Nust student keeps stock exchange dream alive

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
AT the of age of 20, Mr Rufaro Andre Hozheri, a holder of Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Finance from the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) took a bold step to start investing in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE).

Mr Hozheri who is aged 24 is an active retail investor and shareholder in various organisations which include OK, NMB Bank Limited, Truworths, Star Africa and Amalgamated Regional Trading (ART).

He is also a regular Econet shareholder.

He is pursuing a professional course with the South African Institute of Financial Markets which will enable him to become a licensed trader on the ZSE.

While still at Nust in 2018, Mr Hozheri bought 100 Econet shares to become a shareholder. His strategy evolves around buying shares that he thinks are undervalued and then sells them when they are overvalued.

He also made over 300 percent returns in three months by holding a certain counter at the ZSE.

At the moment, Mr Hozheri who is pursuing a Masters Degree in Financial Economic and Investment at the Midlands State University (MSU)  is also employed as an equities research analyst for a brokerage firm in Harare.

In an interview with Chronicle, Mr Hozheri said the stock market is a good investment platform.

He was recently profiled by the local stock exchange as one of its active retail investors.

A stock exchange is a forum where securities like bonds and stocks are purchased and traded. This can be both physical trading platform and offline.

Securities include debenture and shares issued by a public company that is correctly listed at the stock exchange, debenture and bonds issued by the government bodies, municipal and public bodies. A stock exchange is an important factor in the capital market as it is a secure place where trading is done in a systematic way. Here, the securities are bought and sold as per well-structured rules and regulations.

The ZSE is the sole local currency denominated bourse bringing together companies looking for long-term capital and investors looking for profitable investment opportunities. Having introduced ZSE Direct in 2020, the ZSE has witnessed growth in retail participation on the market.

In 2020 he won the Morgan and Co Investment Analyst Challenge, an important milestone in his investment journey.

Mr Hozheri said he received his wake-up call in 2018 while he was a student at Nust. The misconception is that one needs a lot of money to start investing on the ZSE. After careful research Mr Hozheri began his journey on the ZSE.

“I remember this one evening in my first year at Nust when I was part a pilot team that would test the first-ever platform for buying shares remotely. One of the guys who were presenting about investing on the exchange asked

‘How many of you in here have shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange?’ No hand was raised, and he went on to ask why we were not investing on the exchange yet we were Finance students,” he said.

“The person who was seated next to me responded that we don’t invest because we didn’t have money, which I thought was the ideal response and the real reason. It’s only when the follow up question came, ‘how much do you need to buy share on the exchange?’ I realised that the real reason wasn’t because we didn’t have money. The real reason was because we actually didn’t even care or bother to check what is needed to start participating in the financial markets. That was a wake-up call.”

Mr Hozheri said anyone can own shares in a company by approaching a broker to assist in creating an account.

He said one can use the ZSE Direct or C-trade platform to buy shares from the comfort of their home.

He said one requires a minimum of $500 to invest in the stock exchange.

For him investment is not only about making money but also the knowledge that he acquires along the way.

Mr Hozheri said he now understands the market and how it works not only from the theoretical point but the practical side as well.

Investing in the stock exchange has also transformed the way Mr Hozheri views companies. His focus is on prospects of a company and how he can benefit from them.

“Have you ever felt in love with goods and services offered by a company and you can actually see that this company has prospects of even expanding more and making money. Instead of just admiring, you can find out how to get exposure in that company so that you can benefit as well.

In terms of absolute returns, I can say the significant part of my wealth is in equities and I’m still going,” he said.

“So, think of the stock market this way, there is the issuer side i.e. corporates who want to raise finance. It could be Zimpapers that wants to buy machinery for efficient printing of the Chronicle.

On the other hand, there is you with money that you don’t want to use today but want some return if you’re to give it to Zimpapers. At the middle is the ZSE which brings you together, you give Zimpapers money today and they give you something called “shares” meaning you together with other shareholders now own Zimpapers.

When Zimpapers finally undertake the project, they can give you part of the profits called ‘dividend’ and you can still sell those shares anytime you want.”

Mr Hozheri said ever since he got his wake-up call, he has continuously preached the gospel of financial literacy and investing to everyone who cares to listen. He uses social media especially Twitter to help people start investing on the ZSE. He has WhatsApp groups were he shares knowledge on markets and investing.

Mr Hozheri said people have to allocate part of their income towards investing. This way he said people could generate wealth.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be stocks in listed companies only, it can be investing in a friend’s idea or start-up that you believe in. If you consistently set aside 30 percent of your income towards investing, you’ll be amazed by what you’ll have after 10 years,” he said.

@DubeMatutu