The perfect gift for the holiday season

The Yuletide season is here again! This is the time when most Nigerians take a break to celebrate the holidays, reflect on the past year and look forward to a bright new year ahead.For many, the Christmas and New Year celebrations are also a time for thanksgiving and family reunions enlivened by the giving of gifts. It is to no surprise that many households incur some of their largest expenses during this period. Despite the expected impact of the strained economy this year, consumer spending at the end of the year will likely be dominated by substantial holiday expenses such as travel, food and drinks, clothes and gifts.

While travel and a bit of splurging on entertainment for the family may be essential to keeping the holiday cheerful, these harsh economic times require us to make those expenses as lean as possible. Rather than forgo the necessities, prudent households will develop creative ways to reduce expenses.But creativity duringsuch times doesn’t always have to mean denying ourselves the opportunity to bring a smile to the faces of our loved ones; it is about allocating scarce resources for greatest impact and reward.

One of the best gifts you can give a loved one is one that can provide an additional source of income via a steady stream of future cash flows.A gift like this exists in the form of a mutual fund which you can purchase from United Capital Asset Management, which is approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria.

A mutual fund (or unit trust) is an investment vehicle that pools the investments of many individuals to invest in stocks, bonds, money market securities, real estate,or some combination of any of these.The profits derived from the diversified pool of investments are shared to fund holders annually or semi-annually, or as stipulated in the fund prospectus.So, if you purchase a mutual fund as a gift for your loved one this holiday, they would be receiving their first dividend from the gift by the time they celebrate the next holiday.

Mutual funds are operated by professional fund managers who spread the investments on stocks, money markets, bonds and real estate. Instead of investing in only one investment instrument, they diversify it based on the policy of the fund manager.With aminimum investment level of N10,000 and multiples of N5,000 thereafter, the entry point to these funds can be fairly affordable.

Besides being fairly affordable, mutual funds also provide other benefits to their investors. One of these benefits is that dividend payments from mutual funds are tax exempt. Another benefit of a mutual fund is the ease of entry and exit it provides. Investors in a mutual fund can cash out on their original investment whenever they want. They can either divest completely or liquidate part of their investments.

However, mutual funds are not insulated from the ups and downs of the market but they have proven to be one of the most consistent forms of passive investments for those looking for a steady stream of income, presenting a very low risk. United Capital Asset Management offers four types of mutual funds depending on your investment appetite. The four funds are: Balanced Fund, Money Market Fund, Equity Fund, and Bond Fund. The funds have a proven track record of rewarding its investors and can be accessed with as little as N10,000.

Economic downturns present numerous challenges for households across the country. However, it is also an opportunity for us to adopt smart ways of allocating resources, especially during the holiday season when the tendency is usually to spend rather than to invest.Purchasing a mutual fund for your loved ones achieves the dual objective of spreading the joy of Christmas as well as investing in the future of the people you love the most. So, when looking for the perfect gift for that loved one, why not opt for a mutual fund subscription?