I had heard so much about shares during an IPO in 2007, but I had no money to invest. When I got my first job in 2008, I decided to buy some shares. Being from Hoima, I decided to invest in British American Tobacco, as we are a tobacco growing region. The shares then were at 330 shillings each. My cousin too decided to buy shares and we both bought at the same time.
By 2013, the share price had steadily risen to 2000 and I couldn’t not resist the temptation to sell my shares. I was very happy at the return I had made and smirked abit when my cousin wouldn’t sell. Three years later, my cousin sold his shares at 30,000 shillings each! The last laugh really was his.
Over the years I have grown to appreciate the affordability of the stock market as an avenue for long term investment. There are not too many investment options that are affordable and yet yield a return. This is one of the reasons I applied for the MTN shares as soon as the offer opened. I also considered that this is one of the biggest companies in Uganda, in a vital industry in an economy that relies on communication services. This is important because shares are an investment in the future of a company.
Shares however are not without risk. You cannot really tell what kind of return you will get from a company over time. Past and current performance are not a guarantee of future performance. The very same shares my cousin sold at a return of 1000%, at one point fell from the IPO price of 1000, to 300. The same shares currently are the most expensive stock on the market.
My most valuable take away from the stock market is the lesson I learned _ stocks are a viable opportunity to invest long term.
