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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured the Ghanaian public that it is has taken measures to ensure a healthy and vibrant asset management industry. To this effect, it has introduced corporate governance guidelines, investment guidelines and financial resources guidelines to ensure properly capitalized and well governed asset management firms.
These were made known by the Managing Director of SEC, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, at a press conference on Asset Management Companies in Ghana, held at the Commissions premises on 2nd April, 2019.
He noted that with the help of information technology, the Commission is working at giving the investing public a quicker access to information on licensees so they can make informed decisions of the capital market.
Rev. Ogbarmey Tetteh stated that supervision and enforcement is being strengthened to ensure that licensees deliver on their mandate to the investing public. He said SEC is also following due process, in accordance with Act 929, to resolve complaints lodged with it against some licensees.
He pointed out that the SEC website had a list of licensees that are compliant with regulatory requirements as well as a list of those with pending complaints and significant regulatory issues and urged the public to contact them for further clarifications if any.
He explained that some licensees had been suspended from the market and others had voluntarily surrended their licenses while some others were at various stages with regard to resolving client complaints and regulatory issues.
Giving an overview of the recent activity in the fund management industry, Rev. Ogbarmey Tetteh intimated that the fund management business involves engaging the services of a licensed operator to manage an investor’s risk appetite, investment objectives, liquidity needs and understanding of financial products. He said that the fund manager is expected to provide exposure to a broad range of securities that minimizes risks.
Rev. Ogbarmey Tetteh stated that because investment entails risk, it is important that the investment industry is 100% clear about the risks presented by the various asset classes.
Giving some statistics, the Deputy Director General of SEC, Mr Paul Ababio, said that as at December 2018, there were 140 fund managers, 35 mutual funds, 19 unit trusts, 22 broker dealers, 2 securities exchanges, 16 custodians, 15 primary dealers, 5 trustees, 4 registrars, 5 issuing houses, 9 investment advisors and 1 venture capital fund.
