Abstract:
Securities investors in the 21st century seem to change the trend of investment for fear of the effects of
the global financial crises and executive fraud scandals which account for the quick fall in the value of
shares and other investment securities in the Nigerian Capital Market. Informed investors are of the
view that the primary aim of their investment is to help create more wealth and advance their grip on
corporate control; yet these have not been realistic because of these crises, hence the diversion from
securities investment business to property ownerships. These have accosted most investors to resort to
alternative investments, most especially in the properties such as land and buildings.
This presentation substantiates the nature of regrets of most investors of securities and their sudden
shift to investment properties and the effects such will have on the consolidation and growth of the
Nigerian Capital Market. Structured questions were asked of 47 randomly selected investors in some
selected Nigerian States: Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Abuja, Jos, and Gombe. Data was empirically
sourced from both primary and published materials which were analyzed via a chi-square test to
obtain results. It was discovered that most capital market investors have begun to shift their
investment priorities to properties such as land, buildings and other valuables which have a bearing on
quick investment appreciation and returns. The author recommends that a complete shift from
securities by investors may jeopardize the expected growth of the Nigerian Capital Market and
investors may end up overstressing properties investment which may likely experience a similar trend
in the stock market. Hence investors should only learn to diversify by spreading their investment on
both securities and alternative investments.
