Principal Financial Advisor

The AbokiFX Saga

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:21:00 -0700

Good Day Readers,

It has indeed been a minute since the last post and even though I hate giving you excuses, it has been due to reasons beyond my control. I can only do better!

The past week in the Nigerian financial sector has been something far from a mirage. From the further collapse of the Naira which is now somewhat of a constant reality; to the comments made during the address given by Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN (which by the way is long overdue). I cannot but hope that Nigeria has not become a ship without a captain navigating through turbulence and mishaps in a sea of troubles.

Last week saw the Naira fall yet again to around N575 to $1 which prompted another outcry from the Nigerian populace. I would like to believe that this outcry finally compelled the apex bank Governor (who is meant to be the Commander in chief in the defence of the Naira) to address the issue. Nonetheless, some of the comments made by the Governor can be termed controversial and this sparked further outcry by Nigerians who believed the address indicated how clueless the CBN was in the fight to keep the Naira afloat.

The CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele accused AbokiFX, a platform that provides "live" exchange rates in Nigeria's unauthorised parallel market of the fall of the Naira and even went as far as declaring the CEO of AbokiFX wanted. Mr Emefiele's comments were greeted with disbelief as Nigerians could not phantom how their trusted go-to platform for "correct up to date" rates was being thrown under the bus. Today's post is going to explain how AbokiFX can indeed manipulate the market.

I would like to start by stating that this is in no way saying that AbokiFX is the reason for the fall of the Naira Neither is this supporting (or even going against) comments made by Mr Emefiele. The purpose of this post is to explain how AbokiFX like any other party including you and I can affect FX rates.

To put this in perspective, certain questions as to how AbokiFX operates have to be put into consideration. For example, how Is their data being sourced and how do they get daily updates if none of the Nigerian banks give same nor work with them? How many Bureau de Change (BDC) do they consult to produce data daily? Do BDCs have an association that come together to agree on daily rates? Finally, what does AbokiFX stand to gain in the fluctuating FX market.

Over the weekend, AbokiFX released a memo saying “data published is from different sources on the streets of Lagos”. It is important to note that this claim cannot be verified and even if found to be true, how can whatever data from different sources on the street be valid enough for worldwide publication and countrywide use.

Also, these BDCs do not have a unified body or association that can be consulted for matters such as daily rates and even if they did, how each BDC determines the rates cannot be trusted. AbokiFX again said they don't trade in FX but I can say confidently that the claim is very wrong. AbokiFX is owned by a Nigerian individual and the company is registered in the United Kingdom. A Nigerian embarking on this type of smart business venture would surely have strong ties back home and would have had to trade FX directly or indirectly.

Information from undisclosed sources making the rounds states that an investigation into the account of Aboki FX in Nigeria has begun. Let me simply put it this way, Abokifx cannot explicitly collapse the Naira but the "data" published if not correct can displace the Naira by a difference of between 5 - 20 Naira which is a lot of money if we think about how much FX affects revenue generation for a lot of businesses in Nigeria. Also, if individuals like you and I hoard dollars, this would drive the value up in the same way AbokiFXs' data manipulation can affect the Naira.

The effect of these incorrect rates are so much but the most daunting of them all is that it creates a sense of scarcity thereby driving up demand which leads to a constant artificial increase in the price of dollars. For example, a pen should originally be distributed at 17 Naira but a body claims the price of the pen is 25 Naira which then leads to scarcity from people hoarding pens and buying more than they need thus driving the original distribution price from 17 Naira to even higher than 25 Naira.

I would like to reiterate that the problem does not all fall at the feet of AbokiFX but the Nigerian government and the Central Bank of Nigeria for not having a body regulating rate websites like AbokiFX or for not even having a rate guide website that can be trusted by Nigerians. Why would I go to AbokiFX if CBN can give me a clear guide on FX rates daily? The remedy after death attitude must stop and I dare say it is time for them to grab the bull by the horn.

