ARM Academy CPD Certification award

The Professional Development Consortium is home to the CPD Standards Office, the CPD Research Project and the Provider of Training Excellence. Their wealth of knowledge and research within the Learning and Development Industry and their team of industry professionals on the Expert Advisory Board are a few of the reasons that contribute to the detailed and rigorous assessment processes they have in place.

ARM Academy is proud to announce that we have recently achieved accredited CPD Status with the CPD Standards Office.

To achieve the accreditation, ARM Academy passed through a rigorous assessment process that focuses on the development and delivery of training programmes including our educational authority, how we collect and utilise our delegate feedback and ensure our content is kept up to date.

Now that ARM Academy has achieved this accreditation and status as an accredited CPD Provider, we are committed to working hard to maintain and exceed, the excellent standard we have already set.

ARM Academy was set up in 2014 with the objective to use learning and development to drive corporate strategies, innovation, develop talent and leadership and sustain the ARM culture.

How Offshore Stocks Are Doing

We hope you are keeping safe during this pandemic and observing all the safety procedures listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and various public health authorities.

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the global economy and stock markets. While most companies’ shares are experiencing a dip, there are a handful of resilient stocks that are navigating this turbulent period better than others. here

As an investor, we hope you will take advantage of investing in these stocks. We also want to draw your attention to diversifying your portfolio by investing in offshore stocks. Here are some interesting names weathering the covid19 storm:

The online streaming giant, Netflix, has historically proven to be a formidable stock that can stand any tidal wave that may be putting some other giants on their knees. Recently, Netflix reported first-quarter earnings last week that showed a surge in demand for the service. The company reported that 15.7 million new customers signed up in the first three months of the year. This figure is higher than the 7 million users they projected for the year 2020. However, the impressive growth in subscription did not translate to an impressive bottom line owing to other charges that pressured profits. That said, Netflix stock has gained 30% so far this year.

In the same light, Microsoft reportedly recorded significant increase in the use of their services. As more people continue to work remotely, active users of the Microsoft Teams is said to have increased from 10 million last year to 44 million earlier in the month.Microsoft is expected to release result for the last quarter this week. The stock has gained 10% so far this year.

Like Microsoft, Zoom has become a household name since the pandemic started. Zoom’s stock has increased from $68 at the start of the year to $168 per share. Demand for Zoom is high during this new pandemic and it is a great add to your portfolio.

As the quest to find vaccines to the coronavirus pandemic increases, Gilead Sciences Inc, is one of the companies leading the trail. The pharmaceutical company is reputable for making HIV treatment drugs, and Ebola Virus vaccine, Remdesivir. The company’s stock has gained ~22% so far in 2020

These are only a few and we hope you will take advantage of these offshore stocks to diversify your investment portfolio. Start here

Download ARM Stocktrade App today and start trading both local and foreign stocks

What You Need to Know About InCap Solution

What You Need to Know About InCap Solution

What is The Incap Solution

The Incap Solution is a service which helps one plan for the “in-between” situations where temporary or permanent incapacitation prevents him/her from making personal medical or financial decisions. Incap Solutions employ the use of Medical and Financial Power of Attorney.

Why opt for the Incap Solution?

  • It gives one the advantage of having a trustworthy person or institution to take charge of financial and medical decisions in the event of an unexpected occurrence.
  • It ensures seamless continuance of one’s affairs in the event of incapacitation.
  • It helps prevent any form of loss that would otherwise be incurred as a result of one’s incapacitation.
  • It helps mitigate the risk of conflict between family members or employees.
  • It ensures that one is able to regain control of his/her assets upon recovery.
  • It provides the benefit of a clear-cut decision making by the Agent on behalf of the incapacitated person.

 How does the Incap Solution work:

  1. After completing the form, please return to ARM Trustees Limited.
  2. Your documents will be prepared for execution.
  • Afterwards, you’ll be required to sign your documents and return to ARM Trustees for Notarization, stamping or registration as may be necessary.

Download the Incap Solutions form here ARM Trustees – Medical & Financial Power of Attorney

The post What You Need to Know About InCap Solution appeared first on Realising Ambitions.

To keep dollars in cash or not?

Hello Financial Experts,

Since this pandemic and lock-down started, my wife and I have been advised by friends to hold on to the cash we have at hand especially dollars. Do you advise us to keep our dollars in cash?

Thanks.

Michael from Lagos

Dear Michael,

We won’t advise you to keep dollars in cash because you’ll be losing income that you could have earned if that cash was invested.

We encourage you to invest instead in dollar-denominated funds such as Eurobond Funds to protect against downside risk (devaluation of the naira).

In dire economic situations like we have today, we advise investors to take on a risk-off approach by investing in safe haven assets such as Money market funds and Government securities with some degree of cash to fund anticipated liabilities. The current economic climate faced in Nigeria has found several investors seeking to lower their exposure to the naira relative to the US dollar as the nation braces for increased currency uncertainty.

We hope we’ve been of help at this time.

