Last year, some of the smartest, hard-working, most driven Nigerians I know invested in a ponzi scheme. It beats me why people with Bachelor degrees, Masters and funny enough PHDs would invest in unregulated and sometimes illegal schemes.
With some little research i found out that there are actually little advice on how and where to invest in Nigeria. And information on the internet is sparse as even account officers don’t know or choose not to encourage clients to invest their money wisely.
So here is a short guide to some of the options you may want to consider.
...The Nigerian Stock Exchange
It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price
-Warren Buffet
I am obsessed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange as most people know. So stocks are a key part of my portfolio.
According to Nairametrics, the definition of a stock is a unit of a share of a company that is traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It is also often referred to as a share.
Every company has shares which the owners lay claim to. When you go to register a company at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) you typically say your authorized share capital is N1m made up of 1m ordinary shares of N1 each. This means your initial capital at the start of your company is N1million represented by those shares. Whilst the value of your capital may increase over time, your shares remain the same till you decide to increase it again and register same with the CAC. When the shares are listed on the floor of the NSE they are tradable as stocks meaning people can buy or sell them.
Generally divide your investments into long term investments and speculative investments when trading on the NSE.
The better you are at understanding a companies annual report, market conditions and growth trajectory; the better you will be at trading.
But if you are just getting started investments like GTB, Nestle and Dangote Cement are considered very stable for the long term.These would be a good start as you get to know the market.
Chapel Hill, Pro Share and Cardinalstone publish detailed daily reports on the markets which you should make a habit of reading to enhance your knowledge of the stock market. Also speak to stockbrokers to get ideas about their best picks.
Treasury Bills
Rule №1: Never lose money. Rule №2: Never forget rule №1.
-Warren Buffet
Treasury Bills are short-term debt instruments issued by the Federal Government through the Central Bank to provide short term funding for the government. They are by nature, the most liquid money market securities and are backed by the guarantee of the Federal Government.
They are usually issued for tenors of 91 days, 182 days and 364 days at the primary market auction held fortnightly by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The interest rate (stop rate) at the auction is not fixed but fluctuates based on demand and amount offered by the apex bank.
You do not pay tax on treasury bills and yield is normally higher when compared to fixed deposit. But they are harder to get rid of than fixed deposit if you need money back before the maturity period. You can buy treasury bills from your bank.
Equity Investments
With companies/startups like Ancaps, your asset or financial investments is set to ensure a future of financial freedom.
For the financial investment like this, you invest nothing less than a NGN 1,000,000 and earn a higher interest rate than the above mediums(making x10 the initial investment), depending on the market and company structure.
This might be a more appealing prospect to people that already have a higher appetite for risk or can see the impact the startup could make. You are fully invested in the day to day operations of the company.
WHY SHOULD I INVEST IN ANCAPS ?
Since the inception of Ancaps Logistics, expectations have been greatly surpassed. Starting from a small company with a hand full of staff, it has grown to a disruptive startup in the logistics industry. Recently bagging the Nigerian Breweries as one of it logistics partners.
It doesn’t end there, Ancaps Logistics also has an app it will be launching soon for truck drivers, which is a first of its kind truck hailing app, promises to change the supply and delivery chain for most businesses.