I lost N52million in the 2007-2008 stock market crash, but I’m recouping today- Shareholder

Jafar Adegbola is one of Nigeria’s stoic domestic investors who has weathered the storm with other investors across the world, who got burnt by the 2007/2008 global financial crisis.

While some Nigerian investors have long lost their interests in financial investments and sought other means of raising income to run their business and secure means of livelihood, others have discarded being wary of returning to the financial markets, and have begun to rapidly recoup losses erstwhile made.

Jafar shared his experiences with business a.m following his decision to attend the second monthly edition of the business a.m-GTI Finance and Investment Dialogue (FID) in Lagos on Thursday.

According to Jafar, the value of his stock before the financial meltdown was N52 million. He said “around two-three years ago, they were down to under N10 million, but thank God I did not lose hope, I continued trading and as at present, I have recouped nearly N40million. Little by little, it started appreciating with the help of my stockbrokers and advisers.”

He commended the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Nigerian Stock Exchange for their initiatives towards fostering inclusion.

“The SEC is doing well, they are improving, and the introduction of the e-dividend is very good. They have made it easy for us that abandoned our shareholdings at a time to come back easily and that is a way to encourage participation of domestic investors. It so easy that when you go to any of your banks, your shareholdings can be traced. Many of my friends including my children are back to investing now. ” he said.

He also urged stockbrokers and investment advisers on being explicit in their services to clients. “They advise me on stocks to buy and sell, and sometimes I get their reports but they are not clear. They need to come down to our level and explain things in clear terms” he advised.