It is easier for people to save than invest because savings have virtually no risk and are usually short-term. Unlike investing which carries some risk and should be long-term. Also, with savings, you just put money away but investing means putting money in something and that something requires thought. You want to know that whatever is invested in is healthy and can grow. So, investing is rightfully more difficult than saving which is why a lot of people delay it or think they need to hit certain financial milestones before they start investing. Our advice is to start immediately.



<h3>Why You Should Start Investing Now</h3>



The rewards when you start investing early far outweigh the benefits of starting later because of the powerful force that is compound interest. 



People who <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/finance/the-goal-of-investing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">invest </a>at a young age are typically more likely to grow their wealth, become financially independent and reach retirement sooner than those who don&#8217;t. The first step in your journey to investing should be a strong financial education. It is never wise to make investments in financial products you do not understand or cannot explain.



Say there are two individuals who started working at age 20 and retired at 60; person A starts investing $500 right from her first paycheck while person B decides to hold on for ten years, investing $500 monthly from age 30.



At retirement, person A will have $2.8 million at an annual compounding rate of 10% thanks to a 10-year headstart while person B will have $1million. There’s an almost $2million difference in their investment value despite the fact that there’s only a $60,000 difference in capital invested. That’s the power of starting immediately.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="rise.capital"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1134/1*qeuR5mCEFs7ujnmE0kYrvQ.png" alt="table showing the difference in returns from the investment of Person A and Person B, depending on when they start investing"/></a><figcaption>Amount invested for Person A and Person B over their career</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="rise.capital"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1446/0*U3nUr-SBvNuhkGw5" alt="A graphical representation of the difference time taken to start investing can make"/></a><figcaption>The difference time taken to start investing can make</figcaption></figure>



With investing, it’s not just the act but the habit you are building along the way. Plus, postponing it shortchanges you in the long run. The sooner you invest and maximise the power of compounding, the more your money grows. No amount is too small to start, that’s why at <a href="http://rise.capital">Rise</a>, you can begin with $10.



We understand that investing can be daunting for newbies and experts alike because of how unpredictable the market is. With Rise, it doesn’t have to be. We don’t let you figure things out by yourself, instead, we invest and manage your money in a global portfolio of dollar investments.



Start investing today at&nbsp;<a href="http://risecapital.com/">rise.capital</a>.



Our telegram community surrounds you with others who can help you along your financial journey with tips, support, advice and learning. Join the&nbsp;<a href="https://t.me/joinchat/DTGhd0cfd_R5q8w_dC1KHQ">community</a>

When should I start investing?

As a University student, this is the best time for you to start taking care of your finances. This is because you probably have the least financial responsibility at this point, (i.e not paying rent, utility bills etc).&nbsp;



It is also important for you to start investing now because investing is really more about how long you have money invested than how much you actually invested, that’s where compound growth comes in.



<h2>Let’s introduce the Rise Student Ambassador Program….</h2>



This program is about a community of brilliant and influential students across universities who will act as Rise ambassadors by promoting Rise and financial literacy while making money through referrals.



<h2>As a Rise student ambassador you must be;</h2>



<ul><li>Currently pursuing an undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD or any program lasting a minimum of 1 year</li><li>Passionate about financial literacy</li><li>An active member of student groups and clubs at the university</li><li>Be a creative thinker and have good event management skills</li><li>A Rise user</li></ul>



<h2>Your responsibilities as a student ambassador include;</h2>



<ul><li>Committing at least 6 months to the program</li><li>Committing at least 1 hour a week for meetings or training from Rise</li><li>Collect feedback to help Rise improve it’s offerings</li><li>Promote Rise through online and offline channels</li><li>Check-in with the program lead on a periodic basis</li></ul>



<h2>Becoming a Rise Student Ambassador comes with certain benefits such as;</h2>



<ul><li>Earning passive income by making referrals&nbsp;</li><li>Enhancing development by improving on your leadership, marketing and communications skills</li><li>Access to internship opportunities with Rise</li><li>Learn about the Rise culture and have access to mentorship by experts at Rise</li><li>Access to Rise events and training</li><li>Branded Merchandise and other Rise swag materials.</li><li>Early Access to Rise Wealth Building Features</li></ul>



This program is open to all universities in Nigeria. 



Rise provides a stress-free way to build up your wealth and the best time to get started is now. Get started by filling this <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfrShm_d78qWyNC3cJujNB84l3lB5m8zQ_aFJvxyffJcd7MBg/viewform">form</a>.



Follow Rise on <a href="https://twitter.com/Risevest">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rise.vest/">Instagram</a> 



Join the Rise <a href="https://rise.capital/investment-club">Telegram </a>Community 



If you have enquiries, mail us at community@rise.capital

Become A Rise Student  Ambassador Today

You have started in the right direction since you are considering investing your money. And it makes a lot of sense that you do not think what you want to start with is small. So Congratulations!!!



Also, it is essential to emphasize that no amount is too small to start investing. No matter how small, you should see your days of little beginnings as a foundation for building a brighter future through investing.



Now let&#8217;s talk about that money you want to invest.&nbsp;



<h3>Invest in an emergency fund </h3>



An emergency fund is an amount of money that you set aside for the sake of unplanned expenses. I advise that you have up to 6 months of your monthly salary in this fund. Of course, you are free to determine what yours will be. But having it provides a necessary buffer in case of an emergency.



This is important because if you don&#8217;t invest in this, you may not be able to do other forms of investment successfully. The emergency fund usually sits in a savings account not invested at all. For a simple reason that you may need to use it unplanned. That’s one option. And it is assuming you don’t have an emergency fund yet. If you have that setup already, then we can move on to the next option.



<h3>Invest in fixed income plans</h3>



We all have different risk profiles. Some people can take on more risk than others. For those who can&#8217;t take on any risk at all, fixed-income investment offers them a safe path. The way fixed income works is that you know ahead of time when your investment will mature and how much you will get on maturity. That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s called fixed income.



So if you invest your 10,000 Naira for 1 year and the rate of return is 10%, then at the end of a year, you will get a sum of 11,000 as a take home. Does that sound great? That you can know ahead of time what interest you will earn and when you will get your funds back? If it does, then why wait?



Click on Stress-free wealth management image below to start investing in a fixed-income fund today.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1024x512.png" alt="investing, risevest, invest best" class="wp-image-922" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<h3>Invest in real estate funds</h3>



You will wonder if it were possible for you to invest as little as 10,000 Naira in real estate. Yes, it&#8217;s possible and Risevest made it available for all. <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/how-real-estate-returns-work-on-rise">Your 10,000 Naira is joined with that of 100+ more people</a> and is used to buy rental properties.&nbsp;



Once you have subscribed to that, you start earning income as the property is earning rent or <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalgain.asp#:~:text=Capital%20gain%20refers%20to%20an,be%20claimed%20on%20income%20taxes.">capital gain</a> upon sales. Unlike fixed income though, the returns are not predetermined and it varies from month to month. Again, Risevest got you covered on this.



<h3>Invest in a Stock Index </h3>



Stock Indexes are a basket of stocks lumped into a basket for you to buy. Such that once you buy part of the basket, you would have bought all the 40 (more or less) stocks in the basket at the same time. And historically, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032415/which-investments-have-highest-historical-returns.asp">stocks have been the best-performing asset</a>. It has returned gains that surpasses both fixed income and real estate. However, it&#8217;s riskier to invest in stocks than real estate and fixed income.



