Business
Investment and Retirement: The Nigerian Story (A conversational Series)
Anchoria Asset Management had its second edition of the Financial Fitness Chat on LinkedIn yesterday 14th of October, 2020. The topic of the chat session- Investment and Retirement: The Nigerian Story, provided participators with a one-on-one assessment and answers to questions pertaining to retirement and long term investment plats.
The Financial Fitness Chat session helped participants understand the principle of planning for retirement which revolves around knowing what short term goals are vis-a-vis retirement goals.
In a conversational chat tone, Ms Ete Ogun, MD of Anchoria Asset Management Limited was able to engage participants on the group and provided bespoke responses during the session:
Typically investment plans for retirement should be low risk, I am curious about what your Investment management strategies are?
The strategies are client dependent as we are in all in different life stages. Whilst investment plans for retirement are low risk, one can create a portfolio with mixed risk pre-retirement.
Might not be a popular opinion, one would have thought investing in real estate will secure a peaceful retirement? But with new land charges, tariffs and unplanned governmental charges (at lease in Nigeria), is real estate viable as a retirement plan?
Real estate may not qualify as a standalone because of its illiquid nature hence diversification of assets is advisable.
What investment can a Nigeria in diaspora invest in towards long term plan like retirement and business investment?
The investment plan for retirement is a wholistic one that considers personal circumstance ie age, number of dependents, current income earn, projected income growth to determine how best to position investment portfolio. Thing to remember is the younger one is the more risk aggressive one can be and the older one is the more risk averse one should be.
Good morning team… Honestly I can’t wait for the session to start because I’m really anticipating and I want a clarification on these issues.
1. I have a Pension scheme I am running now, is it possible for me to switch?
2. How often will I be receiving interest on the pension fund?
3. When can I have access to the fund?
Thanks as I await your response
Thank you so much for the questions
On the first question, National Pension Commission had earlier announced an opening of the transfer window for June 2020. However at the moment the window for transfer is not yet open
Secondly, your pension contribution is handled like a unitized scheme ie you get in at a certain price and determine your return based on current day price
With regards to the final question, the instances are 4 months without a job subject to a maximum 25%, attaining the age of 50 with proof you are no longer in service and relocation.
Thank you. Now these are, as you said, individual related. How about external factors that an individual has no influence over? Regulatory factors, etc.
You can only plan around external factors but there is no accurate predicator of what the external factor can be. I mean no one predicted Corona Virus and its effects on investment.
What an investor needs to do is to diversify your portfolio in a way that allows for flexibility when the need arises hence reevaluation of portfolio is done at least annually.
Will my Pension be enough to see me through?
This depends on how much you have put away. Like farming, the more seeds you plant the better or plenteous your harvest should be.
General knowledge session
This engagement is really around saving for retirement. When does anyone need to start saving for retirement – NOW!!! There is no time like the present to start working towards the sort of retirement you envisage. Everyone who gets any flow of fund either as a student, a Youth Corp member or a young worker can begin their plan for retirement immediately. You do not require loads of cash to begin only a zeal and discipline to constantly put money aside.
Things to consider for retirement planning are circumstances peculiar to an individual such as:
· Age
· Number of dependents
· Stage in career
· Business ownership
· Living with disability
How long before retirement?
Typically, investors with more than 15-20 years should have more risky portfolios than clients with less than 10 years.
It is good to employ the services of an expert especially if you do not have the required knowledge. However, you must always make it a point of duty to get your portfolio statement at least every quarter to keep abreast of happenings. Also, I know that many people are fixated on returns but please do not gamble with your retirement benefits.
This advice is for retirees or those close to retirement in less than one year – Do not invest in a business that you do not understand the full cycle of the business. You are better off sticking to what you know of otherwise let a financial advisor guide you through investing in financial instruments.
Make it a habit to put away money in registered schemes and really this is just to safeguard your funds Like the old saying – Little drops of water make a mighty ocean in due time. Financial Planning is very important for retirement planning. Your wealth creation partner is also very important Discipline to stick to the investment plan is perhaps most important Prudent Living.
You can also invest in startup companies of family and friend but always ensure that your engagements are legalized and where necessary appropriate collaterals are provided.
Also remember that your retirement doesn’t begin and end in one day. It means from retirement to the rest of your life, so you want to plan for the sort of lifestyle that you want. It’s always to reduce spending to purely basic needs for self and possibly partner.
You may also get insurance to enhance your return position.
At Anchoria Asset Management Limited, we are committed to partnering with you along your wealth creation journey. Our access to various investment options makes us a viable partner to handle your investment solutions.
As we countdown to the end of another session, I will like to note the following:
· You can invest from your monies as long as they come periodically ie weekly, monthly , quarterly
· Everyone should work on financial fitness as long as you can afford a phone and data; it’s like exercise, difficult at the beginning but beneficial into the future. More importantly, it gives you freedom.
Thank you for the time spent. I do not take it take it for granted. Please be safe (Health and otherwise) You can drop your question still. Have a beautiful day and nice rest of the week.
Financial Fitness chat with Anchoria Asset Management is an open Group on LinkedIn where members can learn about investment opportunities and connect with investment experts.
Business
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
By femi Oyewale
Business
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
In celebration of the season of love, Adron Homes and Properties has announced the launch of its special Valentine campaign, “Love for Love” Promo, a customer-centric initiative designed to reward Nigerians who choose to express love through smart, lasting real estate investments.
The Love for Love Promo offers clients attractive discounts, flexible payment options, and an array of exclusive gift items, reinforcing Adron Homes’ commitment to making property ownership both rewarding and accessible. The campaign runs throughout the Valentine season and applies to the company’s wide portfolio of estates and housing projects strategically located across Nigeria.
Speaking on the promo, the company’s Managing Director, Mrs Adenike Ajobo, stated that the initiative is aimed at encouraging individuals and families to move beyond conventional Valentine gifts by investing in assets that secure their future. According to the company, love is best demonstrated through stability, legacy, and long-term value—principles that real estate ownership represents.
Under the promo structure, clients who make a payment of ₦100,000 receive cake, chocolates, and a bottle of wine, while those who pay ₦200,000 are rewarded with a Love Hamper. Payments of ₦500,000 attract a Love Hamper plus cake, and clients who pay ₦1,000,000 enjoy a choice of a Samsung phone or a Love Hamper with cake.
The rewards become increasingly premium as commitment grows. Clients who pay ₦5,000,000 receive either an iPad or an all-expenses-paid romantic getaway for a couple at one of Nigeria’s finest hotels, which includes two nights’ accommodation, special treats, and a Love Hamper. A payment of ₦10,000,000 comes with a choice of a Samsung Z Fold 7, three nights at a top-tier resort in Nigeria, or a full solar power installation.
For high-value investors, the Love for Love Promo delivers exceptional lifestyle experiences. Clients who pay ₦30,000,000 on land are rewarded with a three-night couple’s trip to Doha, Qatar, or South Africa, while purchasers of any Adron Homes house valued at ₦50,000,000 receive a double-door refrigerator.
The promo covers Adron Homes’ estates located in Lagos, Shimawa, Sagamu, Atan–Ota, Papalanto, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osun, Ekiti, Abuja, Nasarawa, and Niger States, offering clients the opportunity to invest in fast-growing, strategically positioned communities nationwide.
Adron Homes reiterated that beyond the incentives, the campaign underscores the company’s strong reputation for secure land titles, affordable pricing, strategic locations, and a proven legacy in real estate development.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Adron Homes encourages Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to take advantage of the Love for Love Promo to enjoy exceptional value, exclusive rewards, and the opportunity to build a future rooted in love, security, and prosperity.
Business
Why Nigeria’s Banks Still on Shaky Ground with Big Profits, Weak Capital
*Why Nigeria’s Banks Still on Shaky Ground with Big Profits, Weak Capital*
*BY BLAISE UDUNZE*
Despite the fragile 2024 economy grappling with inflation, currency volatility, and weak growth, Nigeria’s banking industry was widely portrayed as successful and strong amid triumphal headlines. The figures appeared to signal strength, resilience, and superior management as the Tier-1 banks such as Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, UBA, and First Bank of Nigeria, collectively reported profits approaching, and in some cases exceeding, N1 trillion. Surprisingly, a year later, these same banks touted as sound and solid are locked in a frenetic race to the capital markets, issuing rights offers and public placements back-to-back to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N500 billion recapitalisation thresholds.
The contradiction is glaring. If Nigeria’s biggest banks are so profitable, why are they unable to internally fund their new capital requirements? Why have no fewer than 27 banks tapped the capital market in quick succession despite repeated assurances of balance-sheet robustness? And more fundamentally, what do these record profits actually say about the real health of the banking system?
The recapitalisation directive announced by the CBN in 2024 was ambitious by design. Banks with international licences were required to raise minimum capital to N500 billion by March 2026, while national and regional banks faced lower but still substantial thresholds ranging from N200 billion to N50 billion, respectively. Looking at the policy, it was sold as a modern reform meant to make banks stronger, more resilient in tough times, and better able to support major long-term economic development. In theory, strong banks should welcome such reforms. In practice, the scramble that followed has exposed uncomfortable truths about the structure of bank profitability in Nigeria.
At the heart of the inconsistency is a fundamental misunderstanding often encouraged by the banks themselves between profits and capital. Unknown to many, profitability, no matter how impressive, does not automatically translate into regulatory capital. Primarily, the CBN’s recapitalisation framework actually focuses on money paid in by shareholders when buying shares, fresh equity injected by investors over retained earnings or profits that exist mainly on paper.
This distinction matters because much of the profit surge recorded in 2024 and early 2025 was neither cash-generative nor sustainably repeatable. A significant portion of those headline banks’ profits reported actually came from foreign exchange revaluation gains following the sharp fall of the naira after exchange-rate unification. The industry witnessed that banks’ holding dollar-denominated assets their books showed bigger numbers as their balance sheets swell in naira terms, creating enormous paper profits without a corresponding improvement in underlying operational strength. These gains inflated income statements but did little to strengthen core capital, especially after the CBN barred banks from using FX revaluation gains for dividends or routine operations. In effect, banks looked richer without becoming stronger.
