“Don’t Delegate Your Money”: How Ndindi Nyoro Picks Stocks on the NSE

By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.

When Ndindi Nyoro talks about money, people listen. Maybe it’s because he is one of the few politicians in Kenya who actually understands the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) from the inside. Or maybe it’s because he speaks about investing with the same simplicity that a farmer uses to explain rainfall.

“I can’t buy a share before I look at one thing,” he says. “It’s called the P.E. ratio.”

For most people, those two letters sound technical. But to Ndindi, they are the difference between gambling and investing. P.E. means price over earnings per share. A company’s earnings per share are calculated by dividing its total profit by the number of outstanding shares. The P.E. ratio, then, shows how much investors are willing to pay for each shilling of profit the company makes.

If the P.E. is low, that is a good thing. It means you will get your money back faster if you rely solely on the company’s profits. “The lower, the better,” he says. “Because it shows the least possible time you can recover your money.”

But he is quick to add that this doesn’t mean investors should act blindly. “Risk profile,” he warns. “Don’t delegate this part. It’s your money.”

Financial advisors can guide you, but they don’t lose sleep over your losses, you do. Ndindi insists that even with limited time, anyone can do a basic analysis. Look at fundamentals. Study sectors. Understand what drives growth.

“By the time you zero in on a company,” he says, “you should know what they are doing and why you are buying them.”

Then he gives an example that grounds the whole discussion in the reality of Kenya’s economy.

Take agricultural companies: Kapchorua Tea, Limuru Tea, Williamson Tea. They are rich in land, rich in history, and rich in potential. But profits? Always fluctuating. “Agriculture is never stable,” he says. “You make money this year because the weather was good, next year you bump down again.”

So if you are buying shares in an agricultural company, you’re not doing it for the profits. You’re doing it for the assets — for the land, the infrastructure, the long-term value buried in the soil. “And I’d only buy,” he adds, “if there’s a way to buy enough shares to cause them to sell out and distribute the money.”

That strategy, going in substantially to trigger asset liquidation is called asset stripping. It’s not illegal; it’s just business. You identify a company that is rich in assets but poor in revenue, get in deep enough, and influence a payout through a special dividend.

But that is not for every investor. For most people, Ndindi says, the smarter move is to buy into companies that have strong revenues and a culture of distributing dividends.

He outlines what to look for:

• Solid corporate governance
• A clear, growing sector
• Dominance in their field
• Healthy profits and expansion potential beyond Kenya

That is how you separate speculative plays from sustainable investments. And then, he pivots to timing, the invisible skill that makes or breaks most investors. “This is not for anyone to do for you,” he warns again. “Even after all this, someone will ask me, ‘Which share should I buy?’ I cannot tell you. It’s your work.”

Timing, in his view, means understanding economic cycles, locally and globally. How often does the U.S. economy reset? Every few years, markets overheat, cool down, and then recover. Kenya follows the same rhythm, though with its own lag and local flavor.

“When the U.S. market is bullish,” he says, “it’s not a coincidence that the Kenyan market is bullish, and South Africa too. There’s something global moving.”

He’s right. The Dow Jones, Nairobi All Share Index, and Johannesburg Stock Exchange often move in the same general direction, driven by capital flows and investor sentiment.

So, study the cycles. Understand when the market is likely to dip and when it’s likely to rise. That is how you position yourself to buy when everyone else is selling and sell when everyone else is chasing the trend.

Finally, he closes with a reminder that sounds less like a finance lecture and more like a life philosophy.

“Diversify beyond Kenya,” he says. “Both in business and in investment.”

The message is simple: do not let your fortunes be tied to a single economy, a single government, or a single market. There is a whole world of opportunity out there, and Kenya’s stock exchange  while small  is only one piece of it.
Let’s take Ndindi Nyoro’s principles and bring them down to earth:

Step 1: Start with Fundamentals (Not Tips)

Before touching that money, understand what you are buying. Stocks represent ownership in real companies.
So, you begin by identifying three to five companies you know or understand,  say:

• Safaricom (Telecom & Fintech)
• Equity Group (Banking)
• Kengen (Energy)
• Williamson Tea (Agriculture)

You then check their fundamentals,  things like profit growth, dividend history, and especially, the P.E. ratio (Price-to-Earnings ratio).

Step 2: Compare the P.E. Ratios

Let’s say (as of now, roughly):

Nyoro’s rule: the lower the P.E., the better (all else equal) because it means you’re paying less for every shilling the company earns.

Step 3: Choose Based on Sector & Stability

He warns that agricultural companies can be “asset rich but profit poor.”
So, while Williamson Tea owns prime land, its profits swing with weather and global tea prices. You would buy it only for long-term value or possible asset plays (if you could own a major stake).

But for regular investors, Equity and Safaricom might make more sense. They are in stable, expanding sectors: banking and telecoms and pay dividends consistently.

Step 4: Allocate the Ksh. 100,000 Wisely

Nyoro’s philosophy values diversification not just by company, but also by sector.

A simple beginner’s mix might look like:

This gives exposure to Kenya’s major sectors while reducing risk.

Step 5: Time the Market (Don’t Rush In)

Ndindi emphasizes timing not guessing prices, but watching economic cycles.
So, before buying, check the market’s general direction:

• Is the NSE All Share Index recovering from a dip?
• Are global markets (like the Dow Jones) bullish?
• Is the shilling stabilizing?

If the markets are down but fundamentals are solid, that’s your cue, buy when others are fearful.

For instance:

• If Equity’s price dips to Ksh. 45 due to temporary market panic but profits remain strong, that is a smart entry.
• If Safaricom falls from Ksh. 15 to 12 while M-Pesa keeps growing, that’s another buy signal.

Step 6: Think Long-Term & Reinvest

After buying, hold your shares for at least 3–5 years.
When you receive dividends, reinvest them. Compounding small gains over time is how you build wealth quietly not by trading daily. If your Ksh. 100,000 grows by even 8–10% per year, you could have around Ksh. 215,000 in 8 years without adding more money.

Step 7: Diversify Beyond Kenya

When you’re ready, follow Nyoro’s last advice: look beyond. Use apps like Hisa, Bamboo, or Chipper to buy shares of:

• Apple, Microsoft, or Tesla on U.S. markets.
• ETFs like the S&P 500 for broader exposure.
  

That way, your fortunes aren’t tied to one economy or one government policy. Because in his words and in the cadence of a man who has made his money watching the numbers dance, “It’s your money. Remember that all the time.”

About Post Author

Africa Digest News

http://digitalbankingnews.co.ke

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %