The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, has highlighted the need for fund managers to take advantage of technology to boost their business growth.
In his sphere of knowledge, the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) in the securities industry has increasingly become critical considering the outbreak of COVID-19 and its impact on the financial sector as well as transactions in general.
According the Director-General, who served as a guest speaker at the 2020 GIMPA Law School Webinar Conference, additionally cautioned financial institutions against cyber fraud as the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a significant increase in fraudulent activity.
“In the case of assets under management, there seems to a balance between withdrawals and new investments. What is clear is the need for investment in ICT driven service delivery platforms. As someone has said, the new normal means that work is no longer a place you go but what you do. We expect our licensees to invest more in ICT and also take note of the potential threat of cyber risk. We expect our licensees to rely on ICT to ensure adequate disclosure and engagements with the investing public,” he said.
Whiles urging further, he said businesses within the sector should endeavour to frequently review their business models to meet the changing trends in the economy.
“As a Commission, we recently issued guidelines on holding virtual annual general meetings for the guidance of listed companies and market intermediaries and we expect that the firms would retain the option of using virtual platforms in addition to the traditional in-person meetings beyond the Covid-19 era. We have also given direction to the market to do electronic submissions to the Commission. Without doubt, this period also calls for all to interrogate their business and operating models in order to stay relevant,” he said.
Following the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, many businesses were left with little or no option than to revolutionise to meet the changing trends, by embracing technology.
Also, this is to make full use of digital technologies to confront the wide range of difficulties posed as a result of the pandemic.
