Why veteran stockbrokers are hanging their boots

Veteran stockbrokerage firms are exiting the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) after years of weak earnings, paving the way for a new crop of investors seeking to ride on technology to draw in more retail investors in a market that has gone without an initial public offering in more than a decade.

Kenya’s capital markets landscape has witnessed the buyouts of four brokerage firms in barely a year, a trend that insiders attribute largely to reduced business, rising competition and the persistent initial public offering (IPO) drought.