For people who own shares, government securities or other investments, a basic question can sometimes be difficult to answer: What exactly do I own, and what has changed in my account?
The Central Securities Depository (CSD) wants to make that information easier to access through its newly launched InvestorConnect platform, with the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) calling on investors to use the service and the Bank of Ghana linking it to greater transparency and confidence in the capital market.
Giving investors a clearer view of their money
GSE Managing Director Abena Amoah urged investors to sign onto the platform, explore its features and provide feedback to help improve the service.
Her message was straightforward: a digital platform will only be useful if investors actually use it.
InvestorConnect gives securities account holders access to information about their holdings and transaction history through the web and mobile applications.
For an investor, that means being able to check their portfolio without waiting for information to be provided periodically by a broker or another intermediary.
The platform is also built on changes made to the CSD’s underlying records. During the migration from its previous system, the CSD removed duplicate and dormant accounts, improved account-holder identification and linked its core application to the National Identification Authority.
This allows the identity of individuals opening securities accounts to be verified against a trusted national identity system.
Why visibility matters for investor confidence
Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Asiama said the ability of investors to see and verify their own records is important to building confidence in the market.
An investor who cannot see their own records has to depend largely on information supplied by someone else, he said. Direct access gives investors the opportunity to check their holdings and transaction history themselves.
InvestorConnect is available through a web platform and mobile applications for iOS and Android. Investors can also open securities accounts with their identities verified in real time against the Ghana Card.
But Asiama stressed that easier access to information is not the same as easier access to investment.
InvestorConnect does not replace brokers, custodians or investment advisers. Those market participants will continue to perform their respective roles.
Other barriers, including affordability, access to investment products, financial advice, trading access and financial literacy, will continue to influence who participates in the capital market.
Bringing a younger generation into the market
For Amoah, reaching more investors will also require the market to adapt to a younger population that increasingly expects services to be available digitally and without unnecessary delays.
More than one in three Ghanaians is between 15 and 35 years old, she noted, arguing that the capital market must meet this generation where it is.
She said the CSD’s next task should be to move InvestorConnect beyond simply allowing investors to view their securities.
The longer-term goal is for investors to be able to initiate transactions and access more services through the platform, making participation in the market simpler.
From viewing investments to taking action
The CSD plays a central role in Ghana’s financial market infrastructure, supporting the issuance and settlement of government and Bank of Ghana securities, corporate bonds, equities and other instruments. It also supports primary market auctions, repo transactions and corporate auctions.
The launch of InvestorConnect therefore comes as part of a broader effort to make the infrastructure behind Ghana’s capital market more accessible to the people whose money ultimately supports it.
For investors, the immediate change is simple: they can now have a more direct view of what they own and the transactions recorded against their accounts.
