Capital Market Securities in Retrospect: A Shift into Properties

Abstract

Securities investors in the 21st century seem to change the trend of investment for fear of the effects of the global financial crises and executive fraud scandals which account for the quick fall in the value of shares and other investment securities in the Nigerian Capital Market. Informed investors are of the view that the primary aim of their investment is to help create more wealth and advance their grip on corporate control; yet these have not been realistic because of these crises, hence the diversion from securities investment business to property ownerships. These have accosted most investors to resort to alternative investments, most especially in the properties such as land and buildings. This presentation substantiates the nature of regrets of most investors of securities and their sudden shift to investment properties and the effects such will have on the consolidation and growth of the Nigerian Capital Market. Structured questions were asked of 47 randomly selected investors in some selected Nigerian States: Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Abuja, Jos, and Gombe. Data was empirically sourced from both primary and published materials which were analyzed via a chi-square test to obtain results. It was discovered that most capital market investors have begun to shift their investment priorities to properties such as land, buildings and other valuables which have a bearing on quick investment appreciation and returns. The author recommends that a complete shift from securities by investors may jeopardize the expected growth of the Nigerian Capital Market and investors may end up overstressing properties investment which may likely experience a similar trend in the stock market. Hence investors should only learn to diversify by spreading their investment on both securities and alternative investments.