The 3-year trailing performance of the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited surpasses the average inflation during the same period.
The annual inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released in September by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was 20.52 per cent in August 2022.
Meanwhile, the NGX ASI, a market capitalisation weighted index of all companies listed on the NGX’s platform, had a year-to-date performance of 15.68 per cent during the same period. This could be misleading about the market performance until you view it through a longer-term lens.
British Economist, Benjamin Graham, made a quote popularly used by Warren Buffett, the Fund Manager of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and widely regarded as the best living investor: “Markets are a voting machine in the short term, and a weighing machine in the long run.” On a 3-year trailing basis, the NGX ASI has outperformed the CPI average in the same period, ensuring that investors with a longer-term hold on their investments remain in the positive region.
Analysis of data of closing prices gathered from the NGX’s website showed that the index has a 3-year moving average of 22.97 per cent, compared to an inflation average of 15.72 per cent.
The year 2022 has been a slow year for global stocks due to volatility resulting from the hiking of interest rates by central banks in the United States and Europe amidst inflationary pressures.
The NGX ASI’s 15.62% YTD return is a significant positive performance compared to the US S&P 500, which has plunged by 22.46% or the FTSE 100, which has declined by 7.68%, according to Google Finance. The local bourse has exhibited resilience and insulated investors from negative return on investment over three years.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya