The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku, has said one of the best ways to grow money is making investments. Aku gave this advice recently while lecturing students of Government Secondary School, Lugbe, Abuja on the topic “Growing Your Money” as part of Global Money Week.
He described investment as something that is purchased with money and expected to produce income or profit, stating that, investing money reduces risk of theft, spending and gives chance for the money to grow.”Generally, investments are broadly divided into ownership (equities) and lending (debt). The higher the risk involved, the higher the return and interest rate; the longer the period of investment, the higher the interest rate,” he said.
The Ecobank boss also took the students through investing in real estate, precious objects, bonds, mutual funds, adding that “just like you eat good food and take vitamins to protect your body from sickness and allow you grow, you need to protect your money and investments in a similar way by getting insurance.”He explained that “Stocks are securities that allow you become a part-owner of the company whose stocks you purchase. Examples of stocks are shares. When you buy the shares of a company, you are given a share certificate and entitled to dividends only if the company makes a profit. Shares also allow you to attend the company’s general meetings and sell your shares for capital gains in the stock market when the price of your shares increases.”
He also counselled the students on the need to save money in the bank, noting that “to register with a financial institution, you opened an account and are provided with an account number. The commercial banks generally offer ordinary savings account; current account; time savings deposit account and foreign exchange deposits.
“The Global Money Week is a global money awareness celebration that takes place between March 10 and 17 every year to engage children globally in learning the concept of savings and investment. The day is being marked to focus attention on children and youth in primary and secondary schools nationwide and to empower them by enhancing their financial knowledge and planning skills. During the period, financial institution chief executive will visit; teach selected students from the schools a module of a Financial Literacy curriculum specially designed by Junior Achievement Nigeria – a non-governmental organisation focused on educating children about their economic environment.
