Ogbechie, Rewane task investors on real assets

Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane

Prominent business leaders and economic experts, including Dr Gabriel Ogbechie and Bismarck Rewane, have charged investors across Nigeria to shift their investment focus toward real assets, robust risk governance, and personal character to build sustainable intergenerational prosperity.

Speaking at the Cordros Wealth Summit 2026 tagged “Wealth Beyond Money” and hosted by Cordros Capital Limited in Lagos recently, industry titans, macroeconomic analysts, policy drivers, and market operators gathered to re-examine traditional metrics of wealth.

Delivering the keynote address, Ogbechie, who is the Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Rainoil Limited, emphasised that paper currency remains merely an economic tool, whereas enduring prosperity is anchored in tangible assets, scalable businesses, character, and social networks.

Highlighting the long-term momentum of domestic asset classes, Ogbechie noted: “When you invest in shares, people work for you.”

He pointed to the equities market, which expanded from a market capitalisation of N4.5tn to N5tn in 2009 to its current N163.68tn valuation, while citing prime real estate locations like Ikoyi, where land values rose from N30,000 per square meter years ago to multi-million naira benchmarks today.

Moving beyond financial balance sheets, he urged participants to cultivate integrity, prioritise personal physical fitness, and embrace purposeful philanthropy, asserting that individuals who accumulate wealth without giving back to society remain inherently poor.

Analysing the macroeconomic landscape, Bismarck Rewane, Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company, stated that social science outcomes take time to mature amid global geopolitical pressures such as ongoing Middle East tensions, but noted that Nigeria’s internal macroeconomic metrics are gradually stabilising.

Rewane observed that inflation dynamics are becoming increasingly predictable while exchange rate movements are turning less destructive. Touching on debt sustainability, he projected fiscal deficits and public debt to align between 40.6 per cent and 43.5 per cent by 2030 along a manageable path.

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To accelerate real economic output, Rewane made a strong case for lowering benchmark interest rates, stressing that prevailing rates in the twenties severely constrain private sector expansion and calling on monetary authorities to align policy rates with inflation to establish equilibrium.

In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of Cordros Capital Limited, Wale Agbeyangi, detailed the firm’s growth trajectory from its inception as a boutique stockbroking entity in 2007 into an integrated financial services group offering investment banking, asset management, trusteeship, insurance brokerage, and registrar services to support wealth creation and transfer.

Similarly, the Managing Director of Cordros Asset Management Limited, Gbolahan Aina, spoke on the democratisation of investment, referencing projections that $30tn will enter addressable wealth pools globally by 2030 and emphasising that retail investors can leverage structured mutual funds and equities to protect against inflation.

During a panel session on portfolio diversification and succession planning, moderated by broadcast journalist Olive Emodi, Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Corporation Limited, Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, underscored the critical role of corporate governance and fatherhood in empowering women in leadership, remarking that “shrinking does not help anybody shine.”

Discussing intergenerational asset transfer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bestman Games Limited, Ambassador Nimi Akinkugbe, cautioned against improper estate management, warning: “If you transfer wealth without transferring capability, it amounts to catastrophe,” and recommending that non-operational heirs participate instead as active shareholders.

Concluding the session, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Jude Chiemeka, outlined the range of equity, fixed income, and derivative products available on the exchange, advising investors to continually evaluate their risk profiles throughout their financial journeys.