Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), which is experiencing a bull market this year, provides enormous opportunities for pension funds to invest and realise good returns, Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director of the exchange, has said.
Addressing industry players during a workshop under the theme “Maximising Investment Returns Using the Ghana Stock Exchange”, Mr. Afedzi said “though pension fund investments in fixed-income securities continue to increase, the same cannot be said of equities. Since pension funds are long-term in nature, opportunities exist for players in this space to invest in equities as well.”
He added that “growth in equity investments is critical in making patient capital available for businesses to expand and grow to support the national economy.”
Also addressing the workshop, Hayford Attah Krufi, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority, said “we need to have a vibrant equities market with rewarding returns for pension schemes to channel more investments in making real impact on the economy.
He added: “This collaboration between all capital markets players is critical to ensure retirement income security and social protection for all Ghanaians.”
Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), also underscored the need for pension funds to invest in long-term securities, including equities.
“The stock market offers interesting investment opportunities for asset owners who have time on their side, such as pension funds,” he said.
He added that the implementation of some initiatives in the recently launched Capital Market Master Plan will aid in improving liquidity and listings on the GSE.
Meanwhile, Mr. Afedzie said some of the key initiatives in the GSE’s three-year strategic plan, including the introduction of new products such as green bonds and derivatives, the listing of more companies, and the undertaking of investment literacy programmes for key players and the general public, are aimed at moving the exchange from a frontier to an emerging market, thus making it the preferred platform for investment and long term capital mobilisation