So you have got to have an appetite for risk to invest your 10,000 Naira in this. And the best part is that Risevest has developed a means to make investing in a stock index with as little as 10,000 Naira available for everyone. If you invested in Risevest Stock Index last year, you would have made a whopping 40%. And If you have invested from the beginning of this year, you would also have made 12% year to date.



You can start by clicking the image below.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-920" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



Investing starts with developing the &#8220;habit of investing&#8221;. Starting small with 10,000 Naira is a very good way to start building that habit. Once you have developed the habit, it will be easier to grow wealth from there. With as little as 10,000 Naira, you can start today, either to invest in an emergency fund, or fixed income, or real estate or stock index.&nbsp;

4 Ways to Invest 10,000 Naira

Have you noticed how almost everyone you meet has a side hustle these days? Yes, side hustles have existed since before our dads kept afros but the internet has given us the gift of scale in a way that our parents never experienced or imagined.&nbsp;



Having multiple income sources gives us choices, helps us reach our financial goals quicker, and gives us freedom.



At the Rise Investment Club, we’ve been having conversations about increasing our earnings and multiplying our income streams. In May, we spoke with Uzezzi Edegware, a lawyer and freelancer about earning on Upwork (ICYMI: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFARHc0fYmE"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFARHc0fYmE</a>)



We are back at it for July’s edition with Modupe “Moe” Odele.



If you are active on Nigerian Twitter, you most likely know Moe. She is an attorney and entrepreneur living in the U.S who is passionate about law, entrepreneurship and investing.



As part of her journey as an entrepreneur, Moe creates and sells digital products like courses for professionals who want to become consultants. During this month’s club meeting she will share insights with us on how we can create and sell digital products to earn additional income.



There are two ways to build wealth. You can reduce your expenses or you can expand your income streams. We lean towards the latter.



You definitely don’t want to miss this one so please register <a href="https://bit.ly/JulyICMeeting">here</a>:<a href="https://bit.ly/JulyICMeeting"> </a>and invite someone as well.



You also want to join the Rise Investment Club on Telegram where we learn and grow financially as a community <a href="https://t.me/joinchat/vyQEtBisaz8xODcx">here</a> :

Investment Club Series – July Edition.

<h2>When people ask you what you do, what do you tell them?</h2>



I tell them I’m a man of many talents. Haha, just kidding. I’m a guy that just does what’s needed. I’ve dipped my hands in so many things; Products, Business Development, Engineering, Media and Marketing.



<h2>How did you start investing?</h2>



Hmm, I don’t remember, but the concept of investing was imbibed in us (children in my family) at an early age. My dad bought us “Richest Man in Babylon”, I wasn’t much of a reader, so I only got to read it many years later from someone else.&nbsp;



My first memorable investment was saving for a car in 2018. I used a digital bank, that was offering above-market interest rates to save for 3 years. And since then, I’ve focused on such types of savings with new-age innovative apps and platforms.



I tried mutual bonds but mahn, the interest rates were so low, I almost cried. LOL.



<h2>How do you approach investing today?</h2>



I remove a percentage of my income for savings and then invest from the savings. Actual numbers range from 40-50%, I wonder how long I can keep that for, LOL.



Tried to forget (invest) money in crypto (I’m very conservative here), digital banks (w/savings platform) and wealth tech. When Agritechs were hot, I got in too and made a decent ROI.



<h2>When did you start using RiseVest?&nbsp;</h2>



I always knew about wealth techs like Risevest. I downloaded the app to experience the <a href="https://www.benjamindada.com/risevest-wealth-creating-african/">redesign.</a> But I didn&#8217;t have any money in it till April this year. My babe and I did a dollar-denominated transaction, and since she uses Risevest,&nbsp;I asked her to send me the money on my RiseVest. So, that&#8217;s how I funded my RiseVest account.



My portfolio is a mix of Real Estate, Stocks, and Fixed Income, in that order.&nbsp; 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-920" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2>What do you think about the redesign?</h2>



 I think it&#8217;s aesthetically pleasing and contains valuable content like news &amp; updates etc.



<h2>What is the investing hill you are willing to die on?</h2>



No genuine investment gives 30% in a month. LMAO.



<h2>What is your wildest gain since you started investing?&nbsp;</h2>



Gain? It must have been on a 20% per month investment. It sounded and acted like a Ponzi, but I chose to believe the best in people, LOL.&nbsp;



Last last, I just say make I try am once or twice. Thankfully, I didn’t do more than that. Last I heard the “crypto” scheme had crashed. Didn’t have any money in it at that time.&nbsp;



<h2>Have you made any losses since you started investing?</h2>



Maybe I’m losing money on my crypto position, but the amount I put is so insignificant, I don’t check.&nbsp;



I think overall, I’m conservative. I once heard a good investor doesn’t lose money&#8230;so on some days, that drives my decisions.&nbsp;



I just end up saving my money.&nbsp;



<h2>What does a dream investment look like to you?&nbsp;</h2>



Dream investment is to invest in a startup.&nbsp;



<h2>How does this investment compare with your reality?</h2>



In comparison to my reality, I’m living in it. Making a big-small bet with BCSL (the Publisher of <a href="https://www.benjamindada.com/">benjamindada.com).</a>&nbsp; But beyond that, I want to invest in a tech startup. Own and work towards having ROIs in multiples.



<h2>What will you tell a beginner about investment?</h2>



Save first. Investment can be a % of your savings. Plus, when you look at it, savings are a form of low-risk investments, because you get interest in your savings which is the Return on Investment (RoI).  Secondly, diversify your investment portfolio. Do some low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk investments, based on the stage of life you are in and what you are looking for.



The Golden investment rule is no risk, no return. High risk, high return.



Also start by investing with Rise by using my referral code: VVRBKMG

I Remove A Percentage Of My Income For Savings And Then Invest From The Savings. My Name Is Dada Ben And This Is How I Make My Moneyrise

The rise of the gig economy has given birth to many people choosing a non-traditional career path. The freelancer can choose what to work on and when. They can also decide how to manage their money 100% after paying tax. It’s a new reality that we’ve not navigated before.



Here is the thing though, being outside of the traditional career path, they have also deprived themselves of being subjected to something like the Pension Act. For instance, the Pension Act of Nigeria requires that both the employer and the employee contribute a certain percentage to the employee&#8217;s pension account monthly. In other words, traditional employees are mandated to plan towards a time when they won’t be strong enough to work again.



Given a choice, the traditional employee <a href="https://medium.com/ten-timezones/present-self-vs-future-self-f598f5ab0e2a">will rarely make such a monthly contribution</a>. But because the law requires it, everyone in formal employment has a pension account funded monthly as a plan towards when they won’t be strong enough to work again.



Unfortunately, no law binds the gig worker to contribute to a pension scheme. Yet, just like the traditional career person, the freelancer will also get to an age where s/he is better off relaxing and going on holidays than working with the same energy that s/he worked when s/he was 20 something years old.



To this end, I have a proposition that’s too good to refuse.



<h2>Planning your &#8220;retirement&#8221; with Risevest</h2>



We have both agreed that you don&#8217;t want to work &#8220;forever&#8221; and even if you wish to, strength might fail you as you age. So how can you use Risevest to help you achieve your “retirement” goal?  



