FIBO Group explores the potentials and drawbacks of investments like savings, real estate, dollar deposits, and outlines the risks and rewards of Forex.
On the one hand, economic and geopolitical shocks in 2022 widen a class divide between the lower and upper classes of the population. On the other hand, crisis is always a time of opportunity. How can you save money and make it work? What investment services are available on the market today?
Of course, one of the simplest and most affordable tools is a bank deposit. What rates do banks offer for deposits in national currencies? For example, average rates in South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are up to 8-9%. The larger and more reliable the bank, the longer the deposit period and the less flexible withdrawal terms, the lower the rate. It seems to be a guaranteed income. However, quantitative increase does not mean a qualitative one. When calculating revenues, we forget about inflation, that is, the actual increase in prices.
According to official figures for 2021, inflation is approximately 17% in Nigeria, 10% in Ghana and 4.5% in South Africa. Its level is rather an average temperature of a country’s economy. If you look at individual categories of goods, you do not have to be an economist to calculate that the price increase is higher than the indicated values. So, what will cost 10 million naira ($22 000) will cost over 11.7 million naira ($26 000) a year later. And with a one-year deposit you will have only 10.9 million naira ($24 000). It turns out that inflation both prevented you from making a profit and ate a big piece of your money.
Of course, you can invest in dollar deposits, but the de facto the situation is even worse. Such deposits are attractive only when the dollar grows against your national currency within a specific period of time that has nothing to do with the banking system. An average rate on dollar deposits is up to 1%. But vast majority of people are paid in their national currency. It means you will lose both due to inflation and due to double conversion, because in order to use the money at the end of the deposit period, you need to convert it, for example, to the South African rand.
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The next most common way to invest is real estate. But firstly, you need to have a significant initial capital. Secondly, it takes a very long time to pay back the investments, which is not always suitable as a planning horizon. Real estate often is a highly illiquid tool – meaning it is not readily convertible to cash. So it is rather a liability for a “bright future”.
What remains an alternative to classic types of investment? To find the answer, you need to figure out how banks generate profits on deposits. In most cases, it is not interest on loans, because banks themselves are credited by central banks and resell these loans to borrowers. One of the main sources of the bank’s income is its own and customer asset management on the financial market. Access to financial markets is also available to private investors and it does not always require large capital.
Representatives of the investment community argue about the effectiveness of different approaches to obtaining income on the financial market. One part prefers a long term investment, the other part is committed to active speculative trade. And they are both right in their own way. Each of these approaches is suitable for different market phases. Securities are attractive when the market is growing or recovering. What do you do when markets face turmoil and there is no understanding of prospect? It turned out that many people are skeptical about the foreign exchange market and it is understandable. For some reason frustration caused by a large number of fraudsters and scam projects grew into a skeptical attitude toward the Forex market itself.
In terms of trading, it is often said that the Forex market is a big risk, but let’s compare. The S&P 500 index, the benchmark of the American stock market, declined by 24.9% from January to September 2022, while the
main currency market tool, the EURUSD currency pair, declined by 13.9% over the same period. Even during a quiet period, the change in the stock price within one trading session can be 4-5% against 1% in the Forex market. The most important advantage of the currency market over the stock market is an ability to quickly redistribute assets between the tools of completely different economies of the world, which makes it possible both to save your money and to profit from it.
At the same time, we need to understand why there is a negative attitude towards the Forex industry. This industry has not been regulated for a long time, and it was easy to establish an offshore company. Offering large earnings and claiming that “forex is simple”, fraudsters lure people into their trap. Do not believe it if someone guarantees you profit, tries to impose a profitable super-system, offers huge bonuses for making a deposit and, most importantly, does not warn about risks – it is a scammer. Meanwhile, there are a number of companies that have been forming the industry for many years, working transparently and trying to provide high-quality service to their customers.
As with anything, you can’t do without knowledge of the market. At FIBO Group, based on our 24-year experience in the industry, we understand it perfectly. We help new traders in more than 30 countries to feel supported in their endeavors. Our customers get to a private club, where they meet like-minded people, and get the knowledge and practice necessary for great results. Unfortunately, most companies in the market cease providing their services right after the first deposit and a customer is left alone with the market. FIBO Group experts share their knowledge, analyze customer transactions, give feedback and corrects errors. Of course, no one will make transactions for you, but you will know the right direction. Our active premium customers have an opportunity to get cashback from paid fees and even get an interest on funds on the account.
The business of the FIBO Group forex broker is a huge ecosystem consisting of the brokerage company, liquidity providers (aggregators) and the counterparty to the transaction (for example, a bank or a prime broker). The task of a forex broker is to accept an order from the customer and transfer it to the liquidity provider, which in turn, transfers it to the counterparty – the second party in the transaction. The company earns money by charging a fee for each customer’s transaction. On the one hand, the company does not care if the customer has earned or not, but in the long term, a smart broker is interested in the customer being active for a long time, which is possible only if the customer is satisfied and makes a profit.
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