Investing Your Hard-Earned Profits: Navigating the Nigerian Stock Market

Hello and welcome to the show today. I'm not in the audio booth, so apologies for any interruptions that you hear in the background. Now today on the show, I'd like us to look at the best sectors to invest in. Now, this is not a sales or a marketing question, of course, but The thing is, while I was on the radio, one of the listeners called in. Excuse me, one of the listeners called in and this was a question that he had.

And so I figured there might be a bunch of you who are also listening to the show right now because you want to learn a lot about sales and marketing, but once in a while you also think about investing questions. So I tackled the question on the radio and so that's why I'm over here on the podcast today to tackle the question as well. You know, what is the best sector to invest in? Now? The sectors that the person had in mind was oil and gas,

communication, banking and aviation. And he wanted me to help him figure out what was the best to invest in. Now, let's call the guy Prophet Elijah, of course, not his real name. So today we're going to run you guys through, yeah, how to figure out the best sectors to invest in. Because after all, we spend all this time and money and effort trying to build a business. The business then yields a profit maybe by the end of the year.

You look at your bank account and to God be the glory. You have like 10:00 AM or 20 AM sitting in the bank account and like, oh, God has done it for me. And then you want to invest And then you're wondering, OK, now where should I put this money? Should I put it in oil and gas? Should I put in communication? Should I put it in banking? Should I put it in, excuse me? I mean aviation? That's what that's what we're going to be looking at today.

So 1 moment, let me just take a sip of water and I'll be right back. OK, I'm back. You know, if you have, if you had asked me years ago, maybe like 10 years ago that what is the easiest way to make a living, I would have said talking for a living is the easiest way to make a living. But I guess every single occupation has its own hazards. So we are on profit. Elijah's question, the best sector to invest in. Before we get to that, let me just do some quick shout outs because everything is piling up.

So First off, shout out to Abraham Olanio, who reached out to me on the 30th of January 2025 on LinkedIn. He's a podcast listener and let's see. OK, well, as usual, he enjoyed the podcast. So thank you very much for listening to the show. But Abraham Olanio, I have some tips for you though. Abraham Olanio, if you're listening to this episode, you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile because on his LinkedIn profile, he uses language like he's the bro, he's the man, you know, things like that.

But, you know, when people come to LinkedIn, they don't want to know what we think about ourselves, you know, per SE. They want to know who are we, what's our specialty, what's our business, what's our career, you know, stuff like that. So Abraham Mulaney, I can tell that you're a pretty cool guy, you know, like the rest of us, but you know, that's not what people are on LinkedIn for. So optimize your profile. Put something there about you.

You know, who are you? Where do you go to school? What's your career? What are your interests? What do you do for a living? You know, what problems do you help customers of stuff like that. Those are the sort of things that should be on your LinkedIn profile. So when people see you categorically, they know where to sort you in their minds. You know, it helps so that if you're a career oriented individual, you know, people know, OK, you're a specialist,

this is what you do. If you're self-employed or you run a business, people know, OK, this is you, this is what you do, you know, so like for networking purposes and things like that, it's really important. So Ibraham Orlanio, thank you very much for listening to the show. I appreciate the the support and I appreciate the love. But guy, you gas to optimize your LinkedIn profile, you know, just don't put the man because the man just means you're a cool guy.

But you know, while on LinkedIn not to be cool while on LinkedIn to make money or to advance our careers. Then also shout out to Emmanuel Efen and Sodukwa. Sorry for mispronouncing that name. But you know, since I started this podcast, man, I've been coming across different kinds of Ebow names, you know, 'cause growing up, I grew up with the typical Ebow names, you know, Chinedu, Okechuku, you know, stuff like that. So this, you know, Ephena, I

mean, that's for me. That's strange. I know Ekena, I've never heard of Ephena. Then also Dukwa, never heard that before. So Emmanuel, Ephena, also Dukwa, a listener on Spotify who is trying to start an affiliate program. So Emmanuel, I did a podcast episode yesterday. So you should be able to where the guy is also an affiliate marketer. So listen to that. You should be able to get some Nuggets from that. So his listener on Spotify, he reached out on WhatsApp.

So thank you very much, Emmanuel Ifena. Then the last shout out for today is to Don Sapzi. He left a comment on Spotify on the 4th of February 2025. He said he loves the podcast and he found it because he was searching for marketing on Spotify. He found my podcast and he said that the podcast over delivered. So thank you very much Don Sapzi for your comments, for listening to the show. Please, since the podcast over delivered, please share it with other people so that they can get the same value as well.

So those are the shout outs for today. Then there's definitely people that I'm chatting with on Spotify, chatting with on WhatsApp. Maybe I haven't shouted you out yet, you know, please just ping me a reminder. You know, I'm not overlooking anybody. It's just that sometimes messages pile up, you know, because I'm also trying to, I'm not just a podcasting for podcasting sake. So I'm running a business and I'm we don't have coaching clients.

And then of course, there's a radio gig. And there are other things I'm trying to run, especially since we're trying to move house now. Hopefully we should be moving in a couple of days. So, yeah, so some things fall through the cracks. So just ping me a reminder, you know that I haven't shouted you out yet and I will. And please, when you do that, make sure that you know, it's clear in our chats, you know what you do And if you want me to refer the people somewhere because like if you're in business like the affiliate marketer Ethan and Sodukwa, you know it will help push your Instagram handle, put your website or something like that.

So not only do I shout you out, but I also say, you know, if you want to check out his work, go to Instagram handle, go to website, go to, you know, whatever. So these shout outs can also be avenues to promote your business as well. So I'm not charging for any of these things. I shout you guys out because I appreciate you because I, I, I appreciate you. You guys make it, you guys make the journey worthwhile. Those of you who reach out and then we have conversations and you guys have questions and things like that.

So now back to profit. Elijah, what is the best sector to invest in? Now, what I told prophet, Prophet Elijah was this. And then again, remember, Prophet Elijah is not his real name. I'm just using the code name here. So what I told Prophet Elijah was this. I told him that look, I'm not an investment professional, so it's not advice that I can give you. Apart from that, it is even illegal. I think either illegal or unethical, but I think it's definitely illegal for people who are on air personalities to be giving out investment advice,

you know, So I think in Nigeria it is not allowed. So you can go on, on, on air, on radio shows and things like that. In fact, I think the CBN and the SEC has the Securities and Exchange Commission. They currently have a policy against discussing certain kinds of investment products. I think crypto, crypto, multi level marketing, I can't remember what else. But definitely there's a current policy thrust right now in Nigeria where you just don't discuss those sorts of things on the air because of the level of risk that is involved.

So you should not be taking investment advice from OAPSOAPS are on air personality. So that's why I told Professor Eliza and that's why I'm telling you guys as well. So don't be what, you know, listening to a radio station and then, you know, somebody's giving tips about the latest talk, the latest company, the latest this. No, you should not be paying attention to that. So what you should be doing is you should be seeking information from a licensed stock broker.

A broker is just a person who mediates demand and supply. What that means is a broker looks for a product that people want, and then he looks for buyers who want to buy, and then he puts two of them together. So the stockbroker is the person who recognizes that people want to buy Zenith Bank shares, and people want to buy Access Bank shares, and people also want to buy shares of NPC. For instance, even NPC is a publicly traded company, so the stockbroker has those shares or knows people who knows those shares, who owns those shares,

and then he puts you in touch directly with them, he facilitates the trade, and then you guys give him a Commission. That is who a stockbroker is. So you should be seeking advice from licensed stockbrokers, from licensed wealth managers, from licensed private banking companies, you know, all these sorts of things. Those are the people you should be talking to when it comes to investment advice because those are the people who have the schooling, those are the people who have the knowledge, and those are the people who do this thing every single day so they know what's up.

So you come to me for sales advice because I have the knowledge and this is what I do everyday. So when it comes to investing, you don't come to me. You go to licensed stockbrokers, wealth managers and all those sorts of things. Now the question becomes how do you find these licensed people, especially because you do all this hard work. You finish the year, you have 20 M sitting in your bank account. That 20 M, you got it through blood, sweat and tears.

You don't want to just now waste all that money. You go and drop it in something and then next year they start telling that oh, sorry, oh, this thing happened. That's thing happens. So to avoid stories that touch, what you do is you go to the SEC there, the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are the body in Nigeria who are responsible for making sure that you don't get scammed, you don't get duped, you don't get waylaid when it comes to investments.