AbokiFX has now suspended updates of daily rates due to this accusation but I can say unequivocally that the suspension of those operations will not play well in the favour of CBN in the short run. In other words, we should expect a further fall of the Naira by another 20-30 Naira within the next 2 weeks as a result of the suspension of operations by the accepted rate guide platform AbokiFX as BDCs and other individuals will start quoting FX rates blindly.

Till the next post;

Please share and comment.

Your Very Own Financial Times.

Stocks To Watch 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 06:20:00 -0800

Good Day Readers,

In a couple of hours we will be in March (as at the time of writing this post) which is the end of the first quarter of the year 2021. As your go to place for investment advice and financial watch, we remain ever committed to fulfilling all the goals and objectives set for the year on having a more organised web page.

Today we will be discussing on the stocks to watch in 2021. The stocks listed below were carefully curated from the end of last year till now and they were picked based on forecast of future financial growth, all round company growth, business acceptability in the long run and both present and future world events.

NIO - We believe this is one for the future. NIO is a Chinese owned electric vehicle company set to rival TESLA. Now trading under the $50 mark per share, the stock forecast expects that in 5years or less it would have grown by over 900% to about $450. If you buy $1,000 worth of NIO now, in 5years it would be worth $9,000. We think just because the company is Chinese it would get all the support it needs from the Chinese government. It is worth noting that one of the reasons why TESLA grew during the pandemic is because while most corporations or factories around the world was shut down, Chinese factories were allowed to work because they (China) "contained" the virus first.

SQUARE - Square is an American financial service firm and mobile payment company. Focusing on its mobile payment company which produces card readers that help sellers accept contactless cards, chip credit cards, apple and google pay. Although the profit is in the short run, square share price is poised to increase as the year pans out due to the global disease (COVID). With a 5year forecast, the current price of $230 should be around $1,100 which is a 380% increase. In a year the share price would close to double trading at $426 per share.

ALPHABET - Parent company to google on the stock market. Alphabet features on the list because of the company size and general acceptability. It is safe to say that google is going nowhere in the nearest future so even if the forecast for just a year is an increase of just $246 dollars from its $2,022 to $2,268, it is a safe stock trade to make knowing you will not loose money and are bound to gain fairly enough.

TESLA - We are sure a couple of you were expecting to see it on the list. Tesla makes the list as a stock you can buy in the short run and be guaranteed a $200 increase in share price by the end of the year. When it comes to electric vehicles, Tesla owns 2021 and as such will have a good number in terms of production. The 5year forecast is pegged at 163% with share price at $1,774 which is not bad at all but compared to other EV company NIO is low.

PAYPAL HOLDINGS - They operate an online payments system in various countries that support online money transfers. Paypal at the moment is trading at $260 and in a year is expected to have gone up to $390 per share. The 5year forecast however is more interesting as it expected to have a 250% increase to $909 per share. Your $1,000 now is expected to be around $3,490 in 2026.

Others listed below would not be discussed at length but are also very good options to buy in 2021.

Lululemon Athletica
Castle Biosciences
Twilio
Wayfair
Nvidia (Intel)

We can guarantee that if you trade any of the stocks listed above, you will be making a profit come this time next year.

Till the next post;

Please share and comment.

Your Very Own Financial Times.

INVESTMENTS IN THE NEW YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 04:30:00 -0800

Good Day Readers,

Happy New Year!!

This is officially the first post of the year 2021 and sorry it is coming late. The beginning of the year has been very wonderful and we cannot wait to roll out the plans for the new year for you'll to start enjoying.

Today we would be discussing on 'Investment in the new year'. When it comes to investment, a lot of factors have to be considered such as;

Investors Risk Appetite - We have discussed this on the blog before and we would like to reiterate again, your risk appetite determines what sort of investment you can go for. Here is the link to read about it again.