Thank you.

Covid-19: Impact on the Financial Market

The events of the past quarter compounded by the global CoronaVirus (COVID-19) crisis and its massive impact on financial markets in the short to medium term brings a feeling of déjà vu. To reduce the spread of the virus, nations have restricted trade, travel, and in extreme cases closed their borders. Amidst all this, an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has pushed the price of crude oil below $35 per barrel.

These two factors have had an adverse impact on global economies; with governments around the world including the Nigerian government, responding with the introduction of stimulus packages to keep their economies from slipping into recession.

Despite any negative sentiments attached to current events, it is worthy of note that markets have a good record of overcoming global economic shocks as seen below:

  • In early 2003, a similar pandemic called “the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome” or (SARS) broke out in China and was not fully contained until eight months after the initial outbreak. However, the Chinese economy recovered and recorded a GDP growth of 10% in Q3 2003.
  • In 2015, Nigeria, like other global economies faced an economic crisis. The equity market declined 17% as global oil prices plunged to below $40 per barrel. However, investors who took a longer-term view during the crisis have fared better as markets have recovered from their lows.

The key takeaways:

  • The markets have a very good record of recovering from economic shocks.
  • We cannot time the market by consistently calling the bottom or the top, but we benefit most when we systematically invest over the long term. Market downturns provoke extreme reactions – sell late in a bear market or too early when the market turns – and this is not any different.

Way Forward for investors

From our experience, our conclusion is that it remains profitable to invest in financial markets with a long-term view.

The graph below shows the performance of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index from 2010 to date. Whilst the asset class has under-performed over short periods, we caution investors not to write off this asset class as the volatility creates opportunities for strong positive performance over the long-term. Investors have also profited by applying rigorous research in stock selection and by maintaining a disciplined investment process. Similarly, investing in fixed income securities over the medium term has provided a good hedge against inflation as the Federal Government securities over the last 5 years delivered average annual returns of 19%, well in excess of inflation.

For investors with an above average risk appetite, there are opportunities in specific sectors of the economy such as Telecoms, where companies earning capacity will not be significantly impacted by current events, and Consumer Goods where there are companies that have the ability to withstand market shocks. Furthermore, asset prices have declined significantly to record low levels, creating compelling entry prices as new year lows are redefined. Dividend yields remain attractive across a number of companies that have maintained strong fundamentals. (e.g. Tier-1 banking names such Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank).

For investors with lower risk appetite, we would advise on a re-allocation from risky assets to money market- based investments (such ARM Money Market Fund) because of their potential for steady and competitive returns in the short term.

Final words

Although we should expect substantial market volatility in the short term, investors who are able to maintain discipline and take a longer-term horizon to investing would make it through the down cycle to enjoy the benefits of an inevitable rebound.

Our customer experience team is available to guide you through appropriate investment decisions suitable to your need. We remain focused on navigating the market environment, with the aim to keep your investment on track toward reaching your long-term investment goals.

Please maintain all the rules of safety in this period, we wish you good health.

Tough Times don’t Last, But Tough People do…

Are you an investor trying to keep your head above the waters of this economy?

Our smart investment tips are designed to help you make sound investment decisions in this tough economic clime. Please see below;

  1. Borrow less

Think twice about taking on more debt, focus on business opportunities that do not require more capital than you can afford.

  1. Learn Something New

There just might be a more rewarding way to go about your business. Make it a goal to learn something. For instance, you might want to look up the difference between mutual funds and bonds.

  1. Master your emotions

Don’t make your most important decisions under duress. Think about it again and again, be sure it is the wise financial move to make.

  1. Diversify your investments

Spread your risk by investing in different asset classes (equities, property, commodities, bonds and cash)

  1. Reduce operational costs

Reduce your overhead as much as possible. A good way to do this is to consolidate your brokerage accounts so you can negotiate lower management fee.

  1. Get quality Financial advice

Be careful who you are listening to and from whom you are getting investment advice. Get informed quality financial advice from ARM Securities.

  1. Create multiple streams of income

Scarcity and inflation are opportunities in disguise, find that thing you can exchange for value or engage in a passive investment such as a Money Market Fund.

  1. Avoid volatile sectors

A good risk appetite might not favour you at a time like this. Channel your resources to sectors that deal in goods and services that cater to necessities of living.

  1. Build strong relationships

Build relationships that ensure you are in a network of people who challenge your thinking and provide a well of valuable information from which you can tap.

  1. Have an emergency fund

It is important to stay liquid at a time like this. Do not invest all your money, leave something to fall back on.

  1. Invest in income producing assets

This is a good time to build a dividend portfolio. However, not all assets are income producing. Contact ARM Securities for tips on how to build a profitable portfolio.

  1. Creatively solve problems

Not all challenges require money to solve them. Look within before you look without, there just might be an efficient but less expensive way to solve that problem.

Do you require expert financial advice or would like to know more about our investment portfolio management and stockbroking services, talk to us today.