Judith Obaze
The Council of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has commenced implementation of its Executive Conversion Programme (ECP), aimed at bringing top class university lecturers and chief executive officers in the financial markets to the league of stockbrokers in Nigeria.
The ECP, which aims at alignment of theory with practice on one hand and consummation of deep financial market knowledge with principles and practice in the securities market on the other, is a temporary special window approved by the CIS’ Governing Council, to bring into the capital market ecosystem, an array of talents in the academia and industry.
Addressing the first batch of beneficiaries at the maiden brainstorming session in Lagos on Tuesday, a past president of the Institute, Mr. Mike Itegboje who congratulated them on the rare opportunities charged the participants to uphold the core values of the Institute, including member-focus, professionalism, service quality, integrity, accountability, resourcesfulness, transparency and respect.
He said that the executive conversion programme of the institute which is targeted at accomplished finance professionals and University Professors in the field of business, finance and allied departments, “is a crash training aimed at converting participants to associate members.”
“CIS believes this would help to promote the interest of the securities and investment profession by upholding the highest standards of service and integrity,” he noted.
Speaking, Professor Taiwo Asaolu of Obafemi Awolowo University, who is also a member of the Institute’s Council, explained that some of them in the ivory towers had always advocated for teaching of Capital Market Studies in higher institutions of learning to catch the students young.
“We have always advocated even before now, that capital market studies ought to be taught at tertiary institutions and not necessarily that when students graduate from University and Polytechnic before instituting moves to catch them and bring them on board.
“It is necessary to enable students of higher institutions take a course in Capital Market to improve their knowledge of the stock market and Investment . This will no doubt enhance their knowledge of capital market principles and workings of the stock market even as undergraduates,” Asaolu said.
Professor Rufus Olowe of University of Lagos noted that many university lecturers would not hesitate to trade on securities exchanges in order to deepen their knowledge of the market and extend this to their students.
“We want to become qualified chartered member of the Institute and proceed to do the training at the stock exchange to enable us qualify to trade in the market. When we are able to trade in the market, it will also improve on our teaching of our students, so that whatever you are teaching is going to be more practical and focused. It will enable our students to acquire practical skills. We shall take our training forward by trading on securities exchanges. This is a combination of theory and practice,” said Olowe.