Investors Age - Surprising but very true, we cannot advise someone in their 40's and 50's to do the same investment as someone in their 20's or 30's. In your 20's you can take higher risks, in your 40's you have to reduce your risk appetite cause you have to consider your immediate family commitments and in your 50's when you are saving for your future after retirement your risk appetite towards investments should be the barest minimum.

Amount of money looking to be invested - Whatever amount you are looking to invest use to be very important but with the aid of crowd funding services springing up you need not dwell too much on this. All you have to do is find a trusted crowd funding financial management firm to pitch your tent with.

What the money is for - Before investing, it is best to weight your investment options and the risk involved with what the money actually is for. For example, your children's school fees should be put in a low risk investment plan and one you have easy access to.

We are sure some of the factors listed above seemed weird until properly broken down but none of the factors must be left unconsidered this new year. The above is for those who are new to investments but if you are an oldie we advise you review your investment accounts to see if their is any you want to stop or focus better on.

In other news (old though but for those who do not know), Elon Musk is now the world's richest man. The tech giant is the CEO of the famous electric car company Tesla whose share price went up by over 70% in December.

TIP - NIO is a fast growing Chinese electric car company which we advise everyone to jump on now. It is believed in the automobile space that if any company is to rival Tesla in the long run it is NIO.

SQUARE is another stock to watch out for in 2021. They are the biggest produces of card readers which helps sellers accept contactless card, chip credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

That is all for this week.

Till the next post;

Please share and comment.

Your Very Own Financial Times.

VIEWS ABOUT 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 04:24:00 -0800

Hi Guys,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance. We pray the holidays would bring good tidings your way. Sorry for not posting last week, It was due to circumstances beyond our control.

Today we would be highlighting our plans for 2021 and changes to the blog come next year.

The very first change is that posts would now be fortnightly rather than weekly. The aim of this is to enable us carry proper research and serve you better.

In the new year we would be having posts from guest writers. They would be people from different facets of the finance world teaching us one thing or the other about investments but not limited to just that.

Starting from 2021, we would also be giving you readers the opportunity to tell us about your different investment experience, advice on different investment options and also reviews from those who have followed our investment advice.

The three changes highlighted above would take effect in the new year and we hope with them we would be able to serve you better.

Investment Advice for today is very simple, 'Remember January seems more than 31days, so please save and try not to be stranded'. Going into the new year we would advice you go back to our post on Risk Appetite here to help you determine how hungry you want to go into 2021 in terms of investment.

May the remainder of our days in 2020 be filled with joy.

See you in 2021;

Please share and comment.

Your Very Own Financial Times.

CRYPTOCURRENCY - THE FUTURE

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Fri, 11 Dec 2020 05:40:00 -0800

Good Day Readers,

Today we would be discussing cryptocurrency. According to "Investopedia", cryptocurrency is simply a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double spend. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation. Cryptography itself is the art of solving codes.

The fact that they are immune to government interference or manipulation is the real wahala (problem). Let me simply put it as your money is not or cannot be insured or guaranteed by any legal entity. This leads us to quickly highlight how cryptocurrency started. Cryptocurrency stated in 1983 by American David Chaum whose sole aim was to create an online digital currency that cannot be traced by the bank or government. Ultimately the first decentralised cryptocurrency popularly known as 'BITCOIN' was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakomoto. Since the advent of bitcoin, a lot of other cryptocurrencies have emerged such as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, BAT, NEO, Ripple amongst many others.

Cryptocurrencies are still largely unacceptable in different parts of the world and outrightly banned in some countries. The fact that it is not regulated makes it a very volatile and high risk investment. Although growing very fast and seeming very profitable, it is an investment we would advise you to embark on with spare cash in the long term.

In other stock market news, delivery giants 'door dash' are now a publicly traded company. They are one to watch out for.

Do not hesitate to comment on the topic of discussion or ask question while also sharing.

Your Very Own Personal Financial Times.

