Commerce WASSCE (SC), 2023

Question 4

 

  1. As an employee of the stock exchange market, explain to a group of investors, five securities they could trade in.
  2. State five duties of an agent to his principal.

 

Observation

Some candidates listed the securities without explaining them in (a). They were able to provide    correct responses in (b) part of the question.
 
The expected responses are.

 

(a)        Securities traded on the stock exchange market

    1. Shares: They are units of ownership of capital of a company. Owners of these shares could decide to sell them on the stock exchange.
    2. Bonds/Gilt-edged: They are securities of governments or private firms issued to raise capital.
    3. Stocks: They are bundles of shares which could be transferred in smaller units.
    4. Debentures: They are documents acknowledging loans given to companies. They bear the seal of the company issuing the debenture.
    5. Government securities: These are securities issued by government and bear fixed rates of interest.
    6. Convertible loans: They are loans with fixed rate of interest with an option to convert it to an ordinary share later or collect cash at maturity.
    7. Option/derivative: It is an agreement that provides instruments at a specific price for future deliveries.

                                                                                             
(b)       Duties of an agent to his principal

  1. He must obey lawful instructions by his principal.
  2. He should exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence in the performance of his duties.
  3. He must act in good faith and honesty for the benefit of the principal.
  4. He should not delegate his duties to someone else.
  5. He must not make any secret gain beyond his commission.
  6. He must render account to the principal when required to do so.
  7. He is accountable to the principal for any gain made beyond his remuneration.
  8. He provides necessary business information to his principal.