So they have lots of resources, that's human resources, physical resources, online resources to make sure that these things don't happen. They have things that are called, I think they're called liaison offices, but I'm not sure. I think they have them in Port Harcourt, in Lagos and I think in Kano, I'm not sure. Then of course, the headquarters is here in Abuja, where I am. In fact, I drove past the headquarters this morning.

Then you can also go to the website whichissec.gov.ngnowsecisspelledsecsec.gov dot Ng. Now, if you go on their website, sec.gov dot Ng, there's something, they're called the capital market Operator search. If you go there, every single person in Nigeria who is registered to be a stock broker or a wealth manager or a private banker or whatever, every single person or company who is licensed to do that is on that site. So in my own opinion, go and meet a registered, a licensed stockbroker.

Do not deal with any stockbroker who is not registered with SEC. The benefit of dealing with stockbrokers who are registered with SEC is this. If something happens and your 20 M disappears and you go and cry to SEC, SEC knows where to start chasing people because they registered these people. You have some sort of protections. And I can bear testimony for this because I had a family member who put together some, you know, put together some change.

It wasn't much, but for him it was his life savings. And then the things started becoming a Horror Story. I know somebody who works in SEC. So I went to go and tell the person that Luco, this is what has happened to my uncle. I beg, what can we do? And the person just said, OK, what are the details, give me all the paperwork, blah, blah, blah. The person was licensed with SEC, although the person had gotten the firm had gotten into some trouble.

Now it took some time was about seven months or maybe like nine months. But The thing is do able to sort this thing out and my uncle was able to get his money back. So I can tell you that it works. It's not immediate, but I can tell you that this thing works. So please, you're thinking of where to invest, you're thinking oil and gas, communication, banking, aviation, whatever. Go to SEC website, go and look for licensed stock brokers.

Pick the person, the people that are close to you in your own city or whatever. Go there and pay them a visit, have a chat and start your investigation from there. So sec.gov dot Ng capital market operator search, that is what it is. Then they also have some other useful things there. There's an unclaimed dividend search and that's because sometimes people buy shares and they forget. Or maybe you're that generation, like my own generation, because our parents like to buy shares on behalf of the children.

You know, you have a brand new baby boy or a brand new baby girl. You know, you're happy. And if the family is well off, you just take maybe like one M and just buy Zenith Bank shares, that kind of thing. You see, I'm buying this thing for my Princess, for my daughter when she becomes of age. It should be worth something. So, you know, that kind of thing. So that's my own generation. I'm not sure what parents do nowadays, but back in my own generation, yeah, people did.

People used to do things like that or like, oh, oh, my son, oh, my Prince, you know, blah, blah, blah. You know, I'll go and buy land for him, you know, that kind of thing. So if you're from that generation, like I am, unclaimed dividends, go and go to unclaimed dividend search because it's possible that before your popsy died, now he may have bought, you know, shares in, I don't know, maybe 1976 or something when you were born or 1985 when you were born.

You may have bought shares on your behalf. And maybe he told you that, oh, you know what? I bought shares in BCC Cement for you. I also bought shares in Dangote and I bought shares in this. But it's a conversation you guys just had, you know, verbal mouth to mouth, you know, you didn't see any paper. Well, now Popsy is dead. Go to sec.gov dot Ng unclaimed dividend search portal. You know, go there, start doing your research.

You might be able to find all the unclaimed dividends, you know, find all the millions that your POPSY was able to invest on your behalf before he died. Then they also have investor education portal. I didn't click on that link, but I think it's also a good place to go and check, you know, because you need to be educated on these sorts of things. So, but the answer to the question is this. Let's say business has been good, 2025 has been good.

You finish 2025, you look at your bank account, you have 40 M in your bank account and you say, Oh yes, self, I have arrived, it is time to invest. And you're now wondering, should I put my money in an oil and gas company? Should I buy telecom shares? Should I buy MTN shares? Should I buy shares in Access Bank or should I buy shares in aviation? Let's see which aviation company is there Nigerian Airways or something? OK, No, Nigerian Airways no longer exists when you get the point.

So the answer to the question is that the best sector to invest in is non. There is no best sector to invest in. So if you're listening to this podcast now and you honestly thought I was going to give you some hot tips, I was going to give you some company, I was going to give you some something should go and invest in. Right now, the answer is zero. There is none. There is no best sector to invest in because the best sector depends on your age.

