The top ten stock broking businesses in Nigeria’s stock market earned a stunning N19.209 billion in the first half of 2024, as increased volume and value of transactions on the NGX raised brokerage revenue.
This is a considerable increase over the same period in 2023 when the top ten brokers received N10.789 billion in commissions.
This figure accounts for 54.43% of the total value recorded from January 1, 2024, to June 28, 2024, according to Nairametrics.
Despite fears about growing inflation and interest rate hikes, investor confidence remained high, resulting in increased buying activity.
During the review period, 56.672 billion shares were exchanged, totaling N1.423 trillion.
The 56.672 billion shares represented 44.02% of the total volume traded during the review period, according to The Nigerian Exchange monthly broker performance report.
Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Cardinal Stone Securities, and Apt Securities were the top performers among Nigerian stockbroking businesses, accounting for N727.078 billion in value and 50.42% of total transaction value in the first half of the year.
Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited topped the ranking with a transaction value of N280.606 billion, accounting for 10.73% of the total transaction value.
Cardinal Stone Securities followed closely with shares worth N276.674 billion, accounting for 10.54% of the entire transaction value. Furthermore, Apt Securities & Funds registered an estimated value of N170.798 billion in trades, accounting for 6.53%.
United Capital facilitated trades for N148.355 billion, while EFG Hermes traded shares worth N127.938 billion in the first half of the year.
Cordros Securities, Meristem Stockbrokers, CSL Stockbrokers, Chapel Hill Denham, and Apel Asset completed transactions of N101.485 billion, N88.853 billion, N82.069 billion, N75.921 billion, and N71.275 billion, respectively.
A casual look at the value traded suggests that the top ten brokers may have earned a total of N19.209 billion in commissions in the first half of the year under review.
Brokers frequently charge charges as high as 1.35% on trades, however some charge less depending on the amount of the transaction.
However, this is a 78.04% increase over commissions earned in the equivalent period of 2023, with a value of N829.962 billion.
Equities trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) ended the first half of 2024 on a strong note, despite economic issues including as high inflation, a falling exchange rate, and security worries, with the All-Share Index finishing at 100,057.49 points.