Experts at the signing ceremony of the Association of Investment Advisers and Portfolio Managers (IAPM), and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) have urged the Federal Government to create perfect alternatives and complementary policies that would make people derive long-term benefits from the recent border closure of the border.
Speaking at the event over the weekend in Lagos, the IAPM President, Abimbola Olashore identified the creation of more jobs as a major imperative that would grow the economy in a sustainable manner by 2020. Accroding to him, there was need to ensure that youths are gainfully employed.
He also argued that for the economy to record meaningful recovery, there is a need for the government to study every sector of the economy and identify issues impeding growth in these sectors.
Furthermore, he noted that the ease of doing business and infrastructure development must be prioritized, to create a more competitive and productive environment. He argued that it will be counter-productive for Nigeria to depend on others for things that can easily be produced locally, adding that if Nigerians can tame their craving for importation, then the pressure on the economy will give way for growth.
He added: “One major area that we would also look at is the cost of doing business. Here, the infrastructure deficit gives you cost; the cost of accessing finance is still very high. So in all, we must keep these in mind when formulating policies in 2020.
“Again, how do we ensure that we are reducing the cost of people that are actually operating in this environment? So I look at any policy from that perspective. What we are seeing so far is what I call harsh, blunt policies.
“Border closure cannot be government policy; it is just a reaction to the current situation.
The question now is, what other complementary policies are you going to come up with to make the border closure worth it in the long run? These are key.
Olashore said the partnership with CISI would enable IAPM to serve as an accredited training partner for all the stages of the CISI wealth management, the pinnacle wealth management qualification offered by CISI.
“The CISI will also be able to deliver its wide range of financial training products to the Nigeria market through IAPM training platform. The CISI is a professional body of choice for financial service practitioners within the investment industry.”
The Vice President, IAPM, Olufemi Awoyemi, urged investors to leverage the professional advisory services of members in terms of quality investment decision.
“One of the challenges of the environment is how we relate to professional advisers. How many investors today relate with professional advisers? One of the challenges in the market is recognising the role of advisers. People who have been trained, and go through proper processes are more reliable when it comes to investment.
“During the recent crash, one of the challenges is the absence of proper advisory services; it was an all-comers affair. Here there are people that are well trained to foster this kind of advisor service that people should depend on. Culturally, we do not have people who go to advisers to seek advice,” he said.