Warm Regards,

DILEMMA CALLED THE NIGERIAN TREASURY BILL

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Fri, 4 Dec 2020 04:00:00 -0800

The Nigerian Treasury Bill;

hmm....

Hi Guys,

It's already a month we began this journey to financial literacy together.

Happy new month people; I wish you the very best of the festive seasons and please try to make someone smile this December.

According to investopedia, treasury bill is a short term government debt obligation backed by the treasury department or CBN in Nigeria's case with a maturity of one year or less (mostly on quarterly basis). They are low risk and secure investments. Let's simply put it this way, when government wants to finance public projects and are unable to raise funds they issue IOUs (I Owe You) to investors stating they have collected a certain amount from them and effectively pay interest immediately while your investment runs for the agreed tenor.

A lot of factors influence the interest rate of Treasury bill amongst which are the treasury bill auctioneers and types of bidders, market impact and most importantly the economy's inflation rate. Interest rate normally should never be lower than a country's inflation rate. It should either be higher or at par with the country's inflation rate.

I came across the news headline that Nigeria's treasury bill rate is now in negative meaning that if you invest at the moment you would even be paying the government money for holding on to your money to fund their projects. This is a big anomaly as all key indications point to the fact that Nigeria's t-bill rate should actually stand around 14% which is Nigeria's current inflation rate. The Nigerian government do not have any genuine revenue generator to back their decision to reduce the t-bill rate as they are seeking for loans from other countries.

The response of the government or the central bank of Nigeria, was that this was done to control big financial institutions from investing their pool of funds into government backed investments and to otherwise force their hands to give out loans at very low interest rates.

What are your thoughts on this decision?

Comment and let's discuss.

Treasury Bill is no longer an investment option at the moment my people.

Thank you,

Your Very Own Financial Times.

WHAT IS YOUR RISK APPETITE?

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 04:00:00 -0800

Good Day Readers,

Happy thanksgiving to our American followers and Happy Black Friday to the rest of the world.

Today we'd be taking a detour from discussing stocks to explaining what "risk appetite" really is.

According to wikipedia, RISK APPETITE is the level of risk that an organisation or person is prepared to accept in pursuit of its objectives. In lay man terms, it is the level of risk you are willing to take in pursuit of your ROI (return on investment).

When trying to determine your risk appetite with investments, it is very important to note the various of levels of risk listed below;

Low Risk - The goal here is just to secure your investment as the return on the investment is not so important to you as getting back your principal. Under this level of risk are treasury bills, money market, Mutual Funds amongst other government backed investments.

Medium Risk - People with this risk attitude or objective in mind just want to grow their income. It is important to note that if this investments are not properly managed, capital can be lost. Examples of medium risk investments are Stocks (Global and Local Shares), Agro investment and real estate investment.

High Risk - The investments under this level are very unpredictable and is subject to change at any time which in turn can bring about loss of capital. Although when it works out, the return on such investments are very high. Types of this investment are cryptocurrency and Forex.

To better explain the above, would be posting an image from Money Africa below;

It is time to think and determine what your risk appetite falls under from the three listed above. My advise is to divide and conquer, which is to spread your funds round the 3 levels.

Replies to comments on the last post are up already.

Next Friday is another day;

Please share, comment and subscribe.

Your Very Own Financial Times.

Let's Talk Pharma

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 04:00:00 -0800

Hi Guys,

Last day of the week already... "Whoop Whoop!!!" Hope you all liked last week's post and remembered to share it. If you missed it, HERE is the link again.

Straight into the business of today; PHARMACEUTICAL STOCKS. Alongside Tech, Pharma is also experiencing a boom in share prices due to the current situation of the world. As the world remains in a limbo as to how and when the Covid-19 pandemic would be over, we (world) have set our gaze on the Pharmaceutical sector to help us by creating a vaccine to help combat the virus.