How old are you? Those of us who are young and our body is hot and we're trying to look for money now, now, now, now, now. The kind of things that we want to invest in are different than our parents, for instance, who are in their 60s and who are in their 70s and they feel like, you know what, I've had a good run. I'm towards the end, God willing, I should be dead in another 1520 years. The things that, excuse me, our parents and our grandparents are invested in are not the same thing that those of us who are young hustling that we're investing in.

So it depends. Then it also depends on your sophistication and your knowledge. So my own masters was in oil and gas law and my first degree was in law. So there's a certain way that I might be able to look at oil and gas companies and have an investment thesis that will determine how it is that I go about it. You might not have that benefit. There are some other people who are really, really sophisticated when it comes to banking.

And like my wife, even though my wife studied law, my wife also is halfway through her CFA certification that's chartered financial analyst. So my wife knows how to read balance statements and everything. For me, it just looks like Greek. If you give me accounting statement and balance statement and I open it, I don't know what I'm looking at. All I know is, OK, this is the top and this is the end, But my wife can look at the balance statement and say this company is not pure.

And I say why? Why is this company not pure? She will say, look, if you look at this table, you look at this table, you look at this part, it means that the company is losing money here, here, here and here. I can't do that. So my wife is going to be able to make a much more informed decision when looking at the balance sheet of a company, oil and gas company, communication company, banking company, aviation company, and she's going to be able to know which one is healthy, which one is not a layman like me.

All I have to do is, you know, I'll just be looking at what's going on on the news, like OK, which company is trending today or which company looks like they're doing OK. So it depends on your sophistication. It depends on your knowledge. And This is why you need help of a licensed stockbroker because election stockbroker is going to be able to put you through one or two things. I can say that, OK, I want to put money in MPC, but by the time I sit down, the stockbroker, a stockbroker, say yes, Mr. Ayde, yes, yes.

You studied oil and gas law and based on your knowledge, you think that this and this and this. But Mr. Edison, if you look at the balance sheet and you look at this, you look at this, you see that actually this company is losing money. So, you know, makes sense. Put your money here. That's why we go to a licensed stockbroker. If this thing was common sense and people could figure it out, then look, everybody will be millionaires right now when it comes to this whole investing thing.

So don't waste your money. Go and get a stockbroker. So it depends on your age, it depends on your knowledge and sophistication. It also depends on your timeline. There are some people who want to invest long term that look, this thing I'm investing in, I want to put my money somewhere in 20 years and I want this thing to grow over time. I'm not in a hurry. There's some people who are looking for quick, quick turnover.

There's some people who want to drop one M somewhere today and in two years I want to collect, you know, 4.5. You know, that's a different timeline. Of course that also comes at a different level of risk then your financial needs. You know there are some people who need cash now, now, now, now, now like me, I'm in that age bracket. I need money for fuel, I need money for house rent, I need money for school fees, I need money for Internet, I need money for travel.

OK, I don't flex so I don't need money for flexing. But The thing is I need cash now, now, now it's not the same thing as my mumsy. My mumsy is retired and in fact, she used to be a a marketing communications professional. So sometimes when I want to discuss some client issues with her, she tells she tells me I look young man, I'm retired. My brain is asleep. Do not disturb me with anything academic. So mom sees, you know, mom sees financial needs and her time,

her timeline right now, you know, it's like she's on a different. She has gone into cruise control. Now let me relax. I'm just here with my siblings. I'm getting along with my grandchildren. I'm trying to build a relationship with my children, you know, all that kind of thing. So she doesn't need money like that like that. For her, if medical bills are sorted, let's see, OK, We're able to finish the house. It has solar panels.

So basically she's sorted. So for her, if medical bills are covered, there's food in the house, there's fuel in her car, she can drive to church, she can visit her friends, she's good. It's not the same thing as me or the same thing as you. So your financial needs also going to determine what kind of investment opportunities you invest in. Also your risk appetite. For me, I don't like risking money. For me, if I put down one M

somewhere, I want to know that I want M. The capital is not going to disappear. There's some people who for them, what they're looking at is the upside. Like, OK, this thing is risky, but if this thing clicks and I drop one M here in two months, I ought to be able to collect, you know, 6 M back profit, you know, But you know, high rewards come with high risks, so different risk appetite. And then the most important thing, how much money do you have to invest in?

