Never too early to invest

For many fresh graduates, investment is not really on top of their priorities. Typically, investing will be sitting very close to the bottom of their long to-do list, as they step into the job market.

Timothy Wambui, the Principal Officer at Natbank Trustee and Investment Services Limited considers this one of the misconceptions he has encountered about money. Natbank Trustee and Investment Services Limited is a subsidiary of National Bank of Kenya.

“Previously I believed that people aged over 40 years are the ones who should be thinking about growing wealth. The belief was that those under 40 years have a small salary and huge bills to maintain, so they have no money, and therefore cannot grow wealth,” Timothy recalls.

This belief would be challenged later, when he started in a career in wealth management that turned out to be his Road to Damascus. He witnessed this myth being shattered right before his eyes.

 “I realized that this had been a misconception when I saw my clients who began with little monthly savings having their investment grow to almost double in 6 years. So, one can start investing from as soon as their first paycheck,” Timothy says.

He adds: “Young people and fresh graduates, in particular, are the most advantaged when it comes to making investment decisions. This is more so because they have the benefit of time, to weather volatility in investment values”.

This view is shared by Erastus Sifuma, an investment and wealth advisor, who adds that there are many options in the market that are suited for young people with low income, such as unit trusts.

“When one is young, it is the best time to invest whatever little they have. It is also a good time to pick good money lifestyles, such as learning how to live within means and getting into the habit of saving before you spend,” Erastus says.

Unlike a few years ago, technological developments in recent years have brought down some of the barriers that previously discouraged people from investing, and particularly the younger ones who were not as keen on this. Innovation, riding on internet penetration and variety of payment options has opened the door to many investment options.

“Gone are the days when you had to go and queue at a stockbroker for you to fill the stock purchase form. That is after queuing at the bank to deposit the funds to invest. The only source of information then was the mainstream media, which was beyond the reach of the average Kenyan. Now one can get information and invest from the comfort of their workplace or home on their phones. Young people should start investing early enough, now that they have the advantage of information and technology,” says Timothy.

He adds that Natbank Trustee and Investment Services caters for individuals interested in investing in financial assets in the capital markets through stocks quoted at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Treasury Bonds, and Treasury Bills.

On his part, Erastus reiterates that lack of information on options available to invest is no longer an excuse not to invest.

“There are free resources all over the internet. There are also those that require little investment, such as Centonomy, which can teach one how to invest. Keep learning and mastering the world of investment by dedicating effort and time,” he adds. Erastus periodically posts content on investing on his social media channels.

Some of the investment opportunities available, according to Timothy, are tech-fueled and require minimum investments as little as KSh100. “The recommendation is to invest in stock market or equities unit trusts. These are volatile but give a higher return in the long run. They could also put some little money aside in reputable land buying companies or SACCOs. Such that by the time they turn 30 years, they will have saved enough to enable them buy a decent piece of property,” he says. They can also tap into online marketing to boost their hustle and skills.