Beyond FX effects, Nigerian banks have increasingly relied on non-interest income fees, charges, and transaction levies to drive profitability. While this model is lucrative, it does not necessarily deepen financial intermediation or expand productive lending. High profits built on customer charges rather than loan growth offer limited support for long-term balance-sheet expansion. They also leave banks vulnerable when macroeconomic conditions shift, as is now happening.
Indeed, the recapitalisation exercise coincides with a turning point in the monetary cycle. The extraordinary conditions that supported bank earnings in 2024 and 2025 are beginning to unwind. Analysts now warn that Nigerian banks are approaching earnings reset, as net interest margins the backbone of traditional banking profitability, come under sustained pressure.
Renaissance Capital, in a January note, projects that major banks including Zenith, GTCO, Access Holdings, and UBA will struggle to deliver earnings growth in 2026 comparable to recent performance.
In a real sense, the CBN is expected to lower interest rates by 400 to 500 basis points because inflation is slowing down, and this means that banks will earn less on loans and government bonds, but they may not be able to quickly lower the interest they pay on deposits or other debts. The cash reserve requirements are still elevated, which does not earn interest; banks can’t easily increase or expand lending investments to make up for lower returns. The implications are significant. Net interest margin, the difference between what banks earn on loans and investments and what they pay on deposits, is poised to contract. Deposit competition is intensifying as lenders fight to shore up liquidity ahead of recapitalisation deadlines, pushing up funding costs. At the same time, yields on treasury bills and bonds, long a safe and lucrative haven for banks are expected to soften in a lower-rate environment. The result is a narrowing profit cushion just as banks are being asked to carry far larger equity bases.
Compounding this challenge is the fading of FX revaluation windfalls. With the naira relatively more stable in early 2026, the non-cash gains that once flattered bank earnings have largely evaporated. What remains is the less glamorous reality of core banking operations: credit risk management, cost efficiency, and genuine loan growth in a sluggish economy. In this new environment, maintaining headline profits will be far harder, even before accounting for the dilutive impact of recapitalisation.
That dilution is another underappreciated consequence of the capital rush. Massive share issuances mean that even if banks manage to sustain absolute profit levels, earnings per share and return on equity are likely to decline. Zenith, Access, UBA, and others are dramatically increasing their share counts. The same earnings pie is now being divided among many more shareholders, making individual returns leaner than during the pre-recapitalisation boom. For investors, the optics of strong profits may soon give way to the reality of weaker per-share performance.
Yet banks have pressed ahead, not only out of regulatory necessity but also strategic calculation.
During this period of recapitalization, investors are interested in the stock market with optimism, especially about bank shares, as banks are raising fresh capital, and this makes it easier to attract investments. This has become a season for the management teams to seize the moment to raise funds at relatively attractive valuations, strengthen ownership positions, and position themselves for post-recapitalisation dominance. In several cases, major shareholders and insiders have increased their stakes, as projected in the media, signalling confidence in long-term prospects even as near-term returns face pressure.
There is also a broader structural ambition at play. Well-capitalised banks can take on larger single obligor exposures, finance infrastructure projects, expand regionally, and compete more credibly with pan-African and global peers. From this perspective, recapitalisation is not merely about compliance but about reshaping the competitive hierarchy of Nigerian banking. What will be witnessed in the industry is that those who succeed will emerge larger, fewer, and more powerful. Those that fail will be forced into consolidation, retreat, or irrelevance.
For the wider economy, the outcome is ambiguous. Stronger banks with deeper capital buffers could improve systemic stability and enhance Nigeria’s ability to fund long-term development. The point is that while merging or consolidating banks may make them safer, it can also harm the market and the economy because it will reduce competition, let a few banks dominate, and encourage them to earn easy money from bonds and fees instead of funding real businesses. The truth be told, injecting more capital into the banks without complementary reforms in credit infrastructure, risk-sharing mechanisms, and fiscal discipline, isn’t enough as the aforementioned reforms are also needed.
The rush as exposed in this period, is that the moment Nigerian banks started raising new capital, the glaring reality behind their reported profits became clearer, that profits weren’t purely from good management, while the financial industry is not as sound and strong as its headline figures. The fact that trillion-naira profit banks must return repeatedly to shareholders for fresh capital is not a sign of excess strength, but of structural imbalance.
With the deadline for banks to raise new capital coming soon, by 31 March 2026, the focus has shifted from just raising N500 billion. N200 billion or N50 billion to think about the future shape and quality of Nigeria’s financial industry, or what it will actually look like afterward. Will recapitalisation mark a turning point toward deeper intermediation, lower dependence on speculative gains, and stronger support for economic growth? Or will it simply reset the numbers while leaving underlying incentives unchanged?
The answer will define the next chapter of Nigerian banking long after the capital market roadshows have ended and the profit headlines have faded.
Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos and can be reached via: [email protected]
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