As a beginner, the first step of investing is opening a brokerage account.

A stockbroker is a financial professional who executes orders in the stock market on behalf of clients.

Before opening a brokerage account, it is imperative to check if the broker is registered under the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).

List of some stockbrokers:

* Stanbic IBTC; * Afrinvest; * Investnaija; Chaka, Bamboo, Cowrywise, e.t.c.

Bamboo stockbroker requires a minimum amount of 5,000 in order to buy shares.

Honestly, it is imperative to start your stock market journey with an amount you can afford to lose.

Shares to buy in order to receive dividends:

1. Blue-chip stocks: These are shares of companies are large, strong, popular, and they also pay dividends. Such companies cannot collapse suddenly. Example of blue-chip stocks: MTN, Zenith bank, e.t.c.

As a beginner, receiving dividends is important to grow your wealth.

2. Ensure to check the liquidity status of the company before buying its shares: There are stocks of high liquidity and stocks of low liquidity. Liquidity is the ability of shares to be bought and sold fairly and quickly.

3. Check the total debt v net debt of the company: Total debt is the whole amount a company owes after adding its short-term debt and long-term debt, while net debt is the amount a company has to pay after using its available cash and cash equivalents to pay some part of its total debt.

A company whose net debt is very close or greater than its total debt is running at a risk.

4. Ensure to diversify: Diversification means spreading assets across various sectors, industries and geography. Do not invest all capital on one sector of shares. It is imperative to invest in the financial sector (bank shares), the Energy sector (oil & gas), Telecom sector ( MTN, e.t.c.), including the cement and consumer goods industry.

Diversification helps to spread risk and balance losses.

5. You can use the historical data of a company to check its support and resistance level.

The support level is the price shares falls to before buyers begin to buy, while the resistance level is the price shares rises to before sellers begin to sell off their shares.

The support and resistance level serves as a guide to know when to buy and sell shares.

Some stockbrokers fill and submit the e-dividend mandate form automatically on behalf of the investor, sometimes, your dividend can be sent directly to the bank account used in opening your brokerage account.

Well, to be on a safer side, identify the Registrar in charge of the shares you bought and fill the e-dividend mandate form.

The first step to fill an e-dividend mandate form is to identify the Registrar in charge of the shares you bought. You could search the name of the Registrar online.

After you have identified the Registrar, you can fill and submit the form using any of these methods:

1. Physical Submission at a Registrar’s Office: Shareholders can fill the form and submit it directly to the office of the registrar handling their shares.

2. Email Submission: Many registrars, allow shareholders to scan and send their filled, signed forms via email to a designated email address.

3. NIBSS E-Dividend Mandate Management System (E-Dmms) Portal: This is a largely automated method where an investor uses the NIBSS website portal to upload required documents, such as a signature, passport, and ID, for online submission. The Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria has also introduced a self-service portal to allow for virtual submission.

4. Registrars’ E-Mandate Platforms: Some registrars have their own online portals, such as e-dividend.cardinalstone.com, where investors can directly fill out and submit their mandate information online.

5. Stockbroker-Assisted Submission: Some stockbrokers usually assist in filling the form and facilitating the submission process to the Registrar on behalf of the investor.

A bond is a fixed-income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or government).

How it Works:

You lend your money to the issuer, and in return, they promise to pay you a fixed interest rate (called a coupon) at regular intervals (e.g., every three months) and return your original amount (principal) at the end of a specific period (maturity).

Why Buy Them:

They are generally low-risk, especially government bonds, and provide a steady, predictable income stream, making them a better option than leaving money in a standard savings account.

Can I Buy Bonds with ₦10,000?

Yes. The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond is specifically designed for small investors.

Minimum Investment: The minimum amount to start is ₦5,000.

Bonds can be bought through Afrinvest, Stanbic IBTC, e.t.c.

Bonds are issued once in a month for some days.

Key Features of FGN Savings Bonds (For Small Investors)

* Safe: Backed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

* High Returns: Interest rates are competitive, often in the 15%–18% range per annum.

* Regular Income: Interest is paid directly into your bank account every 3 months (quarterly).

* Tax-Free: The interest earned on government bonds is tax-exempt.

* Tenor: Usually 2 to 3 years.

There is also a “Regular bond” which is issued by the FGN, but cannot be bought with 5,000 or 10,000. The buying price is extremely high, it is not for small investors. Meanwhile, it could take 3-50 years for maturity.

The shares listed are shares of public companies as private companies are exempted from listing shares on the Exchange.

You can use Bamboo app to buy shares in as much as they are listed on the  Exchange.

It is imperative to know that the minimum amount to start trading with  on the Bamboo app is 5,000.