That is also what determines which is the best sector, what is the best thing to invest in? If 2025 turns out to be a good year and you're looking at your bank account, you have 40 M But then that 40 M is the only thing that you have in this life. You know, that's why we say go and look, go and meet a stockbroker or financial planners. These people will be able to tell you that. Look, boss, you know what, 40 M, yes, we thank God.

But boss, this 40 M is the only thing you have in this life. If you do the wrong thing and you lose this 40 M, boss, you're screwed. So let us plan it like this. Let's not only put the whole 40 M here, let us come up with a plan. Let us put this percentage in stocks. Let us put some percentage in bond. Let us put some percentage in fixed deposit. Let us put some percentage in this. OK, you've been saying you want to buy land, Maybe we can devote some of this to land.

You know, you have some of that conversation because there are some people like down with a, for instance, if that would puts 40 M somewhere and the 40 M just disappears, he'll be angry. But The thing is, he's not dead. But for me, if I put 40 M somewhere and then the thing disappears, you guys, who you guys won't be praying for me in the hospital because I'll just have a stroke straight. I'm just being real with you guys.

I'm not a big boy yet. So if I lose 40 M, for me it's a disaster. It's a monumental disaster. In fact, like I said, I'll probably have a stroke. So how much money do you have to invest all these things? Depends. So that's the reason why there is no best sector to invest in. The best factor to invest in will depend on how old are you, how much do you know? What is your timeline? Do you want to invest for one year or for 20 years?

Do you need money, cash money every single day? Or is it that you can just drop something now and you know you'll be good? What's your risk appetite? Are you trying to double this money? Are you trying to triple this money? Are you trying to quadruple this money? Or are you OK with just putting something somewhere? And every single year you think just doing 7%, seven percent, 7%, and then you compound. And then how much money do you have to invest?

Because there are some people that actually you don't even have enough to be investing because you need money for your day-to-day. All these are the issues that you will discuss with your stockbroker. How do you find one? sec.gov dot Ng SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission. Their whole job is to make sure that people like you and I, ordinary people, we don't lose our money. So they have lots of resources. If you're in Abuja, the address is plot 272 Samuel at this at this Suzhou at the Mulegun St.

it's in central business district. So you know, just go in there ask to speak to someone you know they're they're real nice. They will they will help you out. The e-mail is sec@sec.gov dot Ng. So you go there, that is the best place to start investigating who a licensed stockbroker is. Do not just look at the person's height. Do not just listen to the person's voice. Don't just look at the person's suit and the person's car,

'cause somebody can show up sounding very educated, very credible. Driving a, a bands wagon. I say bands wagon, driving AG wagon and you know, have offices on Lagos Island and stuff like that. Outside everything might look legit, inside it might be a scam. So please registered stock brokers only registered wealth managers only then my recommendation to the prophet Elijah was and the same recommendation to you guys is educate yourselves books on investing, read them podcast on investing listen to them.

Look for a licensed stock broker and then check out sex resources SEC as an SEC, not SE, you understand? So yeah, that's a pretty much that was my advice to profit Eliza, and that is also my advice to you guys. Listen to the podcast right now who maybe 2024 was a good year. You have some extra cash. You're thinking what am I going to do with this cash? Where do I put it in the stock market? Which is the best sector? There's no best sector.

What is stockbroker? You guys will sit down and you have a conversation about you, what you're trying to achieve, your timeline, financial needs, your goals, your risk appetite. How much money self do you have? You have the conversation and believe me, a good stockbroker will tell you now, OK, yes bro, you want to invest, but the time is not now because we've had this conversation. And look bro, to be honest, you know, with your life right now and with the way things are going, you will pay.

You just keep this money on hand, you know, for small, small things, emergency and stuff like that. So just chill maybe when you have like so, so and so amount clean, you know, as far as you settled house rent, you settled medical because you settled everything, this money is now clean. Like you don't need this cash and no problem. And then you now come back, we can do something. Another stockbroker, a good stockbroker will tell you that run away from somebody who wants to collect your money.

By all means, please. All right, so that's it for today. If you'd love to connect for a strategy session for a business audit, or you want me to answer some questions, the number to call or send a WhatsApp message to is 08064662140. The country code is +234. For those of you who are not Nigerian, that's my WhatsApp number. Then connect with me on LinkedIn. The name to look for is Tavishima Aide. I have a whole bunch of stuff on YouTube as well.

We're currently at over 1040 episodes of the show, so there are lots of free resources there that you guys can take advantage of. So thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.