Meristem Securities is a financial services conglomerate headquartered in Lagos. It is active in the stock broking, asset management, and financial advisory spaces, and serves a diverse client base that includes individuals, SMEs, and large corporations.
The company helps to manage and grow its clients’ wealth, gives them access to Nigeria’s financial markets, offers them leases, and protects their assets from depreciation. They also advise corporate clients regarding mergers and acquisitions and provide them with options for equity and debt financing.
The founders of Meristem launched it as Great Africa Securities Limited in 2003. It changed its name to Meristem in 2005, to reflect the company’s focus on growth and delivering forward-looking financial services. It has since evolved into one of Nigeria’s leading capital market conglomerates, with six subsidiaries that each operate as independent firms.
One of these subsidiaries is Meristem Stockbrokers. It provides research and stockbroking services to numerous clients within Nigeria, elsewhere in Africa, and in Europe and North America. In the years following its emergence, it has been responsible for a significant portion of the value of stocks that brokerages trade at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
This arm of Meristem launched Nigeria’s first online stockbroking platform, which it incorporated in 2014. It has also developed a gamified introduction to investing in the country’s equities market. Both these pioneering innovations have encouraged many Nigerians to invest in the Nigerian stock market.
In 2008, Meristem incorporated its wealth management business, Meristem Wealth Managers. It’s a fund and portfolio management firm that’s registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Seven years after its launch, the company put out its first mutual fund, which was worth ₦1 billion.
Meristem has an investment banking subsidiary as well: Meristem Capital. It functions as an issuing house and assists small and medium-scale businesses looking to list on the board of the Alternative Securities Market (ASeM). Besides this, it works with organizations that need guidance with regard to mergers, acquisitions, buy-outs, and infrastructure development.
A fourth arm of the Meristem conglomerate is Meristem Trustees, which is incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission in 2012. This firm provides trust services to individuals and businesses. Its products include estate planning, liquid asset protection, living and testamentary trust, education trust, corporate trust, and public trust.
In 2015, Meristem Trustees introduced its Diaspora Trust, which is designed for Nigerians living abroad who want to invest in the country. Meristem acts in their interest and works to meet their client’s goals as far as returns are concerned.
Meristem’s Registrar and Probate Service combines two services: Probate and Registrar services. It automates the registration of shares and operates in the estate administration space as a probate manager. The company also offers loans and leases to businesses.
Meristem runs with a vision to be “the distinct and preferred financial services provider.” It isn’t far off from achieving this aim in Nigeria. It could lay down a marker on the broader African and global stock brokerage and asset management space in the not-too-distant future.
Featured Image Source: THISDAYLIVEGot a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com