₦airaland Forum

jedisco:
I pondered explaining what 'net' means but thought to myself - there's no point engaging this.

You've been active on this thread for several years but only spring to life when it's time to denigrate Nigerians or to tell us not to complain when being treated badly as afterall 'Saudi Arabia does xyz'

When folks discuss pensions, mortgages, ISAs, investing, businesses, jobs e.t.c it's all crickets from your likes. Even when I asked you personally for pension advise, it was
For someone who claims to be British, your telling lack of input on matters that actually count is glaring. I wonder what you'd move to as most here go on to secure their permanent stay. The next set of migrants perhaps

Yup. That's literally the core of their purpose here and the kind of thing that unfailingly brings them out of the woodwork.

For me, the most telling part was them making light of and indirectly but very clearly justifying the racist violent attacks on people in the riots a couple years ago.

There's no coming back from that in my view. As you say, it's really pointless going back and forth with someone whose agenda is so clearly negative in respect of the people here.

More broadly even, I don't see the point of debating these things anymore whether offline or online. The riots were a massive wake up call for me and I have made adjustments to various aspects of my life and plans for my family based on the realizations I came to as a result of it. The UK is where I have come to work (and paid heavily for the chance too, so not like the country did me a favour or took pity on me in letting me in) and make money like a literal workplace where I earn my salary in the same way the government is saying we should earn settlement (as if it was automatic before). It's not a new family or home or any other soppy nonsense.

I wonder whether they've even given any thought to the impact of the constant negative rhetoric on immigrants' morale because it seems like denigrating immigrants of all stripes is a new Olympic sport where you get points by how much you can show that you're only tolerating them and will make life as difficult as possible for them if given power.

In any case, they can change the laws as they want (same as your workplace can introduce new policies) and I'll respond accordingly but ultimately whether I stay or leave the calculus is clear that the only thing to do is show up, deliver your expertise, collect your compensation, and maximize your financial vehicles; your pension, your ISAs, your investments etc. to secure your family's future.

Arguing with the Zahras of this world is a waste of energy.

Goke7:
Just to add my 10 kobo, you won’t be young forever o and old age can be financially devastating, you may think the pension doesn’t make sense now until then.

If you’re going to stay in this country for the long term and not a mobile migrant like some of us don’t even dare opting out of any pension e get why o!

Still surprised this conversation keeps popping up.

Before, I used to be surprised too but I’ve realised that being fully aware of these things is the exception and not the norm, although I’m not sure why.

Personally I’ve been obsessed with early retirement following the FIRE method for a long time so have been particular about learning all I can about some of these things. it’s amazing how much opportunity there is to optimize one’s current and future financial position under the standard layer of work throughout your life, pay taxes, and retire when almost dead. I guess it’s good that these conversations crop up once in a while so that people can be sign-posted to learn more.

ehizario2012:
I'm really interested in this topic because I've been contemplating stopping my NHS pension. Is paying NI not enough? That extra 8.5% is somehow jare! Many immigrants in my trust have opted out but I'm still unsure 🤔

Don’t do it. Cyberknight’s analysis is very comprehensive so hopefully you have a clearer idea of the pension system overall.

My simple direct answer on the subject of the NHS pension specifically is that unless there’s a gun to your head or some other situation in which you will be in severe peril if you don’t take that money, keep contributing. If you have to borrow to sort out whatever it is you want to do, do it.

The NHS pension is one of the best (although it’s offset by lower wages overall) and broadly speaking you would need to invest a lot more elsewhere to match the income it guarantees ( and you can retire early + get that income wherever you are in the world when the time comes). It’s likely to be changed soon to be less valuable so this is the time to maximise the benefits, not lose out on them.

Later when I’m done with this game of tennis I’m heading to I’ll try to find some resources that go into much more detail.

Mcleo007:
I get your point, but my take is, if I have to wait till I am 68yrs old (mind you, they can move the image to 70 in the coming years) to get around 200 quid every week, I can as well just say, ''f**k it!'', do a private pension, take it all out much earlier, plus the tax reliefs that come with it, then do something wholesome with the time comes. Plus, not everyone intends to live abroad till their 60s, I don't intend to. So, in the interim, heading home with that little stake makes sense, plus, missing out on the remittance to the pension account is unlikely as I will set a direct debit to handle that. This is not a financial advice tho!

