The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has awarded scholarships to 31 financial journalists to undergo the institute’s Diploma Progamme in Securities and Investment Market.
At a ceremony at the weekend to confer the awards in Lagos, the institute said the scholarships further demonstrated its determination to invest in human capital for overall development of the market, especially in information dissemination.
According to the institute, the programme will not only deepen the beneficiaries’ knowledge of the market, but pave the way for them to aspire to become professional securities dealers.
CIS President, Adedapo Adekoje said the awards were part of the corporate social responsibilities (CSR) of the institute aimed at improving the skills of those who cover the capital market for professional reportage.
He noted the propensity for market information by stakeholders in the capital market ecosystem and the roles of financial journalists in the process.
“It is hardly contestable to say that investors, especially in Nigeria, form their opinion of the capital market from what they read in the mass media. In recent years, this has been further amplified by the social media. It is, therefore, critical that financial journalists are well- informed about the market such that they can give enlightened and balanced reporting,” Adekoje said.
According to him, in recognition of the very important role of journalists in the securities and investment industry, the CIS council approved a scholarship scheme that will enable outstanding financial journalists undertake the CIS Diploma in Securities and Investment (DSI) programme at no cost. The scholarship will cover registration fees, examination enrolment fees and study materials.
He pointed out that the CIS Professional Diploma in Securities and Investment will give participants immense opportunities to understand the capital market better and position them just one step away from becoming chartered stockbrokers.
“Domestic investors need education and enlightenment. They need to know the facts behind the numbers that are unleashed on them every day. They need to appreciate that, over the long term investors in properly constructed stock portfolios will be net winners, as consistently reported by researchers. The youths must be educated , market operators must be assisted to continually upgrade their skills, and most importantly, investors must be given the right and adequate information to protect them from losing their hard earned money. In all this, financial journalists, play a major role,” Adekoje said.
He explained that the CIS now offers students the choice of becoming a full-fledged omnibus broker or specialist in any of five stand- alone professional areas, including fixed income dealing, investment advisory services, equity dealing and commodity trading among others.
Guest Speaker, Frank Aigbogun, who spoke on the “Roles of Financial Journalism in Fostering Capital Market Literacy “, urged the awardees to uphold the highest tenet of professionalism in order to contribute immensely to the growth and development of the market.
He advised them to be on top of the global developments in the financial market and leverage their professional and technical knowledge to drive debates on topical economic issues in order to influence public policy positively.
CIS Registrar, Adedeji Ajadi explained that the scholarship had a life span of one year within which the beneficiaries would write examination twice. According to him, the examination is June and September.