.
Parthian Group has allayed investors’ fear of a decline in return on investment in the stock market as Nigeria’s general election draws nearer, urging them to invest in the top 20 capitalised companies on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX.
The global fixed-income, equities market and structured finance firm stated this at a bi-monthly forum of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), with the theme, “Assessing Nigeria’s Financial Sector and Outlook for the Economy in 2023″.
The duo of Oluwaseun Dosunmu, Head of Investment Research, Parthian Securities and Ronke Akinyemi Head, Global Markets at Parthian Partners advised investors to stay short and liquid, take advantage of higher yields and invest in dollar assets, Eurobonds bearing in mind that the rules about diversification still stand. In his presentation, Dosunmu said those with an interest in the equities market should focus on the top 20 fundamentally strong stocks in terms of market capitalization in the Nigerian Exchange; stocks that are liquid and those that pay good dividends.
He said the dominance of domestic investors in the Nigerian equities market is a good development because it shields the market from the impacts of funds outflow from emerging markets and global headwinds.
On what to expect from the market that will guide investment decisions, Akinyemi said Public-Private Partnership, PPP, will reduce pressure on budget funding, as there will be debt issuances on the back of these partnerships and opportunities to invest in these issues.
“Uptick in interest rates is however anticipated in the second quarter, resulting from a reduced level of liquidity and huge budget deficit
“We expect the market to commence this year with some depression in yield, owing to expected liquidity elevation in first quarter,” she stated.