The Four Unwritten Rules Governing the Science of Investing

Someone once said that rules were ‘made to be broken’. Whoever uttered that statement was and is not the only victim to a very common disease known as ‘indiscipline’. Millions of investors worldwide suffer from this disease too. They are said to suffer from the disease due to their urge to break the very basic rules that govern the science of investing. These basic rules have been around for as long as you and I can remember but unfortunately many of us have always been too busy to pay close attention. Well, we all know that a ‘two plus two’ will definitely yield a ‘four’ and not an ‘eight’.

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Joint Venture: Is it the ideal business model?

There is an old adage that if you can’t beat them then you had better joined them. True to the saying, a man who has been injured by his enemy in a battle not only finds refuge from further attack by stooping but a possible lifeline on his ultimate submission. The business arena has and will never be different. Just like that man in a battle with his enemy, many entrepreneurs find themselves entangled in a dilemma due to the ever increasing competition. Increasing competition implies that survival and ultimately business leadership can only be availed by achieving a semblance of competitive edge no matter how obscure. One of the many ways of achieving a competitive edge is by forging strategic alliances or what is popularly referred to as joint venturing. Unlike partnerships, joint ventures do not result in a transfer of ownership among the members. The beauty, however, is that they result into what we all love most which is none other than ‘win – win’ business relationships.  

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A typical Ugandan scenario: What are Preemptive rights?

The year 2011 witnessed some heated annual general meetings (AGMs). The National Insurance Corporation (NIC) AGM was one of them. The meeting was expected to draw a feud between the minority and the majority shareholders/ management given the mid year suspension of the counter from trading at the securities exchange, not to mention the highly publicized saga concerning a possible withdrawal of Makerere University dons from a retirement scheme with the corporation. My sources tell me there was tight security.

One of the debatable issues that arose from the meeting was the suggestion by the board of directors to introduce a second share offer to the public. A big cross section of the audience seemed to have bought the idea with the exception of a few shareholders. Among these few was the famous tycoon, Mr. Sudhir Ruparelia, who seemed to have been in total disagreement with the suggestion. Well, Sudhir’s shareholding in the corporation totals to 20% hence effectively placing him on the driving seat among the minority shareholders. In my view, this position bestows on him the right to champion the interests of the minority. We can however not rule out the chance that some of his interests contravene those of other minority shareholders. 

The history of NIC

It is not without reason that a bat prefers it’s upside down posture. Sudhir was not outrageous for no reason. In the year 2005,

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