Industry players in Ghana’s capital market have kicked against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2026 increase in market levies, warning that the new charges could slow the growth of smaller firms in the sector.
They said the capital market was not yet developed enough to absorb such a significant increase and called for further consultation and engagement between the regulator and industry stakeholders.
Under the SEC’s 2026 guidelines on market levies, the annual levy for a Stock Exchange and a Securities Depository has been set at GH¢250,000 each.
Primary dealers, custodians and issuing houses are required to pay GH¢100,000 each, while Fund Managers and Broker-Dealers will pay GH¢37,500 and GH¢25,000 respectively each year.
The new charges represent a 400 per cent increase across the board compared with the 2025 rates.
The guidelines also impose an annual levy of 0.225 per cent on the Net Asset Value of non-pension funds under management.
Contributing to an online discussion on Sunday, the Chief Investment Officer of Black Star Advisors, Mr Adjei Boateng, described the increase as problematic.
He noted that about 78 per cent of the country’s Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) assets were predominantly invested in bonds, mainly Treasury Bills.
Mr Boateng said the higher levies could drive funds towards less regulated or informal investment options, particularly in a low-yield environment such as Ghana’s.
He warned that such a development could create opportunities for individuals to introduce “Ponzi” schemes.
He, therefore, called for a gradual increase in the levies and further consultations between the regulator and industry players.
Mr Boateng also raised concerns about what he described as regulatory unpredictability in Ghana’s capital market, saying the issue had often been raised by external investors.
The Executive Director of Borax Capital Advisors, Mr William Mensah, said the 2024 SEC report showed that 26 per cent of the 81 asset management companies had assets under management below GH¢10 million, while 47 per cent had less than GH¢200 million.
He said the figures indicated that many firms could struggle to meet the increased levies.
Mr Mensah identified the charges or levies to be borne by individual clients as another major concern under the new guidelines.
He stressed that investment capital was crucial to the development of every country.
According to him, the increase would not have been a problem if the regulator had also raised transaction charges on the capital market alongside the annual licence fees paid by operators.
The Director of the Ghana Medical Association Fund, Dr Arko Akoto Ampaw, said the increase could affect investor confidence and called for greater transparency and accountability in the SEC’s approach.
“Eventually, it will look like those that are being regulated who must be minded about what is happening, but if you drill down further you will understand that regulated entities are the ones that are being required to pay.
“However, you will notice that economic incidence of the regulatory fee, when critically examined, will come up to the investor,” Dr Ampaw said.
He added that investors were concerned about the impact of the levies on the net returns of fund beneficiaries.
Dr Ampaw noted that fund managers might also be unwilling to negotiate management fees in a manner that would cushion investors from the effect of the higher levies.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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