The Security and Exchange Commission, on Tuesday, encouraged parents to start educating their wards on the benefits of investment and how to avoid being lured into any of the ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes online.
The Director General of SEC, Emomotimi Agama, gave the admonition at a Children’s Day event organised in Abuja by Ryan & Jasmine Consult in collaboration with Assertium.
The warning comes one month after the Federal Government sympathised with victims of the digital investment platform CBEX, stressing that Nigerians must work together to put an end to the rise of Ponzi schemes in the country.
In his address, Agama pushed for improved investment literacy among children in Nigeria.
According to him, early education of children on investment culture, sensitisation on Ponzi schemes, and other investment literacy are quite important.
The SEC boss further highlighted that children’s investment, which usually comes from collective investment or mutual funds in the capital market, is expected to grow bigger because children have remained the majority of Nigeria’s population.
He said, “It is important to start preparing our children earlier around investment culture, sensitisation against Ponzi schemes, and, of course, making them more confident about the future this country has for them. For us at SEC, this is what we love to do to catch them young through teaching.
“The essence is to teach. Mr President has the children at heart. It is important we, the agents of the president, do the work that we need to do by getting the people to know the value of financial literacy, investment in education and saving money for the future of the children.
“Investment for children usually happens with what we call the collective investment scheme or mutual funds. This is because children below the age of 18 years cannot invest in the capital market.”
“We are celebrating Children’s Day today. Our wonderful youngsters. It is just to have fun and learn in the same spot. We created the platform to enable children to control the butterflies in their systems and give them the confidence to invest.”
The representative of Ryan & Jasmi Consult, Mary Makanjuola also shared his sentiment.
Makanjuola further harped on the need for children to be taught how to invest at an earlier age, saying it is important to ‘catch them young’ on special occasions like Children’s Day.
“We are celebrating Children’s Day today. Our wonderful youngsters. It is just to have fun and learn in the same spot.
“We created the platform to enable children to control their butterflies in their systems and give them the confidence to invest,” Makanjuola said
