dealer
3. CSCS nets off securities and cash settlement against the dealer settlement account.
4. Investors should ensure the account is funded for all purchases

Investment securities could also be purchased Indirectly, meaning Custody Account Structure is allowed.