<ol><li>Risevest as you might know already is an asset management company committed to bringing you the best investment opportunities around the world. Our portfolio of investments is managed by seasoned experts. With the array of products that we have currently and the ones to come, there isn&#8217;t a better option to manage your “retirement” investment.</li></ol>



<ol start="2"><li>You have an advantage over the traditional career person because all your investments with Risevest will be denominated in dollars. Why should you want otherwise?</li><li>You are exposed to the best-performing assets in the world. Stock, Real Estate and Fixed Income.</li></ol>



All of these put together empowers you enough to make important financial decisions for your future.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1024x512.png" alt="Risevest invest" class="wp-image-929" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



Using Risevest, you can set up a plan, name it Retirement, Future Enjoyment or whatever name you&#8217;d like. Have a specific plan about how you will fund it and the rule that will guide when you can withdraw it. Simply put, set up your personal &#8220;Pension Act&#8221; and abide by it. Sounds simple, but it may not be simple.



Here are 3 guidelines to help you along the way of implementation.



<ol><li>The first thing you will learn from the traditional career person is that they don&#8217;t feel the effect of the month-to-month pension deduction from their salary. This is an important point because while you plan for the future, you must exist today. So you can only invest an amount that won&#8217;t affect your survival today. Doing otherwise will put on you the pressure of liquidating your &#8220;retirement plan&#8221;. Don&#8217;t invest too much. For this, don&#8217;t ever go above 10% of what you earn.</li><li>10% of what you earn. Unlike the traditional career person, you don&#8217;t earn monthly, you earn per gig. So it is important to recognize that and ensure that whatever percentage you choose to contribute towards your pension comes from every gig that you complete.</li><li>Discipline yourself mentally to always calculate your income net of your retirement contribution. Let&#8217;s assume you have decided to keep 5% of everything that you earn towards retirement. If you earned $1,000 on a gig then you should see it as earning $950 never to be seen as $1,000 let alone should you plan your life on $1,000.</li></ol>



This is new territory for every one of us. The future of work is still the future. And while our gig workers are living in the future already, we also believe that as your trusted wealth advisor, we should provide you with a necessary guide on this.



The ideas shared above are what we are thinking about at the moment. And we trust that if you run by them, you will have your future guaranteed.



Surely this is not the end of this topic, it&#8217;s only the beginning. As you use Risevest’s platform for this purpose, you will have more questions we will be available to answer.&nbsp;



For now, go and set up your &#8220;Retirement&#8221; Plan on Risevest. In 30 years, you’ll be glad you did..

Freelancer, Here’s One Answer To The Biggest Question About Your Future

There are thousands of companies listed in most stock exchanges around the world. As your investment manager, our task is to buy stock in the best, strongest companies among the thousands so that you can earn compounding returns over time.



We do this to follow a defined process that results in a strong selection of high-quality stocks. First, we programmatically run through all the stocks on the public market, picking out those with a strong presence or interest from prominent fund managers with research budgets and networks to be considered “smart money”. Second, when we filter out the top few over-represented stocks within smart money circles, we filter on objective measures like margins, growth rate and valuation multiples.



By the time we get to a list of 5 stocks, we then go back into fundamental research by running through a list of “indicators.” These include:



<ol><li>Do we understand this industry or business?</li><li>What are the levers that drive performance in the business?</li><li>How big is the market?</li><li>What is their competitive edge or advantage?</li><li>Do they have pricing power?</li><li>How do they make money?</li><li>Are the managers competent, expert and effective?</li><li>What is this company culture?&nbsp;</li><li>How are they going to grow? How cheaply or expensively?</li><li>Will we be willing to have you hold this stock for 20+ years.</li></ol>



By the time we have answers to these questions, we feel confident that we understand this business we want to invest in. And if the answers are overwhelmingly positive, then we buy continuously for as long as we can.&nbsp;



Then we review every quarter to either add to or remove companies to the portfolio. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1024x512.png" alt="" class="wp-image-921" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



By adopting this strategy, we have built a strong stock portfolio that has beaten the S&amp;P 500 and grown our users&#8217; investments. Our goal is to continue to increase the quality of our portfolio over time which should help us continue to pick the best stocks to invest in that will make a meaningful difference to the wealth of our users.



Join <a href="https://rise.capital/">Rise</a> today to get access to superior, stress-free wealth management. 



With love and returns,



Eke Urum

A 3-Minute Guide To Understanding The Stocks To Invest In

Every year, people travel from far and near to attend Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings. There they listen to the wisdom of Buffett and Munger. It’s always so profound how much both usually have to share every year. And the investing community never gets tired of them. For context, saying “people” means an average of 40,000 people from all around the world come to listen to Buffett and Munger talk for at least 4 hours. This year was not an exception.



Instead of listening to the 4 hours long conversation, we want to share six lessons of the most profound takeaways from the meeting. Here’s a sneak-peek into what that number of people usually gather around to listen to.



<h2>1. Don’t bet against America</h2>



Buffett started this year’s session by sharing two insightful statistics. He showed the data of the top 20 companies as of March 2021 and compared it with that of 30 years ago. In a profound turn of events, none of the companies that were on the list 30 years ago are still on the list today. Beyond that, 30 years ago, only 5 US companies were in the top 20. But today, there are 13 of them.



Buffett used the opportunity to emphasise America’s position as the world’s capital for wealth accumulation. Knowing that the US moved from 25% dominance of the top 20 to 65% under 30 years is instructive. As Buffett noted, the economic system in the US powers growth of this nature. It is almost by design that the US will prosper.



Now, this is not an article to glorify the US. What we aim to call your attention to is simple. As a Nigerian, the opportunity for you to have a share of the wealth created in the US in the last 30 years or even further was not available to you. But that opportunity is available to you at your fingertip with Risevest.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1024x512.png" alt="risevest, investment buffett" class="wp-image-919" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy_3-210610-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<h2>2. Buffett and Munger are still living in the house they bought 62 years ago</h2>



This year’s Annual Meeting was held in a different location (Munger’s state). While commenting on that, Buffet mentioned how Munger has been living in the same house he bought 62 years ago. And of course, we know the same is true of Buffett who has been living in the same house for as long as well.



When a lot of people think about wealth, what comes to their mind is the number of things they want to spend on. But wealth is built out of what we don’t spend, not out of what we spend. Munger has more than enough to buy a new house. But the focus of wealth is not in the multitude of houses or material things that one possesses. Rather, it is in how much you didn’t spend but stash in an investment.



Another lesson from this has to do with not replacing items that are not due for replacement. For example, it’s okay to use the latest iPhone if you can afford it. But why make it a goal to always use the latest when you have to squeeze your pocket to do so? Understand what matters to you as you build wealth and focus on it.



Also read: <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/long-term-investing-is-hard-here-are-3-things-to-help-you-make-it-easier">Long-Term Investing is Hard</a>



<h2>3. Even Buffett Makes Investment Mistakes</h2>



Everyone investing – new or old – has likely made one mistake or the other on their journey. You might have invested money you shouldn’t invest. You might have invested in what you shouldn’t invest in or any other mistake. Well, we are here to tell you that even Buffett makes mistakes.



Some people questioned why Buffett sold part of his stake in Apple. The Oracle of Omaha admitted that was probably a mistake. &#8220;Charlie in his usual low-key way let me know it was a mistake,&#8221; he added.



You can take solace in the fact even someone of Buffett&#8217;s stature can make the same sort of mistakes that you make. And then move forward with your investing without relenting. Don&#8217;t let past mistakes stop you from investing now that you are better aware.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1024x512.png" alt="risevest, investment buffett" class="wp-image-922" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<h2>4. Munger on Bitcoin</h2>



Buffett decided to dodge the question on Bitcoin asked by an attendee. He wanted to “avoid making the hundreds of thousands of viewers who own the cryptocurrency unhappy.” Munger didn&#8217;t hold back though. &#8220;I hate the Bitcoin success,&#8221; Munger said. &#8220;The whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interest of civilization.&#8221;



We like to highlight two point from this:



<ul><li>Reminding everyone to be on the side of caution when investing in cryptocurrency.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Telling you that even if you disagree with Charlie Munger, you can still learn from him. That you disagree with someone on a point doesn’t mean you can’t agree with them on another point. And Munger is someone you can learn a tone from.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h2>5. Buffett and Munger disagree on the S&amp;P 500 vs. Berkshire</h2>



Buffett has often advised investors to keep things simple and invest in an S&amp;P 500 index fund. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never recommended Berkshire to anybody,&#8221; Buffett said.



Munger has a different opinion. &#8220;I personally prefer holding Berkshire to holding the market,&#8221; he said, arguing that Berkshire&#8217;s set of businesses and investments are in his view &#8220;better than the average&#8221; across the stock market.



These two individuals hold two different views and they still respect each other.&nbsp; And have even conducted business together for this long.



You can have a different investment philosophy with someone, it doesn’t mean you conflict with that person. Just do what works for you.



<h2>6. On Robinhood and Stock Trading Apps</h2>



Buffett said of Robinhood, “the gambling impulse is very strong in people worldwide. And occasionally it gets an enormous shove and conditions lead to this place where more people are entering the casino than are leaving every day.&#8221; Buffett added, “and it creates its own reality for a while and nobody tells you when the clock’s going to strike 12 and it all turns to pumpkins and mice.&#8221;



More importantly, Buffett said that &#8220;there&#8217;s nothing illegal about it. There&#8217;s nothing immoral, but I don&#8217;t think you&#8217;d build a society around people doing it.&#8221;



What Buffett is saying here is that many more people have entered the stock market in the recent period. Albeit, with gambling mindset than an investing mindset. The caution here is to know what you are doing, if you gambling, know it as such and if you are investing recognize it for one. When you are making money, it is easy to think that’s how it always is, no that’s not. Markets don’t always go up and individual companies may even be more irrational in their behaviour. Be careful and be aware of what exactly you are doing.

Six Lessons We Learned From Buffett & Munger 2021 Annual Meeting

In investing, learning once is often not enough. The reason is not far-fetched; investing requires agreement between our intellect and our emotions. And while it is easier for our mind to grab all investing concepts at once, our feelings will always find it hard to fall in line. Hence, a constant need for reeducation.



That&#8217;s why we are taking a tour into the mind of some of the legendary investors in this article. We are picking from their mind some of the most important lessons they learned on their journey to share with you. Remember, there&#8217;s a likelihood that you&#8217;ve encountered some of these lessons before. However, there&#8217;s also a high likelihood that you may not have been able to abide by them. And you know what, you are not alone; it happens to the best of us. We panic, we let emotions get in the way, and sometimes, it costs us. But ultimately, we are on a journey to building wealth and ready to learn what is necessary to create wealth.



<h2>Have some stocks in your portfolio</h2>



“If you hope to have more money tomorrow than you have today, you&#8217;ve got to put a chunk of your assets into stocks. Sooner or later, a portfolio of stocks or stock mutual funds will turn out to be a lot more valuable than a portfolio of bonds or commercial deposits, or money-market funds.” &#8211; Peter Lynch



Peter Lynch took a look at historical data and realised that despite the seeming risk in the stock market, if you hope to have more money in the future than you have today, you need to invest some of your funds in stocks. That&#8217;s because historically, the stock market has outperformed every known asset class. He compared stocks to alternative assets like fixed income to reach that conclusion. And while fixed income is less risky, the kind of money that some desire can only be made from an investment in stocks.



A nearby example here would be Risevest&#8217;s performance in 2020. Investors in stock make 40.7% return on investment while fixed income investors make only 10%. Of course, it is not guaranteed that the 40% return will persist. However, over a long enough period, stocks tend to outperform the fixed income plan.



So what can you do? It&#8217;s simple, start building up your stock portfolio if you don&#8217;t have one already. And if you have already, make sure you are keeping a long-term view of it. In the short term, expect volatility. Over a long time, though, expect money-making returns.



<h2>With all that you know, have you started investing?</h2>



&#8220;In life and business, there are two cardinal sins. The first is to act precipitously without thought, and the second is to not act at all.&#8221; ~ Carl Icahn



Which of these two sins is currently committing? Are you acting without thought or you are not acting all despite all that you know?



Acting without thought, for instance, will mean investing these 3 kinds of money that we said should never be invested. And nothing acting at all will mean despite all that you care enough to spur you to action, you are still not acting at all.



Don&#8217;t commit any of these two sins. Join our community, where you can learn about all things money. Then download the Rise App to start acting today. The time to start is now.



<h2>The best investment returns come from doing nothing.</h2>



&#8220;The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting.&#8221; ~ Charlie Munger



Charlie Munger is always revered for his witty wisdom. Alongside Warren Buffet, he has built a multi-billion dollar business by investing in the most promising companies. And when asked what the secret of successful investing is, he said, &#8220;you make the big money by doing nothing but waiting&#8221;.



You see, it&#8217;s easy to think we can make quick money by timing the market for an entry and exit point. However, the wisdom of Munger says big money is in the waiting, in doing nothing, and in patience.



<h2>We all make mistakes with our investments, but some people repeat the same mistake</h2>



&#8220;For every mistake that you learn from you will save thousands of similar mistakes in the future, so if you treat mistakes as learning opportunities that yield rapid improvements you should be excited by them. But if you treat them as bad things, you will make yourself and others miserable, and you won&#8217;t grow.&#8221; ~ Ray Dalio



I&#8217;ve seen many people afraid of making their first investment because they don&#8217;t want to make mistakes. They don&#8217;t want to do it wrong. They want to be right with every act. And because of that, they either delay starting their investing journey or have not even started at all.



One cannot optimize to avoid mistakes all of their lives. One cannot optimize to avoid failures all of their life. One cannot optimize to be right all of the time. Allow yourself some threshold of failure and you will see how quickly you will grow not just in investing but in all areas of life.



How can you apply this in investing? Take a small amount of your money and take the initial step of funding that plan you just created on Risevest. Fund it and watch what happens to it. Your fear will either disappear or be confirmed and you would&#8217;ve learned. An option that is better than waiting for the perfect information before you start. And this applies to any investment you may want to try out as well. That&#8217;s what legendary Ray Dalio wants to teach us.



<h2>You must find a way to make money while you sleep</h2>



&#8220;If you don&#8217;t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.&#8221; ~ Warren Buffett



Why do we invest? Investing is the art of making money while you sleep. With the help of compounding returns, when you invest, over a long enough period, the ROI on your investment will soon outpace the capital that you contributed. If you allow this circle to run for a long enough time, you can soon stop working and feed off your investment returns. Otherwise, you will have to work until you die.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://m2.rise.capital/mr"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/SNeEDcAiqtdcPu1WktiRIV_wZ7Xmr8qwQzyQU7YPUHakqg9VEr5zVH_K-y1V9p5TUUEXa_XMNu6UFxLnyKGiddJ41gZsIh0M4guaOP9xfnvoLORPwj6RjDgR64P8rl0yXtLB1OmQ" alt=""/></a></figure>



As depicted in the image above, saving approximately $450k at a 10% annual return can give you a net worth of $2.35m within 30 years. But your emphasis should not be on saving $450k or banging a net worth of $2m. Rather it should be saving an amount commensurate with your income and investing it consistently to generate compounding returns. That way, you won&#8217;t have to work till you die.



Make your money work for you while you sleep.



<h2>Don&#8217;t be emotional about investing</h2>



&#8220;I&#8217;m not emotional about investments. Investing is something where you have to be purely rational and not let emotion affect your decision making &#8211; just the facts.&#8221; ~ Bill Ackman



This one is difficult! Our default as humans is to be emotional about our investment. However, the less emotional we can be, the better our investing performance.



To cushion the effect of emotion is why it is important to set up a system for your investment. Things like automating your investment using direct debit, locking up some funds so that you can&#8217;t withdraw it, and having an emergency fund so you are not forced to liquidate your investment when an unexpected need comes.



Work towards being less emotional. The investing world is volatile, expect it and understand that it will always pass.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://m2.rise.capital/mr"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/MRRz6Dyq9D7IRhkD9h2SvEf607zhRRErWyIv1b6MgxR3D-MHOheNlvGS3dpYoiKpoYRue4q4ArehJOH40VLA0n_ytbk8olIk_nNqDwZsf8bEkSa-guXilXqoIuHs7mAe2fLdjYDv" alt="Long term investing always guarantee growth in the upward direction. Start your stress free wealth management journey with Rise."/></a><figcaption>Image credit: @VisualizeValue</figcaption></figure>



<h2>Buy low and sell high and you will make tons of money over the long run</h2>



&#8220;Many investors make the mistake of buying high and selling low while the exact opposite is the right strategy to outperform over the long term.&#8221; ~ John Paulson



In the earlier part of this year, the market was trading low and growth dragged a lot. Those are periods of buying low. Today the market is rebounding again with good gains. However, it is those who have invested in that period of lows that will make the most returns now. Because they bought when things were low.



It is usually difficult to buy when the market is red. However, if you can do it, then you will be part of those who make the most returns.

7 Lessons From 7 Legendary Investors

Did you notice that for the past couple of weeks, your stock plan has been nosediving?



The market has returned only negatives and not a single green week on week in the past couple of days. That can be scary – no, it’s frightening.



How can you invest $1,000 and check your investment three weeks later to see a balance of $870? 13% of the value of your money is gone! Times like this make you question your conviction and those managing the money for you. Before you do, though, let me take you down memory lane.



In the stock market history, dips (or call it drawdowns) are the norm, not the exception. They happen frequently. And it is only wise to prepare your mind that you will experience it at one time or the other. Any expectation that does not put drawdowns into consideration will soon meet a big disappointment.



The chart below shows the yearly historical returns of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500">S&amp;P 500</a> spanning 30 years. As you will notice, the story of 30 years is never one of continued green bars. Rather, it is one of few greens followed by few reds, then green again, and the cycle continues.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/5SlohUubZ9QHs-4RfsPa7K__tdmXfmEw0yfbGOQzO7wD-9Tl1sJidegYq_XIUdSzTpRpf1qmDZGm4B5suh2CL1EmQ9M5jnBGtpuIBuWiEvO2eciif4q_LL5YaGWL4tqlyuap4zeh" alt=""/><figcaption>Analysis by Risevest; Data from Macrotrend</figcaption></figure>



But if that’s the nature of the market, why will anyone invest in a thing like that?&nbsp;



It&#8217;s because, despite the volatility in the stock market, it is still one of the best investment vehicles. Stocks have stood the test of time and created wealth for people across the globe.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/VLzr_MXYl-MQjPJcTK79itwOtbAFkqwxFr9GCPOVQc_-O6U9YHKcB9fH4wrNaBQpRJ3zGgxoD5mN8UQwSQWIX7AZJPYGAwlFvlX4OqhnfPZQQaOuwgf_n7alRy1NT_CfU2AYJf3X" alt=""/></figure>



Imagine a scenario where someone invested $10,000 in the S&amp;P 500 in 1991 and left it invested until 2020. How much do you think the $10,000 will be worth?



$10,000 invested during the period will be worth $152,000 now. Despite all the ups and downs, the many stock market collapses, the investor still ends up with $152,000 in the end. 



The stock market is not a get-rich-quick scheme, if you’ve been told otherwise, it’s time you reset your expectations. But the stock market can help you make untold wealth only if you are patient and <a href="https://youtu.be/pFgPNVytlwA">stick to investing, rain or sunshine</a>.



So don’t think you are doing anything wrong if your $1,000 turns to $870. You are not wrong, hold your conviction firm and know that there’s nothing to worry about.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1024x512.png" alt="investing, risevest, invest best " class="wp-image-922" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog_banner_copy-210610-1-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<h2>About The Rise Stock Index </h2>



The Rise Stock Index comprises some of the finest companies in the world. They are innovating and building new products and services to make the world a better place. There’s a high likelihood that you use some of their products (Twitter, Amazon, etc.), and you can’t even imagine a world in which those products are not available to you. That’s what it means for the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental/03/022603.asp">fundamentals</a> of a stock to be intact despite a price decline.



What we invest in at Risevest are not fads or meme stocks like <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/gamestop-or-long-game">GameStop</a>. Instead, we look for companies leading the market, innovating at scale, and designing business models that allow them to capture value at different value chains of their products. Although companies like these may also underperform in the short term, over the long term, they deliver excellent returns to our investors over the long term.



We have written about a few of these companies in our portfolio; <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/shopify-110-revenue-growth-fuels-our-optimism">Shopify</a>, <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/welcoming-bumble-to-the-rise-portfolio">Bumble</a>, and <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/crowdstrike-delivered-a-phenomenal-q4-result">CrowdStrike</a>. We will continue to write more about how we are thinking and what we are thinking about these portfolio companies to keep you informed.



In the meantime, focus on growing your career and business while we focus on growing your investments.



Also, if you are looking to make extra income, we are putting together a conversation on May 29, 2021, that will benefit you a great deal. <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8116212640447/WN_SHebiQ8nToiVaX-FC2Ozdg">Register here</a>.

Dips happen. How to deal with it.

You&#8217;ve heard that the best return on investment comes when you invest over the long term. In fact, there&#8217;s a graph that best illustrates that.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pC_zfGRkLNf45vyzsEcyD8D1oYTcKWsgK5Y0gww4jhY4ldb9McnC2Z5Pib8-Kts8lf6QoKU1nZ6BnjUwJLERPwpaKFKojwYdzdoazMKrJs63j0c9PDiBycZSnFQ9028RVTvqyw-j" alt=""/></figure>



The reality is that investing your money in any plan, with the mindset of keeping it there for decades something that’s done for fun. It&#8217;s a difficult task. We either end up not doing it or we break the cycle. And frankly, there&#8217;s no quick fix for that, it&#8217;s human nature.



However, there are some things that others have done to help them navigate such long term goals that are difficult to achieve.



In this article, I’ll be uncovering 3 things you can do to help you navigate your long term investing goals.



<h2>Narrowing your focus</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/OW4sYz8BhCT5xoasEAcJyBf39NH5VWVs_Q1iPAfyZpqvOyv8lj0r1WRUJjWWxA7sK76KFgZw6h5DeNdConx2ZCKtwDeOnWI5pCWbzQGNIyxPa2PBGA3v1WNNf-FjDsW7zeTUmI6z" alt=""/><figcaption><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/Rde483e326083800ae103ee74c1a94464?rik=%2b4ZA%2bnMgB23vXw&amp;riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.trbimg.com%2fimg-5970cc58%2fturbine%2fct-joan-benoit-samuelson-chicago-marathon-20170720&amp;ehk=exUmNL%2bcNQg%2fGqQLVxsRKlVguQUOrdJadcnIGTs4V0Q%3d&amp;risl=&amp;pid=ImgRaw">Photo credit</a></figcaption></figure>



Joan Benoit Samuelson was the first women&#8217;s Olympic marathon champion, winning the Gold Medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She ran for 26 miles in 3:02:53. Before that time, women were not allowed to run the marathon. Joan Benoit Samuelson&#8217;s landmark victory was the beginning of a changed narrative. Since then and till now, a lot more people have run the miles well under 3 hours.



