​​​​​​EQUITIES

Buy a stake in your choice of NSE-Listed Companies
Shares are negotiable in​struments issued by a corporation that represent a capital share of that corporation. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as a preferred listing destination in Africa, features large to small-sized  companies from different econom​ic, that meet and adhere to its globally acceptable high listing standards. 

​By investing in shares of listed companies on the NSE you become part owner of these listed companies and thus can benefit from share price growth and/or income paid as dividends. Ownership interest depends on the number of shares held by an investor relative to the company’s outstanding shares and class of shares held.​
An investor can trade shares by using a licensed stockbroker to buy and sell shares on his/her behalf or remotely through direct market access.
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​Ordinary shares​, also known as common shares, provide the holder with voting rights and entitle him or her to a share of the company's success through dividends (when offered), capital appreciation and scrip. In the event of liquidation, ordinary shareholders have rights to a company's assets only after preference shareholders, as well as bondholders and other debt holders, have been satisfied.

Common shareholders sometimes enjoy what are called "preemptive rights." Preemptive rights allow common shareholders to maintain their proportional ownership in the company in the event that the company issues new shares. This means that common shareholders with preemptive rights have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase as many new shares of the company as it would take to maintain their proportional ownership in the company. 

Most of the equities listed on the NSE are ordinary shares (common shares), and such shares account for most of the turnover on the exchange.

Preference shares holders are entitled to a preferential distribution of dividends prior to any distribution to the ordinary shareholders. Moreover, preference shares typically pay a fixed dividend, whereas common shares do not. Unlike common shareholders, preference shareholders usually do not have voting rights. In the event of a company bankruptcy, preference shareholders have a right to be paid from the company assets first. 

There are four types of preference shares: cumulative preferred shares, which must pay out all dividends including skipped dividends; non-cumulative preferred shares, which do not pay out skipped dividends; participating preferred shares, which give the holder dividends plus, under certain conditions, extra earning; and convertible shares, which can be exchanged for a specified number of ordinary shares.​​ 
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Interested in buying shares? Get in touch with a Stockbroker​Click here for the directory of Dealing Members​.

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