Two Nigerian stock broking firms- Vision Trusts and Investment Limited and AIMS Asset Management Limited have been suspended from participating in capital market activities by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.

The capital market regulator said the suspension also affected individuals sponsored by the companies. Information published on the website of SEC indicated that Vision Trust and Investment Limited was suspended as a result of its sale of 131, 868 and 44, 400 units of UBA PLC shares belonging to the estate of Animashaun Anjorin without mandate.

SEC indicated that the firm was given several opportunities to restore the shares to the owner, but it failed to do so, hence the suspension.

AIMS Asset Management Limited was suspended for non-refund of the sum of N300, 000 deposited by an investor under a portfolio investment agreement.

According to SEC, the investor had deposited the sum of N300, 000 with the operator under a portfolio investment agreement for a tenor of 3 years. But at the expiration of the period and despite several demands, the operator failed to pay the investor her invested sum and the returns therein.

The firm, according to the capital market regulator invested the investor’s money in the shares of Tetrazzini Foods Limited, a private company whose shares are not traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and which is not regulated by the commission.

This, according to SEC is contrary to the portfolio investment agreement between the operator and the investor.

The commission said its efforts to get the company to resolve the matter was also not successful and therefore was left with no option that to place the firm on suspension.

http://businessnews.com.ng/2013/04/28/sec-suspends-two-capital-market-operators/

ok

When I saw SEC, Capital market I thought it was Boko Haram SECT in Abuja market, I quickly click in....... My bad

Great move. This singular act will surely go a long way in restoring investor confidence in the safety of their investments. I commend SEC for this great act. Its the only way our country and economy can grow.

Mainland trust we go meet for sec office next week

Let them tell us the main truth pls.

Cashcraft Asset Management you are next on the suspension line for selling my shares without my consent

This is good news from the management of NSE.

Besides deterring others, it will restore confidence.

Let NSE make known to the public the procedure to follow in reporting the excesses of these Brokers.

Am coming back to NSE with this singular act even though I have suffered terrible losses and abuses from some Brokers!

But how is it possible to sell sombody's stock without a mandate? How can a stockbroking firm sell an investor's stock without the signature of the investor on the mandate form? Do the stockbrokers not submit a copy of this mandate form to SEC or NSE before effecting the sale? Sec should do something about this small stockbroking firms that may be of risk to investors otherwise this can destroy the renaissance and trust of the Nigeria Stock Market. Investors should embrace big stockbroking firms. Person wey don chop belle full no go wan steal your money... A word they say is enough for the wise. Me I go soon run go BGL.

Thank God
Some sanity at last
These guys have a way of kidnapping peoples money and feeding them with bull crap

AIMS messed up on this, just a paltry 300K. The suspension is justified, it teaches other investment house to thread carefully when handling investors fund, some even sell there customers shares without consent if they observe such a customer has not showed up for portfolio review in a long while

Elai147: But how is it possible to sell sombody's stock without a mandate? How can a stockbroking firm sell an investor's stock without the signature of the investor on the mandate form? Do the stockbrokers not submit a copy of this mandate form to SEC or NSE before effecting the sale? Sec should do something about this small stockbroking firms that may be of risk to investors otherwise this can destroy the renaissance and trust of the Nigeria Stock Market. Investors should embrace big stockbroking firms. Person wey don chop belle full no go wan steal your money... A word they say is enough for the wise. Me I go soon run go BGL.

The problem is CSCS and this shows that Nigeria isnt and probably will never be ready for fully automated and electronic share trading.

Because many people have converted their shares and those shares are now held electronically by resident brokers, they can do as they please with investors shareholdings.

My advice to anyone with substantial shares in any of these brokers who is not a day trader but a long term investor is to convert their shares back to paper certificates and keep under their mattress. If your paper certificate gets burnt or stolen, you will know and immediately put a block on them and get the certificates reissued. If they are held electronically with a broker, by the time you find out, the broker may be long gone.

