The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that the government requires an additional GH₵4.3 billion to fully settle the outstanding claims of investors affected by the collapse of fund management firms.

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This comes after the government had already disbursed GH₵5 billion as part of efforts to compensate investors. Director General of SEC, Dr. James Klutse Avedzi, made this known during an interview on PM Express Business Edition on March 27.

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He attributed the delay in processing some payments to legal challenges, explaining that lawsuits filed by two fund management firms, including Blackshield Capital, against their liquidation had slowed the process.

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Dr. Avedzi further revealed that out of 108,000 investors identified during an audit, 80,000 had received their full claims. He assured that efforts were underway to settle the remaining cases.

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In 2019, the SEC revoked the licenses of 53 fund management firms as part of efforts to safeguard the integrity of the securities market. Among the affected firms were All Time Capital Limited, Apex Capital Partners, Axe Capital Limited (formerly United Asset Management), Intermarket Asset Management Limited (formerly CDH Asset Management), and Blackshield Capital Management (formerly Gold Coast Fund Management).

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These firms were part of 32 operating companies whose licenses were revoked. Collectively, they managed at least 56,000 investors' funds, amounting to GH₵8 billion.

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To ease the financial distress of affected investors, the government announced a GH₵1.5 billion bailout package in 2024. Under this arrangement, investors received either GH₵50,000 or 15% of their outstanding examined claims. This initiative covered clients of the remaining affected fund management firms, including Gold Coast Fund Management Limited (now Blackshield Fund Management Company Limited).

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The partial bailout resulted in 89% of individual investors and 82% of pensioners being fully compensated. Additionally, GH₵700 million had been channeled through GCB Capital to pay claims.

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Dr. Avedzi noted that while the 2025 budget did not make specific provisions for the outstanding payments, there was optimism that funds could be secured in the Mid-Year Review of Estimates to address the issue.

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He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring all outstanding claims are settled, emphasizing its impact on restoring market confidence.

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“We will not hesitate to clamp down on any fund management company that fails to comply with market rules,” he warned.

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“We don’t want to get back to what led to the liquidation of some fund management firms,” he added.

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