Business News of Monday, 22 February 2021

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

It’s better to do T-Bills than to chase exorbitant interest rates – Investment Analyst

Investment analyst, Ebenezer Asumang Investment analyst, Ebenezer Asumang

In recent times where lots of Ghanaians have had their monies locked up in some investment firms because of the exorbitant interests they were cashing in at the time, a business management consultant has advised Ghanaians to take a cue from it and not be carried away by those mouthwatering deals.

According to investment analyst, Ebenezer Asumang, it is better for Ghanaians to patronise Bank of Ghana’s Treasury Bills (T-Bills) and earn a meagre interest than to invest in a firm that gives higher interest rates.

He opined that with the T-Bills, the investor’s principal is secured should there be any challenges but investors tend to lose both their principal and interest should these unlicensed investment companies be shut down.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb's Ernestina Serwaa Asante on the sidelines of a business training in Accra, Mr Asumang said, “I want to tell them emphatically that if nothing at all, in these times, look out for places you can be sure of security…where if you put your money, that’s the principal and you go back tomorrow and you don’t even get any interest, your principal can be available for you.”

He advised that Ghanaians should not be too focused on earning high interest when investing, rather, should think of how secured their funds are with the financial institution.

“Let’s say if it is Government of Ghana’s 91 days Treasury Bills and it’s at 13 percent, put it there. The 13 percent may fetch you nothing but when you go back after 91 days, you can get your principal amount and that is better than none. But if you put it at a place that they are giving you 30 percent and the next time you go, the branch is missing, there is nobody working there and your money is gone, you are in trouble so please look out for security and don’t look out for interest."

Mr. Asumang was speaking at a business training, organized by Chartered Global Investment Analysts Institute (CGIA) over the weekend.