FUND MANAGER SERIES: THE PARAMOUNT FUND (EQUITY) · NOTE 5/5
Everything comes together here: why inflation is the real enemy, why equities are the answer, and why starting, however small, is the most important decision you can make.
Favour Tewogbade · Chapel Hill Denham Management
Here is a calculation most Nigerians rarely do. Take whatever is sitting in your savings account right now. Now ask yourself: what could that amount buy five years ago?
For most people, the honest answer is: considerably more. Not because they spent it. Not because the bank lost it. But because of inflation, the quiet, patient force that erodes the value of money sitting still.
This is the problem the Paramount Equity Series has been building towards. Notes 1 to 4 gave you the framework for choosing the right investments: size, free float, liquidity, valuation, and pairs. This final note answers the bigger question: why bother investing at all, and what happens to people who do not?
WORD TO KNOW - Inflation: The rate at which prices rise over time. If inflation is 15% and your savings account pays 8%, your money is not growing. It is shrinking, losing 7% of its real purchasing power every year.
Saving Is Not Enough. Here Is Why.
For most Nigerians, the financial journey starts the same way: earn money, save money, repeat. Saving feels responsible. Disciplined. Safe. And it is, as far as it goes.
The problem is inflation does not care how responsible you are. If your money is sitting in a savings account earning 8% a year while prices are rising at over 15% annually, you are moving backwards in real terms. The number in your account is higher. But what it can actually buy is lower.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
"I used to believe saving was the only way to manage finances responsibly. But through InvestNaija, I gained a deeper understanding: saving means your money sits idle, gradually losing value to inflation. Investing means your money works for you."
— A young professional, InvestNaija user
That shift in thinking from saving to investing is the most important financial move most Nigerians never make. Not because they lack the money. Because nobody told them that saving, on its own, is a form of loss.
You Do Not Need a Big Amount to Start
One of the most persistent myths about investing in Nigeria is that you need significant capital to begin. You do not. The real requirement is not a large amount, it is consistency.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
"Even a small amount, my 'urgent ₦2k', feels like the beginning of something bigger now. It could grow to ₦10,000, and eventually ₦100,000, with the right investment decisions and enough time."
— A graduate just starting out, InvestNaija user
This is compounding at work. Small, consistent investments do not add up in a straight line — they multiply. Each return generates its own return in the next cycle. Over five years, ten years, twenty years, the difference between starting small and not starting at all becomes enormous.
WORD TO KNOW -Compounding: When returns generate further returns over time. ₦50,000 that earns 20% becomes ₦60,000. The following year it is ₦60,000, not the original ₦50,000, that earns 20%, giving you ₦72,000. Over decades, this acceleration becomes the difference between getting by and true financial independence.
What Equities Have Actually Delivered
Over any meaningful period in Nigeria, equities have been the only asset class with a consistent track record of beating inflation. Not savings accounts. Not fixed deposits. Not cash.
The Paramount Fund (Equity) has returned 590% over five years against Nigerian CPI of 173% over the same period. That is not just outperforming inflation, it is building real wealth in real Naira terms, for investors who stayed the course through all the noise along the way.
Five Notes. One Framework. One Decision.
This series has walked you through five lenses that separate disciplined investing from guesswork: size, free float, liquidity, valuation, and pairs analysis. The Paramount Fund applies all five, every day, on behalf of every investor in the fund.
But the framework only works for investors who are in it. The most expensive mistake is not choosing the wrong stock. It is waiting until you feel ready. The investors who build wealth are the ones who started before they were sure, stayed consistent when things got noisy, and let time do the rest.
FROM THE FUND MANAGER
"Compounding works. Short-term noise does not change long-term fundamentals. We weigh; we do not vote. And we invest for the long run."
What to Take From This Series
→ Inflation is quietly eroding the value of money sitting in savings accounts every single day.
→ You do not need a large amount to start. You need consistency and time.
→ Equities, chosen with discipline, are the only asset class with a consistent track record of beating inflation in Nigeria over the long term.
→ The five lenses size, free float, liquidity, valuation, pairs are not just theory. They are a working investment framework applied daily by the Paramount Fund.
→ The most important decision is not which stock to buy. It is deciding to start.
💬 YOUR TURN
You have completed the Paramount Equity Series. What is the one thing that has changed about how you think about money? And what is stopping you from starting or investing more right now?
☐ I did not realise inflation was eating my savings
☐ I always thought I needed more money to start
☐ I had trust issues with investment platforms
☐ Nothing was stopping me — I am already investing
Tell us in the comments, we read every one.
Share your story. 👇🏾
Every investor has a money story. A moment that changed how they thought about saving, investing, or their financial future. We want to hear yours. Drop it in the comments.
Because financial freedom should not be a secret you keep to yourself.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE
This document is issued by Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited, registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Nigeria (SEC), and fund manager of the Paramount Fund (Equity). It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer to buy or sell units of the Fund. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
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1 Comment
Good and highly educative training about investing.
Now, how can I start?
Any link?
See my email below