Experts at the weekend urged Nigerian youths and teens to adopt a disciplined lifestyle needed to faithfully adopt the culture of saving and investing early in life for a more prosperous tomorrow.
The experts who spoke at the maiden edition of the Investdata Teens and Youths Investment Summit organized by the management of Investdata Consulting Limited, in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, stressed that starting early will give the participants a head start in life.
In her presentation titled “The Investor mindset: shifting from spent to an owner of assets, Morayo Jaiyeola, Head, Investment Advisory at Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, told the online and physical participants that they have a huge advantage over their parents and the billionaires of today who possibly started investment much later in life.
Speaking on “Stock market decoded”, Taiwo Adekeye, a trader with Bamboo, noted that besides the formal education that their parents are investing heavily in, participants are getting financial knowledge, which he considers the greatest of all which is expected to ensure they invest a disciplined, rather than haphazard manner.
The current generation of youths and teens, he believes will either multiply the next generational wealth or poverty, depending on the decisions taken today through buying shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) between now and the coming 10 years and the benefit of the multiplier effects.
By investing in companies on the stock market, Adekeye said participants will be making their money work for them while they pursue other things, while making money from capital appreciation when the price of the shares they invest in today grows, or cash dividend (profit sharing) by the company either on a half-year or annual basis.
“If you remember nothing else, decide that if you are given N10,000, you will not eat everything, but save some for investment,” he stressed.
He also told participants about fixed income securities whose return and repayment are predetermined, adding that equity investment is the best way to stay above inflation.
Adekeye also urged them to stay away from gambling because of its harmful consequences and focus on making money in a structured manner through the stock market.
Kanayo John, also an investment analysts spoke of the need for participants to take control of their emotions while investing and instead master the twin evils of fear and greed
“Your biggest investment risk is not the market itself but you yourself. Understand your emotions and put it in check.
“Emotion is making financial decisions devoid of informed research. Position taking (in the stock market) is not about how you feel, but should only be undertaken after research.
The stock market, he said, is for long-term investing, and listed the golden rules as avoiding the temptation of wanting to make quick money, investing in a stock because others are doing so rather than conviction, borrowing to invest in stocks, in addition to ensuring placing investment planning above emotions.
On his part, Tunde Jeariogbe, an investment analysts at Investdata Consulting Limited, challenged participants to start small and dream big by building wealth from small savings.
“The stock market is where your money works for you and grows while you earn residual income,” he said, restating the need to save something small for investment rather than pursue fashion trend that come and go.
In a short presentation, Ambrose Omordion, Chief Research Officer of Investdata Consulting urged participants to start by buying shares of companies in their growth stage, those manufacturing and selling essential goods and services, food and beverages, banking services.
He also urged them to identify undervalued stocks through research and makers of products on high demand, and innovative companies with new product lines.
In a note of appreciation to the parents of participants, Omordion thanked them for igniting something powerful in their children, by affording them access into “a room full of teenagers and young people who now understand that wealth is not by chance, but a choice to gain knowledge for the purpose of taking action for the good of the participants who will become grateful investors tomorrow.”
He assured the participants that the early financial education they will continue to receive is what many today got in their 30s and 40s, adding that what happens next matters most, urging the parents “to turn what the teens and youths learned into real results by engaging them for a feedback that will tell what their investment choices are at this early stage and then help them make their first small investment from the stock picks shared at the summit to help them develop and sustain the habit.