@Elai47

Even if you use a large reputable broker, these mushroom brokers collude with CSCS/NSE officials to carry out their fraud.

All a fraudulent broker with connections in the CSCS has to do to take control of your shares is sign a letter of indemnity that they will be liable for any losses incured by the CSCS. They then back this letter up with your death certificate/letter of authority from you and voila, the CSCS will transfer all your holdings to the initiating fraudulent target broker without contacting your resident broker.

I am suprised, may quack brokers are not doing it with large sums and fleeing the country.

This very encouraging. I hope it continues. Its high time a stop is put to all the fraudulent activities of some of these broke brokers.

I bought the shares of aim assets management in 2008, on a five year tenor in port harcourt. Ever since the expiration of this time I have been lOoking for them as they have since relocated. All the numbers in the certificate they gave me are not available. Do anyone know were I can find them in port harcourt?

pappilo: @Elai47

Even if you use a large reputable broker, these mushroom brokers collude with CSCS/NSE officials to carry out their fraud.

All a fraudulent broker with connections in the CSCS has to do to take control of your shares is sign a letter of indemnity that they will be liable for any losses incured by the CSCS. They then back this letter up with your death certificate/letter of authority from you and voila, the CSCS will transfer all your holdings to the initiating fraudulent target broker without contacting your resident broker.

I am suprised, may quack brokers are not doing it with large sums and fleeing the country.

Wonders shall never end. I am beginning to get scared ooo.

@papillo.. so it is possible to convert your shares from electronic form back to paper form? If this is possible then it should be the best thing to do for long term investors instead of risking your investors with these criminals. But if you do this conversion, does it affect your E-dividend payment system? Does the E-dividend automatically convert to paper/cheque dividend form?
Please anyone with ideas on this should contribute.

ojubi: I bought the shares of aim assets management in 2008, on a five year tenor in port harcourt. Ever since the expiration of this time I have been lOoking for them as they have since relocated. All the numbers in the certificate they gave me are not available. Do anyone know were I can find them in port harcourt?

Your best bet is to contact their head office and request for their office address in Port harcourt. Perhaps they should be able to help you with your problem. You may try the following contact details which I got from google.

Head Office Address: 23, Ajao Road, Off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja.
Telephone: 01- 2120049, 2120051, 2347029523916, 8095988382
E-mail: aims@aimsassetmgt.com

Elai147:


Wonders shall never end. I am beginning to get scared ooo.

@papillo.. so it is possible to convert your shares from electronic form back to paper form? If this is possible then it should be the best thing to do for long term investors instead of risking your investors with these criminals. But if you do this conversion, does it affect your E-dividend payment system? Does the E-dividend automatically convert to paper/cheque dividend form?
Please anyone with ideas on this should contribute.

To be honest, I am not sure you can do this but my suggestion is if you have susbatantial shareholdings in paper certificates, I would suggest not to dematerialise them yet. Until you have been defrauded, you will not realise the scale of fraud going on in the NSE/CSCS. I am currently trying to sort out 2 cases involving tens of millions of naira and it is very messy!

Dematerialise your shares at your own risk. The good thing is there are no sanctions for not dematerialising.

pappilo:

To be honest, I am not sure you can do this but my suggestion is if you have susbatantial shareholdings in paper certificates, I would suggest not to dematerialise them yet. Until you have been defrauded, you will not realise the scale of fraud going on in the NSE/CSCS. I am currently trying to sort out 2 cases involving tens of millions of naira and it is very messy!

Dematerialise your shares at your own risk. The good thing is there are no sanctions for not dematerialising.

Now I understand you properly and thanks for your advice. It makes a lot of sense.

SEC should go beyond suspension. The managers of those stock broking firms should be jailed.

Dis shows dat SEC are just useless. Giving out suspension 4 something dat any serious regulator would be pushing 4 criminal prosecution . Even if dey don't file 4 prosecution , I don't understand why dey can't fine dis firms heavily.