Publications
July 28, 2016
Portfolio Diversification Between Developed And Less Developed Economies
This study
examines the hedging effectiveness of portfolio investment diversification
between developed and developing economies; with focus on the Nigerian stock
asset vis–vis the stock assets of the United States (US) and United Kingdom
(UK). Its main contribution is in the analysis of optimal portfolio
diversification using optimal portfolio weight (OPW) and optimal hedging ratio
(OHR). Empirical findings show that the OPW and OHR are low, which indicates impressive
potential gains from combining Nigerian stock assets in an investment portfolio
with US and UK stock assets. In addition, exchange rate volatility is found to
pose stern limitation on the potential benefits of this portfolio
diversification arrangement. It is therefore recommended that the monetary
authority in Nigeria should pursue policies towards reducing exchange rate
volatility to the barest minimum. This will possibly attract more investors
from developed economies who might be willing to combine Nigerian stock in
their investment portfolio to minimize portfolio risk.
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 23)
Recently released report by the NBS shows an increase in Unemployment and Underemployment rates for 2016Q4 relative to preceding and corresponding quarters. The unemployment rate, at 14.2 percent, indicates a 3.8% points YoY4increase, and a 0.3% points QoQ increase with the number of unemployed people increasing by 351,051 persons. Similarly, underemployment rate grew (QoQ) by 1.3% points to 21%, representing about 17 million underemployed persons as at the quarter. The rise in unemployment/underemployment rate is attributable to the disproportionate rise in labour force vis--vis job creation, in addition to slow-down in economic/business activities during the quarter. Going forward, the government should make efforts to strengthen and expand Nigerias entrepreneurial infrastructure.