Investing public urged to access inherent benefits of stock market

The poor ranking of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in the first quarter of the year should not deter the investing public in their investment drive, according to financial analysts.

A report by Databank placed the GSE as the third-worst performing equity market among 15 others surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa between January and March 2012, beating only the Mauritius and Zambiam markets.

The steep depreciation of the cedi against the dollar has been cited for the market slip of the GSE, which is the fifth most capitalised stock exchange in the region.

But financial analysts have cautioned against any rush to conclude that the market is not worth investing in, emphasizing that there are other inherent benefits and advantages on the stock market which should not be overlooked by investors.

“When you invest in stocks, there is the possibility that if the company shows up earnings performance, you can get some good dividends. The fact that the overall market did not do well does not mean that stock market investments are not worthwhile”, said Charles Amoah, Investment and Equity Research Officer with New Generation Investment Services, managers of the Anidaso Mutual Fund.

He has noted that “the outlook on the market is currently positive because most companies posted very strong earnings results last year and the entry of the pension fund investments also spell some good outlook for the market”.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana