Investor Review: Ndovu
This review details an investment experience with Ndovu ETFs. It also covers joining, depositing, how to invest, and withdrawal, highlighting pros and cons.
Due to the personal nature of the content, the reviewer has opted to maintain anonymity.
One of the standout aspects of my experience with Ndovu was the ease of getting started. The account opening process was straightforward, requiring the submission of personal details, including an ID and tax pin certificate – a standard requirement to comply with regulations.
My primary concern was trusting the platform and understanding their investment vehicles which included multiple options from savings & fixed return, money market and commodities, technology and global fund ETFs. However, Ndovu initiaily addressed this by offering a free consultation service, which proved invaluable in guiding me through the process and helping me choose the right investment aligned with my risk appetite.
My Experience Investing in Ndovu ETFs
Being a first-time investor with Ndovu, I played it safe and opted for their conservative investment option, Gold ETF managed by Aberdeen Standard. Over the course of several months, I gradually built up my position in this fund through periodic investments. This conservative approach turned out to be a wise move, as it delivered an outstanding 115.8% return by the time I liquidated my holdings.
How To Choose the Right Ndovu Investment
Choose your preferred investment - Ndovu offers various investment options tailored to your risk tolerance. The most secure choice is the "conservative" level, followed by "cautious" and then "moderate" options. In my case, I opted for the Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF, a commodity-based "conservative" equity investment, which aligns with a lower risk profile.
Leverage AI-driven analysis to evaluate investment options objectively - Ndovu provides fact fund sheets for each investment option. For those new to analyzing such documents, leverage an AI system like Claude.ai to upload and analyze the sheets. A simple prompt like "Analyze this fact fund sheet and recommend if it's a good or bad investment" can yield an objective, AI-driven evaluation to inform your decision.
Use Financial Times - Gain deeper insights into your preferred investment instrument by consulting Financial Times. Financial Times provides comprehensive breakdowns and analysis to inform your investment decisions. In the case of the Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF, here are some key factors I examined before investing:
Summary: The summary chart offers a general overview of the investment's performance over various timeframes, ranging from one day to five years. While past performance does not guarantee future results, this chart can provide a quick glimpse into how the investment has fared historically.
Ratings: This is a scorecard that gives you an easy way to see how well a particular fund has performed in several key areas like overall returns, steadiness of returns, avoiding losses, and costs compared to other similar funds. It shows ratings for the recent 3-year period, last 5 years, and long-term 10-year period, allowing you to quickly assess the fund's strengths and weaknesses over different time frames at a glance.
Risk: This section provides a quick overview of the fund's risk profile, which is particularly useful when assessing the risk associated with your intended investment horizon. It displays risk ratings for periods ranging from 1 to 5 years, allowing you to evaluate the risk you'll be exposed to over your desired holding period. This section may require some familiarity with investment terminology, so here are a few key terms to note:
Alpha: This metric gauges a fund manager's performance. A positive Alpha indicates returns surpassing expectations, while a negative value signals underperformance. A desirable Alpha, adjusted for risk, is generally greater than zero.
Beta: Utilized in the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Beta measures a security's volatility compared to the market. A Beta score exceeding 1 suggests higher volatility.
Sharpe Ratio: Widely used for assessing risk-adjusted returns, the Sharpe ratio compares a fund's historical or projected returns. A ratio greater than 1.0 is generally considered acceptable to good by investors.
Standard Deviation: This concept measures market volatility or the average deviation of individual data points from the mean. A low standard deviation (1-10 range) suggests lower volatility, making funds potentially less prone to market fluctuations.
In my case for the Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF, my intention was to invest for a period of 1-3 years, according to Financial Times this was the 3 year risk assessment;
The alpha of +5.89 is significantly higher than the category average of +1.34, indicating potentially higher risk-adjusted returns but also higher volatility.
The beta of +0.14 is slightly higher than the category average of +0.63, suggesting slightly more sensitivity to market movements.
The Sharpe ratio of +0.47 is better than the category average of +0.25, indicating relatively higher risk-adjusted returns.
The standard deviation of 14.06% is lower than the category average of 21.76%, suggesting somewhat lower overall volatility compared to peers.
In summary, this fund carries more risk than the category average, as shown by its higher alpha and beta values. However, its relatively high Sharpe ratio and lower volatility (standard deviation) suggest that the additional risk could potentially lead to better returns after adjusting for the risk taken, when compared to its peers in the same category.
If you’re a beginner, you can still use AI in this instance to evaluate further, just take a screenshot of the data you’d like analyzed and upload it to Claude.ai
Depositing and Withdrawing Funds on Ndovu
Trading on Ndovu is a straightforward process. At the time of writing this article, the minimum investment amount on Ndovu is:
For Kenyan Shillings (KES): KES 7,500
For US Dollars (USD) and other currencies: $50 or equivalent
Here are the key steps:
Create your account on the platform.
Click on your profile icon, then select "Manage Account" to enter your personal information.
In the same section, locate "Withdrawal Details" and provide your bank account or M-Pesa details where Ndovu will transfer your funds.
Click on "Invest" in the left menu to access the Ndovu investment platform. Select your preferred investment option and click "Top up".
You'll be prompted to enter the amount you wish to invest and specify the currency.
On the payment page, you'll receive instructions on where to deposit the funds.
Once you've completed the transfer, return to Ndovu and check the box "I have transferred money", then click "Confirm Payment".
Bank deposits typically take 3 days to process. You'll receive an immediate email notification after finalizing the process, indicating that Ndovu will alert you once the funds have been received and credited to your account.
You'll receive another email notification once the funds are successfully topped up to your Ndovu account.
When you want to withdraw funds, visit the specific investment fund you would like to withdraw from and click "Disinvest".
The funds will first be transferred to your "Ndovu Pocket" - an intermediary wallet within the platform.
From your Ndovu Pocket, you can then initiate a withdrawal to your M-Pesa account or bank account.
The disinvestment from the fund is first moved to your Ndovu Pocket as an interim step before you can withdraw to an external M-Pesa or bank account. This allows you to maintain flexibility in reallocating your funds within Ndovu if desired.
For detailed insights into Ndovu Investments, visit their website. Want to explore alternative dollar investments? Read up on a review about Absa USD Money Market Fund.
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Readers are advised to conduct their own research and seek professional guidance before making any investment decisions. The author and the blog will not be held legally liable for any actions or consequences resulting from readers' decisions to invest in any products or services mentioned herein.