Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) were all set to launch an investor education and awareness programme on July 13 (today) to increase Pakistani investors’ base in the capital market and instill the saving culture, the KSE sources said on Thursdsay. The programme was being initiated under the guidance and active participation of SECP, CDC, NCCPL, MUFAP and Institute of Capital Markets (ICM). Other exchanges in the country would also launch this programme. “Pakistan’s overall investor base in capital markets is significantly lower than the regional countries,” an official said. He added further that a small investor base not only meant that the market volatility was elevated but also that a very large number of savers in Pakistan were not participating in an asset class that had provided real positive returns (after accounting for inflation) over the last two decades. It is pertinent to mention here that the traditional financial asset classes such as National Savings Schemes and 10-years Government Bonds have barely kept up with inflation while bank deposits have actually provided negative real return thus causing loss of savers’ purchasing power. The key characteristic of this program was to focus on personal financial planning (for individual investors) and show how a systematic and dedicated financial planning process could help investors achieve their long term goals whether it was financial independence upon retirement, specific objectives such as children’s higher education, marriage, etc., or saving enough equity for house purchase.
