21 Jun 2018

Botswana Insurance Fund Management (BIFM), public relations, communications and marketing manager, Ms Tebogo Keepetsoe has advised Batswana to invest for the future.

Ms Keepetsoe said this in an interview at a road show, whose purpose she said, was to educate and sensitise the public on financial investment both as a discipline and subject.

She said BIFM has realised that there were some Batswana who lacked education on financial investments, hence embarking on the roadshow.

She added that they communicated the message through drama, entertainment and public lectures.

“BIFM offers clients the opportunity to invest in a fund or collective investment undertaking funds to suit their savings and investment goals.Your individual goals may be to save or invest, or both. Saving may include putting money aside for a deposit on a house, for education, for a dream holiday, and even for a rainy day,” she said.

Ms Keepetsoe said through unit trusts, individuals had the opportunity to save from as little as P200 as a long-term investment for a long-term target which they wished to achieve.

“Unit trusts are vehicles through which investors have the opportunity to pool their money together with other investors who have similar objectives.

This pool of money is managed by experienced investment managers in different assets such as a wide range of local and international equities, bonds, property and money market instruments,” she said.

She further indicated that through the unit trusts, various assets purchased were combined into a portfolio the value of which was split into equal portions or units.

“When individuals invest in a unit trust, they buy a certain amount of units.

The price they pay is essentially the daily market value of what that unit trust is invested in.

She said share prices generally rose in a healthy economy, and that in an ailing economy, prices would fall and subsequently so would be the prices of units in a unit trust.

She added that investors needed to be aware of fluctuating share prices.

Ms Keepetsoe further said there were a number of ways a unit trust could help individuals increase the value of their money.

“Unit trusts can give you income or capital growth or both.

As an investor the decision you make will depend on your specific circumstances, your life stage, investment objective and your risk appetite,” she said.

She assured those interested in investing through BIFM to trust it as it was regulated by the Non-Bank Financial Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA), but noted that capital invested was not guaranteed and that past performance did not guarantee future performance, adding that investors should always refer to fund prospectuses.

“BIFM is a company with a rich and interesting history dating back to 1975. BIFM is acknowledged as the custodian of Botswana’s wealth and a key contributor to the country’s economic growth over the past couple of decades,” she said.

Furthermore, she noted that the objective of the fund was to provide long-term wealth creation and capital growth, to have a high risk profile, and to cater for the investment needs of the investor looking for local equities to form part of their larger diversified investment portfolio, adding that the fund would be exposed to equity market fluctuations.

Ms Keepetsoe therefore advised residents of Letlhakane, Mahalapye, Bobonong, Maun and Ghanzi not to miss out on the opportunity to learn how to invest as the BIFM unit trusts truck was on the road and was intended to reach them. ENDS