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Employee share schemes
The regulatory safeguards, structural protections and independent oversight that protect participants and their money under a Shares Saver-administered scheme.
The registrar records you as the holder — not a Shares Saver nominee account and not a pooled fund.
We are not a stockbroker. Every purchase is placed on the NGX by an SEC-licensed broker partner.
Contributions sit in a client account until they buy shares. They are never working capital.
Allotted shares are registered directly in each employee's name at the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS). Ownership is held by the employee — not by the employer or Shares Saver — making shares legally independent of the financial health of either entity.
Employee payroll deductions are held in a dedicated trust account under a formal trust deed, separate from the operating accounts of both the employer and Shares Saver. An independent trustee — typically a licensed financial institution — holds the account. Scheme funds cannot be accessed by the employer company or used to settle its debts.
Employee share investment schemes for Nigerian listed companies are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Nigeria). The scheme must be structured in accordance with SEC Rules on Share Purchase Plans and is subject to annual compliance reporting. SEC oversight provides an independent regulatory check on scheme operations.
Companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) must comply with NGX post-listing requirements governing employee share schemes. This includes mandatory disclosure of the scheme and its key terms in annual reports, providing transparency to all shareholders including participants.
The scheme trust deed appoints an independent trustee responsible for holding scheme assets separately from the company. The trustee has a fiduciary duty to participants and is required to act in their interests — providing an independent check on the administration of the scheme.
Segregated trust funds are not available to creditors in an employer insolvency. CSCS-registered shares are already legally owned by individual employees and are entirely outside the employer's balance sheet. In a wind-down scenario, employees retain access to their registered shares through any licensed NGX stockbroker.
SEC Nigeria, the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), the CSCS, CAMA 2020 and FIRS each govern a part of how an employee share scheme is run, held and taxed.
Questions
Educational information only — not investment, legal or tax advice. Share values can fall as well as rise. All securities transactions are carried out through SEC-regulated stockbrokers.