GROWING TREND OF ONLINE STOCK TRADING

 

GROWING TREND OF ONLINE STOCK TRADING

 

In recognition of the fact that markets are technologically driven, Nigerian capital market operators are aligning their businesses with the trend of online stock trading.

Some of the firms are: Meristem Securities Limited, FBN Capital Limited, Lead Securities & Investments, Capital Bancorp plc, Investment One Financial Services Limited, among others. Some of these products have the capacity to bridge the divide of about 35million potential investors that should approach the capital market against the current 5 million investors. The stock market has the capacity to attract up to 40million investors.

MeriTrade

Meristem Securities introduced “MeriTrade” which is an online stockbroking platform that allows users to buy and sell stocks online through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) from the comfort of their home, office, car and even on the go.

The platform defines stockbroking in an entirely different language and creates a world-class experience, bringing your broker (electronically) to the comfort of your home and office.

MeriTrade allows investors buy and sell shares/bonds, with as low as N50,000 only, from the comfort of their home, office and even on the go. The investors must have a stockbroking account with Meristem.

This platform allows investors to fill account opening form online; make payments online using debit cards/ATM cards; place buy and sell orders online; make withdrawals online; set triggers, which also allow investors to set stop loss/gains limit; learn about the art of investing in the Nigerian stock market through our resource online; access to your portfolio position and cash statement online. It also allows investors access to daily price list, market update, trade order confirmations, confirmation of executed trades, and contract notes.

Myportfolio.fbncapital.com

With the myportfolio.fbncapital.com, FBN Capital clients view investments and transactions in real time; invest directly in any FBN Capital Mutual Fund; submit a trade to buy or sell equity; access FBN Capital research and market data.

The company said that the development of the portal was driven by a commitment to continue creating value for customers through innovation and creation of solutions that simplify access and interaction.

This implies that their clients now have a convenient, secure and flexible platform that will motivate them to use the products and services FBN Capital has to offer, such as mutual funds and brokerage. With the support of professional advisers, investors can also track all investments, or access FBN Capital research and analysis to build the ideal portfolio.

LeadTrader

This was introduced by Lead Securities & Investments an on-line real-time trading platform that allows investors to make informed decisions.

Also, LeadTrader which is a secure channel to buy and sell shares of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is a frontier in stockbroking in Nigeria and is in line with the market development initiative of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Not only does LeadTrader allow investors to make informed decisions, it gives the clients speed, convenience and control. There is no added cost to transaction using LeadTrader.

This product which retail and institutional investors embrace is also important for foreign investors, “compliance checks are in place to mitigate against money laundering and fraud using LeadTrader,” the company also noted.

LeadTrader provides investors the comfort and convenience of executing their trades on-line via a range of devices as desktops, laptops, tablets and other mobile devices conforms with the global best solutions for on-line, real-time trading of securities utilised by retail and institutional investors in advanced economies.

Bancorp e-Trade

Capital Bancorp plc introduced its ‘Bancorp e-Trade’ an online platform provide access to stockbroking services for the busy executives and upwardly mobile young adults. This online service has operated quietly for over one year.

Capital Bancorp plc believes that its ‘Bancorp e-Trade’ platform encourages financial inclusion for the investing public through a user friendly and simple online interface.

Some of the features include: displays balance in any currency of choice, investors can give mandate online (buy or sell); ability to place an order at any time (including outside the NSE trading hours); ability to specify expiry dates on orders; investors can view the portfolio balance as well as their portfolio analysis; investors can check their statements of account; and they can as well view and download contract note in different formats.

Also, investors using Bancorp e-Trade can view their certificates verification status for their securities; it also streams live the stock market prices; does live portfolio valuation; investors can make amendments or cancel undone transactions; view graphs and charts; and access other online-real time client information.

“It is about the ease of stockbroking transactions from the comfort of homes or offices as you are only a click away via your handheld, portable tablet or the good old computer system. It offers 24 hours and 7 days in a week access to portfolio position and cash statement of the customer. To encourage retail participation, it has an affordable start-up feature,” said Aigboje Higo, managing director, Capital Bancorp plc.

“With access to internet, clients can trade in shares/bonds through their computers and mobile devices from the comfort of their homes from any part of the world. With a minimum of N1, 000, clients can trade in shares,” Higo said while taking investment journalists through on the workings of the platform.

The company notes that leveraging on information technology, the secured online stockbroking platform makes trading in shares/bonds more inclusive, adding that it captures more of the retail segment of the market.

They noted also that it makes trading in shares/bonds closer to everyone because stockbroking office cannot be opened everywhere. It also stimulates savings habit among the youths –undergraduates, youth corps members, etc.

It reduces the implicit (travelling and opportunity) cost of trading in shares/bonds. Because investors want transactions done as quickly as possible, time is money.

EasyTrade

In response to the demand of local and foreign investors, Investment One Financial Services Limited introduced ‘EasyTrade’ to the Nigerian investing public.

EasyTrade is an online trading platform which enables the company’s existing and prospective clients to buy and sell stocks on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) with real-time processing functionality.

Chidiogo Ezejoifor, managing director Investment One Stockbrokers International Limited said ‘EasyTrade’ platform provides “our clients real time market data (including real time prices of stocks), with the availability of various technical indicators to analyse (across various time ranges) the trend and momentum of the market, hence enabling users make informed decisions based on the latest data.”

According to her, “EasyTrade combines world-class technology with a robust client data protection and security framework in order to give our clients a seamless experience when processing transactions. In addition, we will provide access to in-depth market insight through our research materials to enable our clients make informed investment decisions.”

She said: “This platform will enable our clients manage their stockbroking portfolios on mobile devices, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. The 24/7 connectivity to the portfolio is complemented by access to Investment One’s online customer support (through online chat functionality), so that clients can talk directly to the customer service team who will manage their enquiries.”