You seem to be conflating a few different things so I just want to correct them so others aren’t misled:

1. Your reference to 200 per week makes me think you’re referring to the state pension. That’s different from your workplace pension and you’re paying for it via your NI contributions whether you want to or not.

2. There’s no requirement for you to wait till you’re 68 or 70 to access your workplace pension. That’s for the state pension. You can access your pension from the National Minimum Pension Age which is 57 (will be 58 from 2028). This applies to all pensions including private ones so you don’t gain anything by not getting your employer contributions into your pension pot.

3. Heading home before your 60s or whenever again has nothing to do with whether your pension is a private one or a workplace one. You can get paid abroad the same way, and the same restrictions on moving pensions to a foreign provider apply to both so again just like in point 2 above you’re just needlessly depriving yourself of the employer contribution for no benefit.

Mcleo007:
Opt out and do a private pension. Its worth it!

Can you explain this please? Frankly it seems like terrible advice.

That’s because giving up your workplace pension means that you’re losing the employer contributions, and also means you’re losing tax savings because if you opt out of contributing 500 to your pension for instance, you won’t get back 500 to contribute to your private pension. What you’ll get back is 500 net of taxes, so 400 if you’re a basic rate taxpayer or 300 if you’re a higher rate taxpayer etc.

Combined with your lost employer contributions that means you’re losing perhaps 700–800+ going into your pension in exchange for only 300–400 extra in take-home pay, which you could simply move into any pension provider of your choice later and manage directly just like a private pension if you want (as long as you’re in a defined contribution and not defined benefit scheme).

The above even assumes you’d be as consistent in paying into your pension directly as it would be if it was getting taken off your payslip. In all likelihood, you won’t. You’ll skip May because the car needs fixing and plan to make it up in July; skip August because you need to buy that new phone and plan to make it up in September.etc etc

Unless there’s some nuance we’re missing here, giving up your workplace pension for a private one doesn’t make sense in any way, shape or form. The answer is to do both, ideally.

P.S. Sorry if I sound harsh. It’s because I know pensions are some of the most misunderstood aspects of personal finance among immigrants and I’m very particular about debunking many of the harmful myths I see going around that are bound to get people in their later years.

..

lavida001:
Kpmg is a tech company? Abi what’s the question you asked the other day ?

Standard chartered bank isa bet 9ja company?

You better brace up for what’s coming?

I don’t think you comprehended what I said because this post of yours isn’t responding to it but I don’t care enough to argue the point, so you do you.

BlueNation:
I am glad we all noticed the actual returns on our accounts yesterday was 3%. But ZedCrest reported about 6% returns..from 109.05% Friday YTD to 115.47% Monday YTD. That has always been the case. Thursday YTD was 104%, then it jumped to 109% Friday, which is 5% increase, but actual returns on our account was a little above 2%.

This makes me believe the current 115% YTD is not real.

I am still studying the actual reason for this discrepancies or variations.

I will also study other funds like CardinalStone Equity Fund and Paramount Equity Fund and report my observations in coming days.

Those who know better may clarify me please

@Beeron & others

Zedcrest is reporting the growth from 1st January, and you’re comparing it with the growth from the preceding date. It’s bound to be different. It’s called the Base Effect.

See an explanation and sample calculations here - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/base-effect.asp

You can also your comment in ChatGPT/Gemini and ask it to explain further and give you more examples.

Edit: Added screenshots of explanation from Ms Gemini:

Generally, the better the fund performs, the bigger the YTD increase needs to be for you to see a significant move in your actual daily balance.

Ruthiegal:
Someone should kindly answer me before I book an unusable ticket please.

You won’t need a visa.

Source: personal experience. I tried just now (admittedly very briefly) to find something on their website but couldn’t. If you want further reassurance just give them a call.

Just realised that I linked to the best performing money market funds and not equity funds earlier. Here’s the actual list of best performing equity funds from last year: https://nairametrics.com/2025/12/15/best-performing-equity-mutual-fund-in-october-2025-by-ytd/10/#split_content

Bukad:
Please I am co-asking this? I remember baba Lexus shared moneyfarm, nutmeg and Blackrock years back which really helped us.

Kindly share and also some good NSE ETFs 🙏

First thing to note is that ETFs are not so huge in NG. You’ll be looking at mutual funds for the most part as the functional equivalent.

There’s a thread dedicated to this: https://www.nairaland.com/8597904/equity-investment/163

I suggest taking the time to read (or at least skim through) it from the beginning. That way you’ll get a good feel of the various fund managers/platforms and how they operate.

For specific fund managers, here’s the list of best performing mutual funds from last year - https://nairametrics.com/2026/02/14/top-10-performing-money-market-mutual-funds-in-2025-by-ytd-yield/

So far this year - https://nairametrics.com/2026/05/11/top-10-equity-mutual-funds-by-ytd-returns-in-april-2026/

Most of the managers also offer fixed income funds, money market funds. t-bills etc if you’re looking for lower-risk options.

Personally though I believe if you’re investing in NG you might as well go for an equity fund to go high risk high reward and chase capital growth to mitigate the FX exposure.

ReesheesuKnack:
Not dissimilar to Nigerians who vote(d) Tinubu or Buhari or Goodluck or Yar’adua or Obasanjo.

Sure you’ve thought this one through?

———

Reform candidate who said ‘Nigerians should be melted down to fill in pot holes’ wins seat
https://metro.co.uk/2026/05/09/reform-candidate-said-nigerians-melted-fill-pot-holes-wins-seat-28297091/

Stuart prior - elected Essex - praised the rape of two sikh women ("good, reap it" declared white people the master race, claimed genocide can't occur against Muslim "rats" and called for a purge of third world "invaders" to this country. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/05/mps-demand-reform-suspend-candidate-over-claims-he-celebrated-of-sikh-women

Derrick bullock - elected Bolton - "shoot the p*ki's" https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/10/reform-uk-local-election-candidate-was-twice-disciplined-by-tories-over-alleged-racist-comments

Jay Leslie Cooper - elected Sefton - Holocaust denier: the Hallocaust [sic] is a hoax. "There wasn’t [sic] even 6 million Jews in Europe at the time. Propaganda" https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/reform-uk-face-questions-after-holocaust-is-a-hoax-candidate-elected/

Ben Rowe - elected Plymouth - blamed "Jews" for flooding Europe with immigrants who "breed like rats" shared a video glorifying mecca being bombed https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g51jl2zzno

Glenn Gibbins - elected Hylton Castle Sunderland- "Nigerians should be melted down to fill potholes" https://metro.co.uk/2026/05/09/reform-candidate-said-nigerians-melted-fill-pot-holes-wins-seat-28297091/

Graham Holland - failed vetting initially but decision later reversed - Muslims taking over the country and training to kill our kids, blamed his racism on Nigerians https://archive.is/Sd6kC

Matt Goodwin - suspended antisemite remains as reform election agent https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/14/reform-activist-suspended-over-racist-antisemitic-comments-remains-election-agent-adam-mitula

Adam Mitula - suspended but no update on disciplinary outcome - openly uses the N-word and holocaust downplayer/diminisher https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89k0g7vexeo

Controlv:
Apologies for the long epistle, but this is the shortest piece I could think of!

After paying nearly £50k in DEAD MONEY rent over the last 4 years (thanks to IHS and visa fees on graduate and work visas, which apparently does not count as contributing to the British economy), I am excited to announce that we collected the keys to our new home last week.

It still feels surreal. Not only is the house in a choice neighbourhood, it is bigger than every place we’ve ever rented here, more beautiful, and far better value for money.

Many thanks to @Semmyk for starting this thread, @justwise, @Ticha, @Solumtoya, @Santa2 for all the wisdom shared along the way, and of course, oga @Lexusgs430 for the consistent reminder that rent money is dead money.

I consider myself very lucky to have found this thread early. We keyed into LISA since 2023, and very piece of information shared here played a big role in making our mortgage journey smooth. This thread, and indeed Nairaland, is a goldmine of knowledge.

A number of people advised us not to buy because of the COS/ILR rogbodiyan flying around, but the thought of losing another £12k a year paying our landlord’s mortgage + profit was all the conviction we needed. If you still have a good time on your COS and still hesitating, my honest advice is JUST DO IT (not a financial advise). Worst case, you lose a small amount (in transaction fees) if we are all asked to leave tomorrow but it is nothing compared to years of rent disappearing into thin air. All die na die.

The journey was not smooth. We would have bought last year, but our COS arrived late and the landlord had already served a S.21 notice. That forced us into another fixed‑term tenancy (agents refused a 6‑month break clause, and we had limited options anyway). But despite all the bumps, we made it in the end.

Congratulations!!🍾🎉

That whole thing about not buying because of the incoming changes is nonsense and I’m glad you didn’t allow it to deter you.

To be honest I don’t know why people are taking someone who signs their initials on Nairaland posts seriously 😄

E say na ‘TV’😂 On this same NL? come on nau.
TV nìkan kọ́, Television ni

What more proof do you need that posturing on Nairaland and writing those long-winded, pompous but essentially meaningless posts is how they derive satisfaction in life?

Arguing with him and his like will just stress you out for no reason because they clearly just love to hear themselves talk and everything you say will just be seen as an opportunity to bloviate some more.

Welp - https://www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/exclusive-shabana-mahmoods-postal-ballot-was-investigated-in-a-2004-vote-rigging-scandal-in-birmingham/?ref=dispatch-newsletter#/share.

"'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party."

Beeron:
Good morning Chief.

Sorry about the bounced mail, truth is I have actually forgotten the password to that email. And I'm so so sorry to disappoint if I decline any personal contact outside of Nairaland or YouTube.

The reason is, I have a stressful job offline. But whatever the question is, we can discuss it here but remove sensitive details for security reasons.

Warm regards Chief.

Thank you very much. I will ask a couple of questions later once I finish reading through the thread.

Beeron:
I recently just joined them. I haven't initiated any withdrawal since I joined them but their FX spread is wild. For instance dollar is currently I349 but theirs is currently pegged at 1404. But the FX spread should not deter you if you truly want to invest long term.

As regards customer service, I belong to bamboo telegram community, it's free to join and you can shoot them an email if you encounter issues.

Chief, I just sent you an email to the email listed on your YT but it bounced. How can one get in touch please?

Beeron:
I recently just joined them. I haven't initiated any withdrawal since I joined them but their FX spread is wild. For instance dollar is currently I349 but theirs is currently pegged at 1404. But the FX spread should not deter you if you truly want to invest long term.

As regards customer service, I belong to bamboo telegram community, it's free to join and you can shoot them an email if you encounter issues.

.......

Zahra29:
As expected, but good to hear nonetheless.

Please explain the bolded...curious why the rampaging yobs wouldn't be motivated to attack you, but would attack the mixed heritage Kenyans?

No.

Zahra29:
Why do you think they will be "attacked on the streets" - presumably because of their race and/or nationality - or are you thinking perhaps of the goings on in South Africa?

Have you been "attacked on the streets" for being black in the 4 years you've lived in the UK?

I understand how easy it may be for you to forget. Here, refresh your memory - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_riots. Also - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/riots-uk-muslim-asians-rotherham-manvers-hotel-b2591159.html. You're welcome.

As to whether I, personally, have been attacked, I have not (although I did have to accompany my wife to/from work for a couple of days during the riots) but that's irrelevant (par for the course with you and your beloved strawman arguments). Generally, I'm not the kind of person whom the yob who were rampaging around would feel motivated to attack. Those children on the other hand...

Goke7:
I watched it on bbc 😂 let the children apply for their visas sharp sharp! They are also patriots! No be so?

🤣🤣

When they apply the usual suspects will say they're not really British and when they are attacked on the streets some folk here will blame them and say it's not the fault of the attackers it's because of "underlying causes" 😄

jedisco:
Didn't know of this. Thought FWRG was the lowest at 0.15%. This at 0.12% looks quite good. I'd see if my brokers offer it.
BTW, do you see the reversal on board?

Yes, I moved from another broker that didn't offer it to IE and although it was a faff, over the next two to three decades that I intend to keep DCA'ing, it will be worth it.

On the reversal, frankly I've just stopped looking at the markets as much because although things are in flux on a day to day basis depending on what Orange Man tweets, my assessment is that the worst instability is past and things should be mostly stable going forward.

British Military Face Scandal As DNA Evidence Links Soldiers To Hundreds Of Abandoned 'Light-Skinned' Children Across Rural Kenya


https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/dna-investigation-british-soldiers-kenya-1792861

lavida001:
Rarely would you see Indians or Pakistanis tho.

Surely you're not being serious here.

Goke7:
Awon money na water people saw on social media how someone was accusing her sister in the UK of sending just 500 pounds for her wedding in Nigeria, na people like this dey cause this kind wahala.

We are a greedy people; we cry about oppression, but we keep making things difficult for ourselves and others. I am honestly tired as we keep giving far-right politicians a justified reason for all their madness. These folks am sure are also British nationals, but it was clearly written that they are Nigerian nationals. Crime is global, no doubt, but we forget that no matter our immigration status, any negative act will continue to be used against us to deny us opportunities, no matter our status.

I don't think Nigerians are any more greedy than Brits or anyone else. There are always reports of one fraud or another and the vast majority aren't Nigerians. There's nothing about a couple of Nigerians doing whatever that justifies any bigotry, except for people looking for an excuse ab initio.

One thing that's often missed in these discussions is the sheer number of Nigerians, which means that in the same way we will be overrepresented in positive things (academic achievement, sports, entertainment etc.) we're likely to also form an outsized proportion of negative things as well. It's just statistics.

teeboi77:
Can you kindly drop your selected ETFs?

Just one - https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/s/spdr-msci-acwi-ucits-etf-gbp

Lowest TER of comparable all-world trackers so will make a significant savings over the long-term, compared to the other popular all world trackers like VWRP and FWRG. I previously had SPY (State Street's S & P 500 tracker) because it also had lower fees but I consolidated everything to reduce US exposure in light of Rump's worsening dementia.

Lexusgs430:
Historically, how many times have the markets, never returned from a slump........ 😁

It is true that the market has always returned from a slump but depending on when a person needs to access their funds, it might as well be permanently slumped. E.g. If a person was planning to retire in the early 2000s, they'd have started drawing from their funds right at the beginning of the lost decade (the peak of the dot-com bubble in March 2000 through March 2010 when the S&P 500 was down 24%).

That would have been crushing because even though the market rose again they'd have ate a huge drop and also been drawing funds to live on. Assuming the standard 4% drawdown rate, they may have lost close to 60% of all their funds in that 10 year period).

jedisco:
With the new tax year, how are folks planning to utilise their tax-sheltered accounts?

I remember last year, someone filled his ISA on 6th April and bought a global fund. That was during Trumps tarrif market selloff- in a short period, he was well in the positive.

I thought about that this year as the markets were down due to Trumps Iran war. Would we have a v-shaped recovery again?
Well, if investing for the long-term, these small moves don't really matter and its said that if one has a lump sum, a one off buy beats piecemeal investing in majority of cases.

ISA, LISA, SIPP - All set for regular investments every month and auto-purchases of my selected ETF (just one across all three - I have given up trying to pick stocks (PLTR did me good last year but the seesaws aren't good for my emotional wellbeing lol).

I think dollar cost averaging is the best way to do it and not trying to time the market, which with Trump at the help of affairs; is infinitely more difficult to do now anyway.

Lexusgs430:
UK tax year runs from April to April..... Checking my calender today is April 1, in a few days, the tax clock would reset.......

I don't think you have any issue here...... On the other hand, no seller would accept an offer from you in April and wait till August to commence conveyancing..... But don't worry, a much better house is always around the corner...... 🤣😂

It's a calendar year - https://www.gov.uk/lifetime-isa/withdrawing-money-from-your-lifetime-isa

Willyede, honestly I think it's a choice of taking the 25% hit (given you have only contributed for a year that's going to be around 1000 so not the end of the world) if you really love the property so much, or let this one go and and try to find another property closer to the one year mark. As Lexusgs430 said, no seller will want to wait till August just because of this.

lavida001:
Tech bros in soup.
Dem say na slow down that’s another name for AI

KPMG is a tech company?