How to invest in US stocks from Nigeria

You can buy US stocks from Nigeria through a local investment app, a foreign brokerage that accepts Nigerian residents, or a tokenised equity platform. All three give you exposure to the same companies. They differ in what you actually own, what it costs to get money in and out, and who's holding the asset when something goes wrong.

What are your options?

1. A Nigerian brokerage app. Bamboo, Trove and Chaka let you fund in naira and buy real US shares, including fractions, through a partner brokerage. All three route to DriveWealth in the US, and you hold beneficial ownership of the actual share.

2. A managed portfolio. Risevest works differently, and the difference matters. Its own terms say a client's rights are "units, interests or portfolio entitlements" that "do not constitute direct ownership of each underlying asset." You're buying into a portfolio that holds assets, not into the assets themselves. Cowrywise sits further along the same line again, offering units in dollar mutual funds that mostly hold Eurobonds rather than US shares.

3. A foreign brokerage directly. Some international brokers accept Nigerian residents. You get the full product, and you also get international funding, US tax forms, and nobody local to call when something breaks.

4. Tokenised US stocks. You hold a token representing a real share, backed by the actual security held in custody. It trades outside US market hours and settles on a blockchain rather than through a broker. Daya Stocks works this way, and so do Roqqu and Blockchain.com.

For the apps themselves, Bamboo, Trove, Risevest and Hisa compared sets out what each one charges, what you own on each, and why Chaka no longer appears under that name.

How much do you need to start?

Less than most people assume, because of fractional shares.

A fractional share is a portion of one share. If a share costs $900 and you have $90, you buy a tenth of it. You get the same proportional exposure to price moves and the same proportional dividends. You generally don't get voting rights on a fraction.

Without fractions, a single share of some large US companies costs more than most Nigerians would put in one position, so fractions are what make this reachable at all.

What are tokenised stocks, and what do you actually own?

A tokenised stock is a digital token representing ownership of a real share.

The structure matters more than the name, so here's how it works:

1. An issuer buys the actual security through a US brokerage.
2. That security is held in custody and recorded through the Depository Trust Company, the depository that holds most US equities.
3. The issuer mints a token against it.
4. You hold the token.

So you aren't buying a synthetic exposure or a contract that just tracks a price. There's a real share behind it.

What should you check before using a tokenised platform?

Six questions are worth asking, and if a platform won't answer them plainly, that's your answer.

Daya Stocks is built this way. Ondo Global Markets issues the tokens, the underlying securities are bought through the US brokerage Alpaca and recorded through the DTC, collateral is held above the value of tokens outstanding, dividends are reinvested after withholding tax, and stock splits pass through. Tokens currently can't be moved to external wallets. The product is still in testing.

Tokenised or traditional: which should you use?

Tokenised suits you if you want access, small amounts and flexible hours. Traditional suits you if you want a holding you can transfer, vote, and move to another broker.

Does 24/7 trading actually help?

Sometimes, and it's worth knowing what it doesn't change.

It genuinely helps if you're in Lagos and the New York close falls at 10pm your time, because you aren't forced into a narrow evening window.

What it doesn't change is that the underlying market is shut. Outside US hours, prices are set by whoever will trade with you, liquidity is thinner, and spreads widen. Trading at 3am because you can isn't the same as trading well.

Should you buy individual stocks or ETFs?

An ETF is a fund holding many companies at once, traded like a single stock. Buying one share of an S&P 500 ETF gives you a slice of 500 companies.

• ETFs spread your risk, need no company research, and won't ever outperform the market by much. Better default for most people.
• Individual stocks can do far better and far worse, and require you to have a view worth having.

If you're starting out and your alternative is a savings account, an ETF is the lower-stress choice.

How are US stock gains taxed for Nigerians?

This is where most content in this market gets it wrong, and the answer is asymmetric in a way that matters.

From 1 January 2026, gains are taxed at your personal income tax band instead of a flat 10%, topping out at 25%. The first ₦800,000 of total income is exempt, and that covers income and gains together.

Nigerian company shares get relief that foreign shares don't:

• Gains are exempt where total proceeds stay under ₦150 million and total gains stay under ₦10 million in a 12-month period. Both conditions, not either.
• There's also full relief where you reinvest the proceeds into Nigerian companies within 12 months, applied to the reinvested portion.

Neither applies to US shares. Gains on foreign shares fall under the full progressive bands.

What it means for you: if you're choosing between NGX and US stocks, the tax treatment is part of the comparison, not a footnote. Nigerian residents are taxed on worldwide income, so holding the asset abroad doesn't change anything.

US companies also deduct US withholding tax from dividends before they reach you, separately from Nigerian tax.

Filing deadline is 31 March.

What are the real risks?

There are three, and the third one gets underweighted.

1. Market risk. Share prices fall. US markets have dropped 30% or more several times in living memory, and holding through that is harder than planning to.
2. Currency risk, both directions. A dollar asset protects you when the naira weakens. It also means a stronger naira cuts your naira return, and that's a real scenario rather than a theoretical one.
3. Platform and custody risk. Whoever holds your asset is a risk you're taking. For tokenised products this is where the diligence belongs, and it's the question to ask first rather than last.

What happens if the platform shuts down?

It depends entirely on the custody structure, which is why it's worth understanding before you fund an account.

Good structure: the underlying securities are held by a custodian separate from the platform, so an administrator can identify what belongs to whom and return it. Slow, but recoverable.

Weaker structure: the platform holds everything itself, and your claim is against the platform rather than against a specific asset.

Ask a platform who holds the underlying and whether it's segregated from their own assets. If the answer is vague, treat that as information.