Index investing sure is popular these days. You’ve got your small-cap indexes. Your large-cap indexes. Growth indexes. Value indexes. Country indexes. Bond indexes. Any slight affinity among a group of securities seemingly results in some sort of new index ETF.
It’s got me feeling a little bit left out.
So, today I’m launching the Investing In Africa Index.
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Much has been made of Africa’s rapid economic growth. And it truly is remarkable. The IMF projects that seven African economies will grow faster than 8% this year, and six of the top ten fastest-growers economies in the world will come from the continent.
Unfortunately, investing solely on the basis of growth forecasts often ends in disappointment. Rapid economic growth doesn’t necessarily translate into awesome stock market returns.
To get a true sense of where investment opportunity lies, we need to combine growth’s yang with the yin of value.
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Understated Zambia is quietly putting together one of the world’s most impressive records of economic growth. The Southern Arican nation’s GDP has grown in excess of 5.3% every year since 2003, and the IMF forecasts its economy will expand by 7.7% this year thanks to strong demand for its primary [...]
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Less than 20 years ago, the world watched as a paroxysm of genocidal violence wracked Central Africa’s land of a thousand hills. If ever there was a place bereft of hope, Rwanda was it.
Yet, to the world’s astonishment, the country refused to settle for merely rebuilding. Instead, it opted to transform.
Now, investors from both near and far have an opportunity to support Rwanda’s improbable economic success. The nascent Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) is open for business.
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If you really want to invest at the furthest reaches of Africa’s frontier markets, the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) is for you. The little market lists only 11 local companies and trade volumes often don’t exceed $500,000 per week.
But the DSE will likely not be so sleepy five years from now. Exploration companies have discovered huge natural gas reserves off Tanzania’s sandy shores that they are rushing into production. Now the country appears set to be the world’s newest energy hub.
One way to get in on the ground floor of these exciting developments is via the stock market. Here’s what it takes to open a Tanzanian brokerage account.
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When Mark Twain visited this island nation in 1896, a proud resident told him that “heaven was copied after Mauritius.” The Stock Exchange of Mauritius has certainly posted some heavenly returns over the past three years, and there are a number of intriguing companies among its 38 listed stocks. So, just how do you go about opening a brokerage account there?
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The Nigerian Stock Exchange hasn’t exactly sizzled of late. But the potential of Africa’s most populous nation is enormous. First things first, however. I need a Nigerian brokerage account. So, how exactly do I go about opening one?
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Most global investors still treat Africa as a commodity play. They overlook the continent’s increasing political stability, improved governance, and burgeoning middle class. Instead, they focus on the treasure trove of copper, iron, oil, and gold that will fuel the growth of emergent economic superpowers like China and India. As an investor, I’m uncomfortable with this bias for three reasons. Mining stocks are risky, dirty, and most investors don’t need them.
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I recently took up jogging to help get my desk-bound self into some semblance of shape. But you won’t often see me pounding the pavement in suburban Lancaster. Why not? Because I prefer the treadmill. You see, I have the rather obsessive need to gauge exactly how much effort I [...]
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I know I’ve been posting an awful lot of “How to” articles lately, but when this Kony 2012 stuff broke last week I felt the need to try to help balance the interweb’s recent coverage of Uganda.
Let me be clear. Uganda certainly has its problems. Kony is one. Corruption, AIDS, and an increasingly dictatorial president are others.
But Uganda also has some things going for it that could make it attractive to frontier investors.
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Coffee Junkie. Air Guitarist. Number Cruncher. Sometime Jogger. Labrador Wrestler. Former Partner, Kivuno Capital Management. Editor, InvestingInAfrica.net. Read More.
