Students of the University of Management & Technology (UMT) visited the Lahore Stock Exchange as part of the Campus Outreach Programme under Financial Literacy Initiative in collaboration with South Asian Federation of Exchange (SAFE), where they were given an insight about practical aspects of various financial institutions and investment avenues by LSE officials. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LSE, Aftab Ahmed Chaudhry was the chief guest.
Madiha Abrahim from Investor Relations Department briefed the students on the need for setting up CDC and various facilities not only to add efficiency but also for increased transparency & investors confidence. She explained how investors can use various CDC services for protecting their portfolios and informed the students about local mutual funds industry and products being offered.
She elaborated the students that mutual funds could be an effective approach for people to start investments offering risk diversification and good returns through proficient fund management. Later, the students visited various banks and brokerage houses where they were given synopsis on the functioning of these institutions such as live market trading, banking products & services, lending & borrowing services, clearing and local as well as international remittances, etc.
The purpose of visit was to allow the students to interact with various financial industry practitioners in a stock exchange setting and get a chance to visit different financial institutions all at one location. The programme is part of the Financial Literacy Initiative for the promotion of youngsters' understanding of financial products and concepts, their ability and confidence to appreciate financial risks and opportunities to make informed choices, to know where to go for help, and to prepare today's youth for better understanding of the economic/financial affairs affecting them. Educational institutions are joining hands with LSE to participate in series of sessions on financial literacy.
As part of the Campus Outreach Programme, Lahore Stock Exchange has already organised two sessions at the University of Management & Technology. In the sessions students were apprised about the savings, investment and investment alternatives, foreign exchange, stock analysis and valuation techniques, financial markets and regulatory environment, market dynamics, market indices, market sensitivity, securities evaluation including fundamental as well as technical analysis, banking services, leasing, insurance and various corporate matters as applicable in Pakistan.