2015 was characterised by high demand for and strong “hold” and/or “accumulate” investor preferences for listed securities, particularly high yield securities on the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE).

SPSE chief executive officer Latileta Qoro highlighted that excess demand for listed securities underpinned capital gains as investors were willing to pay more to purchase high yield stocks relative to domestic alternatives.

“Whilst investors remained relatively yield-driven, 2015 also saw an increase in retail investors acquiring securities for capital growth,” Ms Qoro said in a statement yesterday.

“With the prevailing strong ‘hold’ preference, unexecuted orders were relatively large this year with delays noted in dividend reinvestment trades relative to timing in previous years.”

For potential issuers, following from year 2015, the current environment was conducive for public floatation and dual listing, particularly for companies in other exchanges that were looking for buy-side investors, she added.