May 15. 2012 / BusinessDay
 

Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) says the Exchange is finalising efforts to constitute a new board of trustees to administer an Investor Protection Fund (IPF) valued at N635 million, as at December 31, 2011, a move to reinvigorate market confidence, which is at the heart of the Exchange’s strategy to hedge against financial losses.
 

“On Friday, April 27, 2012 we sent a list of nominees to the SEC for approval. The amount in the IPF is N635 million, as per December 31, 2011 audited accounts.” Onyema told BusinessDay.
 

The step is also pursuant to Section 197 of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007, which requires the Securities Exchange to establish an Investor Protection Fund to be administered by a Board of Trustees, subject to regulatory supervision.
 

In a memorandum by the Nigerian Stock Exchange to the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on the investigation of the near collapse of the capital market, Onyema had noted that the objective of the fund was to compensate investors who suffer financial losses.