A host of Pharma companies have received not just government grants but also investments for rich private bodies and individuals to help with their research for a Covid-19 vaccine. Below are a list of Pharma companies whose share price have benefited from the sudden benevolence;

BioNTech and Pfizer - Although independent companies, they have decided to come together to develop a vaccine which has already passed the testing stage as is currently the vaccine UK government is ready to administer to its population come December 2020. This companies stocks is one to buy, especially BioNTech being the smaller of the parties and the one handling the production of the vaccine. Pfizer is only going to handle distribution.

Moderna - This is another Pharma company who has enjoyed seed from private individuals to aid their vaccine research. They alongside BioNTech would likely be the go to organisation by America.

Novavax - The company which recorded the highest amount of funds ever invested by the US government into a company. We are yet to hear anything concrete as regards their progress on the vaccine but they also cannot be written off.

AstraZeneca - They are a global biopharmaceutical company who partnered with Oxford University for their vaccine research. Although their vaccine is not out and doesn't have any forecast date to when it would be ready, the only news is that their vaccine shows more promise with the elderly population of the world.

Cytodyn

Gliead Sciences or Remdesivir - Remdesivir medicine is already in stores as it is used to prevent HIV (Not sure) but on the 1st of May, it was approved as an emergency drug for Covid-19 patients in America

GlaxoSmithKline

Heat Biologics

The above are just a few Pharma companies to look out for on the stock market. Please note that we have other Pharma companies who are concerned with Covid Vaccine also doing very well.

Next Friday is another day;

Please share, comment and subscribe.

Our Very Own Financial Times.

Stocks To Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:00:00 -0800

Good Day Guys,

I would have loved to go in-depth in trying to explain the US stock market but that would be for a later post.

The year 2020 has been a very trying one for each and everyone of us one way or the other. For some they have won and for others they've lost. To people who have lost, 'Kashama Dupe' (Let's just thank God) we are alive and well.

In the face of the many depleting world economies, some firms have stayed winning because they have not just shown resilience but also shown that they are indeed the future and many of these firms are in the technological sector. Firms like Zoom, Microsoft, Apple, Slack amongst many others have seen their stock price rise and profit hit an all time high due to the changes in the world caused by COVID.

Working from home is the new norm and every organisation around the world has had to adjust to this to stay afloat thus making web and internet based applications like Zoom, Microsoft (Teams especially), Slack and even Netflix thrive.

Below are just a few of the tech companies to look out for or invest in during this advent of the new norm;

Zoom
Slack
Netflix
Amazon
Facebook
Youtube
Apple
Microsoft

The tech sector is not the only thriving one during this times but also the online fashion retail sector and obviously the Pharmaceutical sector with their many government fundings for a Covid Vaccine.

Our next post would highlight on Pharmaceutical companies to watch out for in the US Stock Market, their share price and advise on whether we should jump on them or not.

So... to answers to the questions you have in mind;

No, Covid is not over as countries are beginning to impose fresh restrictions with the second wave already upon us.
Yes! all of these companies would continue to remain relevant even post covid.

AND

Yes, You can search online for various US Stock Market trading applications you can use from the comfort of your phones.

Till another post next week, do not forget to subscribe so you can always get an email alert every time a new post is up.

We remain,

Your Very Own Personal Financial Times.

Cheers.

PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR

noreply@blogger.com (Principal Financial Advisor) — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 03:29:00 -0800

Good Day Guys,

Principal Financial Advisor is a page which would be used as a platform to discuss varying international financial topics and how world events shape them.

It would serve as a guide for people looking to invest in different aspects of the financial market and also educate them on how to go about it. PFA aims to educate people on the key features of finance and how they can make more money by channeling their risk appetite appropriately.

It is important to note that all financial advice given on this blog would not in any way be adverts to promote a financial service, rather they would be financial advise already tested and trusted by various members of our investment team.

We look forward to having you on this journey with US and we advise to subscribe to our newsletter so you would always be alerted when we post new content as some of the investment opportunities to be posted would be time based.

Warm Regards,

Our Own Personal Financial Times.