The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe’s (SECZ) investor education programme is in full swing. The first in a series of educational webinars was held on Thursday 4th of February, titled “Investment 101: Investment basics”. The session presented a wealth of information, helping participants to understand the basics of how and why to start investing on the local capital markets.
The webinar was presented by Michelina Chindiya and Kudzai Mubaiwa.
Michelina Chindiya is a Wealth Specialist at Carrick Wealth. She has been featured on BBC Africa and Bloomberg as a regular contributor and influencer in the arena of wealth management and investing. Michelina is passionate about educating the youth of Zimbabwe on the benefits of smart investing and financial discipline.
Kudzai Mubaiwa is lead consultant with Investor Saint PL, a financial and digital literacy company. She is also a cofounder of iZone Hub, a Zimbabwean hub that serves makers, innovators, creatives and small business owners. Kudzai hosts Mari Podcast and blogs on personal finance and small business. She is a certified Business Advisor with Growth Wheel.
The speakers defined investment as way of making one’s money grow through buying assets that appreciate in value over time. They discussed various investment options including investing in property that is land and buildings, fixed income investments where the money is invested with a banker or financial institution and investing on the stock market. An example that was given is investing in a company’s shares, and as the company grows in equity so does one’s investment. Alternative investments were another option highlighted, which are investments in areas such as cryptocurrency, non-listed businesses or biological assets such as goats or cattle.
It was emphasised that before investing, one needs to start by building basic knowledge of what investment options are available on the market. This information is available in the public domain, such as on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) website www.zse.co.zw. The next step would be assessment of one’s financial status, analysis of one’s investment objectives, income sources, constraints, and risk tolerance.
The next step given is to get practical by starting with a budget. It is important to look at one’s lifestyle, sources of income and compare it against monthly expenses, then deliberately plan the money for investment. The good news underlined is that people from all walks of life can invest. For instance, one can start investing with USD20.00. On the ZSE, for example, there are affordable Unit Trust funds available that cost USD5.00.
Audiences were reminded to diversify their investments portfolios in order to avoid risks. “Remember not to put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your investments across various products and various asset classes, in order to keep returns high while minimising risk. Ensure your portfolio is balanced with investments that have different risk levels.”
The webinar was very informative and interactive, as the audience engaged in conversation. It is the hope of SECZ to continue bringing education on the front of investments for people from all walks of life.
Members of the public are invited to join upcoming investor education webinars, which will be advertised on social media. Visit Facebook and Twitter for updates: @seczim.
This article was written as part of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe’s Investor Education Campaign in partnership with the Investor Protection Fund (IPF). For more information contact: seczim@seczim.co.zw