When asked how she was able to run that long miles in the time she did and with much energy remaining, her answer was instructive. She said something like ”what she does is to use some kind of narrowed focus, she chooses a target ahead of her and pursues that target alone per time. It could be the pink short of somebody running ahead or a visual beacon she can see in a distance. And then she narrows down on those as the target. She reaches that and sets another and another until she reaches the finish line.”



So she takes the 26 miles and breaks it down to smaller nearby competitions. 



The same effect of narrowed focus has been seen to help when pursuing long term financial goals. 10 years is a very long time to keep your money invested but 1 year is not long nor is 6 months. What you can do to help you achieve a 10 years financial goal is to:



<ol><li>Forget about the 10 years</li><li>Focus on a shorter time frame eg. 6 months or 1 year.</li><li>Set target savings and investment that can be achieved within a year. Then work towards achieving that alone.</li><li>When you achieved the 1-year goal, set another 1-year goal.&nbsp;</li></ol>



Doing this, you will realize that all you have before you is just a 1-year goal repeated 10 times. Oftentimes, this approach has worked for a lot of people and it may work for you if you try it as well.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9g4ysAuLQCzQOiuqS9hdVcSFmy5prRVhtB36jN5WA8-ECN4QnxHZWE9cjzzlkQKM8TJT9rKwAsCz_dZIHDekhql4w3G9prXegnCAF740svEQ2oV10tRsmDpuNWuzfXp50GxjKpuW" alt=""/></figure>



A Recommendation: Rise makes implementing this approach very easy for you through an Auto Invest option and the period is created for the Fixed Income and Real Estate plan. You can easily set a target investment for a year in a plan and automate the debit to remove the hurdles of doing it yourself.



<h2>Materialize the long term&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hab583boJBW7KPc5FhWB-N7-CZijUtcpgbBQ3owcO6BPpkHZ38zObVchS7mTrZW6qOZhrwjIJMzrbVEJT71iCgt4Hqpd7oe91Tv-9ugRPPz26Jz5KQBJHzvWWJN6ORdMRuYnCzeS" alt=""/></figure>



<a href="https://image.winudf.com/v2/image1/Y29tLmRhaWx5Lmhvcm9zY29wZS56b2RpYWMuZmFjZW15c3RlcnkucGFsbWlzdHJ5X3NjcmVlbl8wXzE1NjQxNjMzMTlfMDU4/screen-0.jpg?fakeurl=1&amp;type=.jpg">Photo credit</a>



In an experiment conducted by Prof. Emily Balcetis of New York University, she asked her students whether they&#8217;ve started saving for retirement or not. 92% of them said, ”They have not thought about retirement.” This was despite the fact that they had jobs and the advantages of starting early far outweigh starting tomorrow <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/when-should-i-start-investing">when to start investing</a>.



When Prof. Emily Balcetis asked why they weren&#8217;t thinking about retirement, their common answer was that ”it was too far off” considering they were just entering the real world (first-year work).



Then she took their photographs and used photo morphing software to try and create what they are likely to look like at old age. Then she printed it and handed it over to them so they could see what they are likely to look like at retirement. Then she gave them time to look at it and to jot down what they would be doing at retirement, what hobbies they will have and who they will be with among other things.



After the activities, she turned to each of them again and asked if they will start saving for retirement immediately from their next paycheck. A vast majority of them replied yes this time around.



What happened to the students in this class is a common phenomenon among humans and that includes you. 30 years from now is very far but when we materialize what we will like to be doing in 30 years and what our condition might look like, in a way the period will seem not too far away anymore.



That&#8217;s why this second point comes in as a handy strategy to help you focus on the long term.



It is much easier to save and invest towards your dream home even if it takes 15 years than it is to just save and invest for no clear material benefits for 15 years.



In light of the above, we encourage you to attempt putting a material goal towards all the plans that you are creating.



Instead of naming your plans ”savings” or ”investment”, give it names like ”graduate education”, ”children college education”, ”$20,000 house project” and the likes. That way, you tend to be committed to your plan and be disciplined enough to not interrupt the cycle. We think you should try this.



<h2>Your future self is still you</h2>



This last point lends itself to groundbreaking research by Hal Hershfield, a psychologist at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He wanted to know why people weren’t saving for retirement. So he did something uncharacteristic.



Hershfield and his team <a href="https://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/scan">scanned the brain</a> of the participants in their research and found something interesting.



The same reaction that the brain has when confronted by some unknown person asking you for money is what it has when you are told to save and invest for the future. In other words, the longer the term of investment, the stranger you appear to yourself. So you tend to make decisions that benefit you today more easily than you would make decisions that will benefit you tomorrow but hurt you a bit today.



Just like you wouldn&#8217;t go hungry or inconvenience yourself to put food on the table of a stranger, you will also not endure such to benefit your future self whom your brain equates to a stranger.



<h2>What&#8217;s the way out?</h2>



Solving a problem starts by identifying it and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve done. One of the most effective ways to reverse this working of the brain to constantly remind yourself that your future self is in all ways still you. You literally have to do that.&nbsp;



Other things you can do are



<ol><li>Making it easy for your Future Self to do whatever it is your Present Self doesn’t want to do &#8211; instead of saving 50% of your income for the sake of some 10 years goal, save just 5%. Instead of saving for 10 years, save for 1 year 10 times.</li></ol>



<ol start="2"><li>Employ the tactic of instant gratification &#8211; instead of postponing the benefits of achieving your 10-year goal to 10 years from now, set some reward metrics that you can benefit from immediately. For example, when you save with Rise, tweet about it. Another thing you can do is join the <a href="https://rise.capital/affiliates/signup">Rise affiliate program</a> and take pleasure in helping others to achieve their financial goal.</li></ol>



Long-term investing is hard and we recognize that. All the stories and strategies that we&#8217;ve shared so far confirms that and proves that it is not a one-person problem but a humanity problem. Our hope for sharing these 3 strategies is that if one doesn&#8217;t work for you, the other will work or a combination of others will work.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://rise.capital/"><img loading="lazy" width="1024" height="512" src="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1024x512.png" alt="Risevest invest" class="wp-image-929" srcset="https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1024x512.png 1024w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-300x150.png 300w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-768x384.png 768w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1536x768.png 1536w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-2048x1024.png 2048w, https://money.rise.capital/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blog-banner-copy-5-210610-1568x784.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>

Long-Term Investing is Hard: Here are 3 things to help you make it easier.

This is an article that you need to read immediately before you make any decision about your stock market investment at such a time as this.



If you have been checking your stock market investment returns on your <a href="http://rise.capital">Rise account</a> in the last few days, you will see it’s been negative returns all along. And we know you may be worried but we would like to tell you that you don’t have to worry.



Negative returns on your stock plan simply mean assets in the portfolio are getting cheaper. Well, that’s one perspective, another person may choose to see it as declining in value.



The right perspective though is actually that stocks are getting cheaper. The value of the companies in our stock plan is intact. They are still executing on their mission and growing revenue and cash flow. And there’s been no news or any form of information to suggest otherwise.



However, when assets get cheaper, there’s bound to be panic. The panic sometimes leads to people making costly decisions. Decisions like pulling out of the stock market instead of running into it. And decisions at such a time as this are always what determines your investment success or otherwise.



As you know, we have always <a href="https://rise.capital/blog/long-term-investing-is-hard-here-are-3-things-to-help-you-make-it-easier">advocated </a>that keeping a long-term view is the best way to get the best out of the market. In the short term, the stock market goes up and down. In the long term, the only clear thing is the stock market going up.



<h2>Think about this scenario:</h2>



<ul><li>You own 1 unit of a stock that’s currently worth $1,000</li><li>Then the stock is down by 20% to $800</li><li>Out of panic, you sold that one unit to “cut your loss”. So you now have $800.</li><li>You planned to get back to the market when growth is restored and everywhere is green again.&nbsp;</li><li>But the market only recovered slowly and then suddenly such that you now have to buy the asset at even a more expensive price. Which means you lose the advantage of selling to cut your loss. That is it will now cost you more than $800 to buy one unit of the stock again.</li></ul>



You think that’s not possible, we think it’s not only possible, but it’s also the norm. However, staying invested in the stock market has an advantage. And the advantage is in ensuring that you do not miss the “days that matters”.



<h2>“Days that matters”</h2>



In a <a href="https://am.jpmorgan.com/us/en/asset-management/adv/insights/retirement-insights/guide-to-retirement/">research</a> carried out by JP Morgan, analyzing data between January 2001 to December 2020, 20 years. It found that missing 10 days in the markets could cost you 50% of your potential return. And missing 20 days out of 5,000 trading days within 20 years could mean you won’t make any return from the market at all.



You see, while there are about 250 trading days a year and 5,000 trading days in 20 years, a major portion of a stock&#8217;s return in that 20 years happens in about 100 trading days. This means what happens in 2% of the days decides your 5,000 days return. Since it’s difficult to foretell what those days are, staying invested with good companies is the only advantage. And that is exactly what we offer you at Risevest &#8211; a portfolio of quality companies.



JP Morgan’s research modelled a scenario where $10,000 was invested from 2001 to 2020. Then adjusted for the assumption that an investor misses a couple of days that matters. Below is the difference in the outcome from the findings.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="rise.capital"><img loading="lazy" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NDaea5_UjdplHD22olckl3Bw0PrZU_Zf0qTiU-XJd0sHuAWGoskuKq1ON0wuYaBfu9DfVVAi97aYowJoHCqfVtttbyETCnRiR1kHVboIHapEyKD_mRUUpDfAaqs1feA7K8jfIHn8" alt="A table listing results from the JP Morgan research on the Stock Market." width="524" height="368"/></a><figcaption>JP Morgan&#8217;s research on the stock market</figcaption></figure>







While this is a compelling finding, what we find even more instructive is the note that accompanied the research from JP Morgan. “Seven of the best 10 days occurred within two weeks of the 10 worst days, six of the seven best days occurred after the worst days and the second-worst day of 2020 – March 12 – was immediately followed by the second-best day of the year”.



From the example of the investor above who liquidated their asset to “cut loss”, what do you think is the probability of them not missing a day like March 12 above? Very likely they will miss it, you guessed right.



This is the reason why we teach that having a long term view of your investment is the best. And we also like to emphasize that your time in the market matters more than your attempt to time the market.



Don’t time the market, just trust the process and ensure that you have a long term view. Having a long term view will of course mean the money you are investing is not your emergency fund or some amount you need within a few weeks or months.

Market Downturns Might Be Good For You, Here’s Why

Often, we tend to have all kinds of money at hand – our savings, some else&#8217;s savings, our rent, school fees, the category goes on. 



When an investment opportunity shows up, the urge to make a good return may sometimes push us to invest all sorts of money which often puts us in an unhealthy financial position.



Some money is untouchable, not because you won’t make a return on investing them. Rather because of the non-alignment between why you invest and those kinds of money.



<h2>The money you will need in a short time</h2>



Investing this kind of money exposes you to the risk of liquidating your investment when it is not yet due. Thereby paying a charge or liquidating it when the asset price is currently down. 



Asset prices don’t always go up, they fluctuate daily. You might end up needing the money on a day that it is trading at a price that will make you lose money. Don’t do it.



<h2>Money for a defined purpose other than investment</h2>



In this category, you have money like school fees, house rent, your emergency fund, and the likes. Notice that all the examples I mentioned here are money whose timing isn’t in your control. You can need your emergency fund immediately with no room for a delay. When your rent is due, you risk embarrassment if you do not pay up. 



And for school fees, you don’t want to be kicked out of school or want your children kicked out for not paying school fees. Don’t invest this category of money as well.



An important caveat to that though, if the money is such that you are saving it for another due date which is months away e.g. rent in 12 months or 24 months, by all means, please invest. However, don&#8217;t put this kind of money in a volatile asset class. Remember, this money must be available when it is needed. 



<h3>The money that is not yours</h3>



This point is important because of the similar risks I’ve mentioned above. If you are the type that usually has someone’s money with you, the temptation might be high to “quickly make use of it” or to quickly invest it and make a buck on it. 



If you’ve done this well enough though, you would have learnt that it’s a bad idea as the person who kept the money with you tends to need a lot of money when you don’t have them immediately. 



Thereby, forcing you to take a loss or other non-monetary loss (e.g. embarrassment). Even if the money is kept with you for a long time, Don&#8217;t invest it. Invest your own money alone.

You Should Never Invest These 3 Categories Of Money

In 2020, our stock investment plan returned 40.77% while the real estate while the fixed income plan returned 16% and 10.1% respectively. Anyone seeing this would have wished that they invested all their money in the stock plan to get the maximum return possible. But is that the most efficient way to grow your wealth? What happens when stock performs poorly or real estate performs poorly?



Stocks don&#8217;t always go up. The best performing asset at any point in time can also be the worst at another time. Thinking about your investment principles, you shouldn&#8217;t just consider how to make the maximum return in the market. It should also be about how to cushion storms when they come.



Ray Dalio of Bridgewater, the largest hedge fund in the world that manages over $150b developed a portfolio idea in 1996 called the All-Weather Portfolio.



The idea is that you should be able to build a portfolio that will stand in all weathers. Ray Dalio&#8217;s team concluded that there are 4 kinds of weather; rising growth, falling growth, rising prices (inflation) and falling prices (deflation). The weather that we seem to have right now is that of rising growth where the stock market is skyrocketing. But if there is one thing history has taught us, it&#8217;s that all weathers only last for a while before another comes. Hence, the need to be prepared for all weathers.



A portfolio that will stand in all weathers as popularized by Ray Dalio is divided as below:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Y0epuRT2QXSFSDIDAtfc06IpxqcR5K5JdPRbFnnES9rJBgHeLXBwhxuq7vKNjkPXUW6FKFnzUrA5MY3kQS7ZFZbIBm4hqCtNro_1WzSAg2setcPStJ63jdVTzDo3OR9jJects27Y" alt=""/></figure>



Since 2006, a simulated all-weather portfolio compounded at an annual rate of 8%. Compared to the S&amp;P 500 at 8.5%. However, the maximum drawdown on S&amp;P during this period was 32% compared to 18% on the all-weather portfolio.



The logic behind the principle is first a portfolio with sufficient diversification, then what the asset should be diversified in. Also, it should be such that reduces drawdowns while maximizing upsides. The challenge of course is that you will not get the maximum return in the market but you will have great sleep at night in all kinds of weather.



<h2>Building an all-weather portfolio with Risevest</h2>



When we conceived the idea of Risevest, prosperity for our people was the prime goal. It is our driving force and it is what we optimize for. The implication of this is that even if we see an opportunity that can give the maximum return in the market but could as well potentially cause catastrophic wealth erosion, we would rather not invest in such an opportunity. <a href="https://risevest.medium.com/gamestop-or-long-game-eacb67a7a136">GameStop comes to mind here</a>.



That’s why on the Rise app, you’ll realize that we have more than one investment product. We have fixed income, real estate and stock. The idea is to give you enough product to build an all-weather portfolio.



To build an all-weather portfolio on the Rise app, there are two options.



<ol><li>Building All Weather Portfolio With “Build Wealth” Feature</li></ol>



On the Rise app, you would have noticed a “build wealth” feature and maybe you have even used it. When you tap to create a “build wealth” plan, we will ask you a couple of questions after which we will show you a portfolio mix that will fit your risk profile.



The recommendation we make for you is such that it fits your risk profile and that can stand all kinds of weather. Also ensures you have great sleep at night as you build wealth.



And yes, you can edit the recommendation to accommodate your thought and judgement. The idea is not rigidity but expert advice plus flexibility. With such a plan if you keep adding to it as you planned, you are set to build wealth in all kinds of weather.



<ol start="2"><li>Build The All-Weather Portfolio</li></ol>



The other option to create the all-weather Portfolio is for you to build it yourself without the use of our “Build Wealth Plan”. It involves deciding which percentage of your investment should go to fixed income and which should go to real estate and stock as you may deem fit.



Constructing such a portfolio would require more effort from you but it is not impossible. We have seen a lot of others like you doing it. What’s important is that you think in terms of an all-weather scenario and invest in terms of that.



Markets are up at the moment but markets don’t always go up. Investments behave differently depending on how the market is. With a portfolio consisting of different asset classes, you are set up to have the cushion to forestall any drawdown that may threaten to wipe your wealth away.

How To Use Risevest To Build An All-Weather Portfolio

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/KAr98hzK6a943eyp4g0PjN-gu9qIBkVMuqrQzGVknCLp4LXCajL8rqUtdq7zhbu-VStYVTnJ2JvCKelu7e4yTF0s0uIj4WW8UBhOEd8fxOkrKdU5-2HvvvQuZ9c3Iujj2HilQe1b" alt=""/><figcaption><img loading="lazy" width="624" height="309" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/KAr98hzK6a943eyp4g0PjN-gu9qIBkVMuqrQzGVknCLp4LXCajL8rqUtdq7zhbu-VStYVTnJ2JvCKelu7e4yTF0s0uIj4WW8UBhOEd8fxOkrKdU5-2HvvvQuZ9c3Iujj2HilQe1b"></figcaption></figure>



Data from matrotrends.com | Analysis by Rise



The image above is the historical stock price movement of Apple in the last 5 years adjusted for all <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-stock-splits-3141376">stock splits</a>. If you draw a line from the origin to the current position (as we’ve done), you will get a straight line moving up from the origin.&nbsp;



That&#8217;s what we all want; an asset whose price is always going up. But does that exist? A look at historical prices of different assets shows that this doesn&#8217;t exist. All assets increase and decrease in price depending on prevailing circumstances. Yet, this straight line underpins the principle of buying when others are selling.



What we see in that graph is a perfect line with an upward trajectory, however, you can see from the highs and lows that reality is not often a straight line.



Let’s take a closer look at one of the lows. In September 2018 the Apple share price peaked at $55.6 and started declining. It never reached that peak again until a year later in September 2019.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/dpCBAxgJ42nIL3B-la805H14wRWruZ0B6XqWS3ofn4A9y1leTi4UMo6wl5_AgKfepXgT9xI98N3tc8gRrEOX1GoE39uBK-8uAjUBh0W9MPrg7ANKlBUdNeXzXKWDXHVJsS65iZ2v" alt=""/></figure>



Data from matrotrends.com | Analysis by Rise



Yet, experts say you should keep on buying when others are selling. For the uninitiated, you know others are selling when the price of an asset is declining. It means more people are ready to drop that asset than people are willing to buy it. However, seeing your assets (portfolio) value decline every day for a year is not fun.



Let’s run through some numbers.



Assuming you bought one unit of Apple Stock every day between September 2018 and September 2019. What will your finances look like at the end of the period?



There were 272 trading days in the time under consideration. If you bought a unit of the stock every day, it means you will own 272 units of Apple Stock at the end of this period. Despite the ups and downs, nothing particularly changed about the share price. It only fully recovered and if you draw a line from the beginning of the period (September 2018) to the end of it (September 2019), you will obtain a perfect horizontal line (see the red line from the image above)



However, because you were buying all along, especially when others were selling, your 272 units of stock will be worth $15,100 even though it cost you $13,000 to buy them. A whopping 16% return during a market downturn.



<h2>Where did the 16% return come from?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/65hmEsRnxD6kJd4O-Oz9ZMY1XPea4yqURUT86OALdM6UaRk_jQpwgRx_QLoHV3-1aT7glYZ1JbhWfGcE0htsD6CXBmPy_mtu_vhOdzs__jd6J3u0E3-6TNZx3VzzBwkzQ85RpLay" alt=""/></figure>



Data from matrotrends.com | Analysis by Rise



It came from doing the difficult thing &#8211; buying when others were selling. In the case of Apple Stock, it recovered its price and grew, the units you bought at the lower price made up and produced a return on your investment up to 16%.



Please note that while we have chosen to use a single stock as an example, the principle is largely applicable to most stocks.



Also, note that not all Stocks recover. Some decline for as long as 5 years before they can get back to their previous all-time-high. For example, Microsoft had a five-year decline between <a href="https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MSFT/microsoft/stock-price-history">2000 and 2015</a>.



The million-dollar question is how do you know which stock will recover? The truth is that it&#8217;s very difficult to know. Many have burnt their hands buying when others were selling because they bet on the wrong stock. That&#8217;s why we encourage you to contract that part of the job to us. We have a team of dedicated experts whose responsibility is to ensure that only quality assets are in your portfolio; all assets go through a rigorous selection process that <a href="https://medium.com/@risevest/how-we-select-stocks-for-our-equity-portfolio-146da9df9032">we recounted here</a>.



When you choose a stock plan with Rise for instance and you see the value declining, you should be happy because you get the chance to buy that asset for a lower price than you did yesterday. And when you combine buying when others are selling and leaving the job of choosing what you buy to us, you are poised for rewarding long-term returns.



So yes, buy when others are selling because it balances out in the end. On our part, we invest your funds into a portfolio of expertly selected stocks based on their long-term growth opportunities and quality earnings.&nbsp; For instance, our Eurobond portfolio returns 10% on average, a return higher than the industry average and our Real Estate portfolio has also consistently produced a return greater than 10%. The same goes for our stock portfolio which has performed better than the S&amp;P 500 year to date.&nbsp;



Buying stocks is equal parts knowledge and temperament. By yourself, you will make a lot of spur of the moment decisions so your long-term outcome will be unsatisfactory. But if you stick with Rise, we have a certain level of objectivity and experience, and the right disposition to make your outcomes better.&nbsp;



Visit <a href="http://rise.capital">rise.capital</a> for access to the best stocks.

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