It is important to know what is out there and where you fit. Remember what suits your friend doesn’t necessarily mean it will be fit for you. Then again, knowledge is wealth.
The following is a list of the investment opportunities for consideration.
- Fixed Deposits-This is offered by financial institutions. Here you fix funds for a defined time. The interest accrued is more than that of a savings account. However, you can forgo the interest if you require the funds before the maturity date. A certificate is issued as proof of investment.
- Savings account– This is offered by banks and is secure because it is insured by the Central Bank although the interest rates are low.
- Stocks– Own a part of the company by buying shares. The market may vary thus value may rise or fall. However, owning different stocks balances the risk.
- Bonds– Investor buys bonds issued by the government or corporations with a defined interest payable at the end of the period.
- Mutual fund– Managed by a fund manager who charges for his expertise. There is a pool of money from investors which is used to buy many stocks.
- Real estate– buy property or land with the aim of selling it in the future for a higher price.
You don’t need to have a ton of money to invest in real estate, one can take a simple loan buy a house occupy half of it, and rent out the other half. You can also rent out your idle land as parking space or rent out your garage as storage space. With permission from the owner of the property, you can rent a property monthly and then advertise it for daily rentals. Here you target residential areas that are near offices or town centre.
- Annuities– investors purchase annuities from insurance companies hoping to receive more payments than they put into the annuity. However, the payments are subject to income tax.
- We also have government-initiated projects under Kenya Investment Authority. Here you can invest in projects facilitated by the government in your county. You can visit their page http://www.invest.go.ke/ Kenya
- Agriculture– Being a basic need, you can never go wrong with food. One may choose to farm or even to invest in the companies that produce or even export. This is quite broad and the resources though limited, there is potential, especially in fishing, poultry, bee keeping, horticulture and also avocado farming.
Conclusion
There are many investment opportunities in the country. It is important to have knowledge of all and choose the best for you. It is also necessary to open and maintain an emergency fund that will help you not interfere with the funds invested because with some investments you may lose even the principal amount.
Sources: Young Mogul, finance.zacks, cytonn, smartasset, nasonga
