Chapel Hill Denham, CardinalStone Lead As Brokerage Giants Tighten Grip On NGX Trading

Chapel Hill Denham Securities Ltd and CardinalStone Securities Ltd emerged as the most dominant stockbroking firms on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in the fourth quarter of 2025, commanding a sizeable share of market activity by both trading volume and transaction value.

Naija News reports that according to the latest Broker Performance Report covering the period October 1 to December 31, 2025, trading on the NGX remained heavily concentrated, with the top 10 brokers accounting for 64.22 per cent of total market volume and 62.78 per cent of total market value during the quarter.

The report showed that Chapel Hill Denham Securities Ltd dominated trading by volume, executing 41,421,097,747 shares, which represented 28.92 per cent of total market volume in the quarter.

CardinalStone Securities Ltd followed with 17,635,245,204 shares, accounting for 12.31 per cent, while ABSA Securities Nigeria Ltd and Meristem Stockbrokers Ltd ranked third and fourth, trading 10,789,141,645 shares (7.53 per cent) and 4,425,714,002 shares (3.09 per cent) respectively.

Other firms that made the top 10 list by volume included Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, which handled 3,456,281,283 shares, Coronation Securities with 3,257,958,778 shares, and Morgan Capital Securities, which executed 2,968,859,215 shares.

Also in the top tier were CSL Stockbrokers with 2,928,194,706 shares, TRW Stockbrokers with 2,560,080,028 shares, and Cordros Securities, which traded 2,526,395,514 shares.

In total, the top 10 brokers by volume executed a combined 91,968,968,122 shares, representing over 64 per cent of all trades on the NGX during the period under review.

CardinalStone Tops Market Value

While Chapel Hill Denham led in terms of volume, CardinalStone Securities Ltd emerged as the market leader by transaction value, executing trades worth ₦453,569,479,610.25, equivalent to 13.35 per cent of total market value in the fourth quarter.

ABSA Securities Nigeria Ltd followed closely with ₦362,748,192,623.70 (10.68 per cent), while Chapel Hill Denham Securities Ltd ranked third, recording ₦257,128,730,321.12, representing 7.57 per cent of the total value of trades.

Other brokers in the top 10 by value included Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers with transactions valued at ₦231,371,823,315.13, Cordros Securities with ₦196,574,290,092.59, and APT Securities and Funds with ₦137,284,321,829.46.

Also on the list were Meristem Stockbrokers, which traded ₦131,434,493,116.99, EFG Hermes Nig Ltd with ₦126,791,318,859.58, Coronation Securities with ₦124,471,182,330.24, and First Securities Brokers, which executed trades worth ₦111,688,322,416.34.

Altogether, the top 10 brokers handled transactions valued at ₦2,133,062,154,515.40, accounting for over 62 per cent of the NGX’s total market value in the last quarter of the year.

Commenting on the figures, a market expert said the strong performance of leading brokers underscores their importance to market stability and liquidity.

“The dominance of Chapel Hill Denham and CardinalStone demonstrates their critical role in maintaining market depth and liquidity,” The PUNCH quoted the market expert as saying.

“These brokers not only handle a significant portion of shares traded but also execute some of the largest value transactions, providing confidence to both retail and institutional investors.”