Is it worth withdrawing up to 50% of the FGTS to buy Eletrobras shares? – 2022/05/22

Today FGTS yields less than savings. That’s why analysts recommend not leaving it static.

Investing is a way to not let your money go

It could be a good opportunity [investir o FGTS]Will Landers, head of equities at BTG Charter Asset Management in New York.

Usually, FGTS money stuck. It can only be undone in the event of retirement, resignation, purchase of the first property, or the emergence of serious diseases such as cancer.

Revenues

“Privatization funds can and should be an alternative for workers seeking to improve the performance of their resources,” says Inácio Fradique, from the trading desk at Braúna Investimentos.

Makes a comparison: In 2020, with FGTS dividends distributed to employees, the return was 4.52%. In 2019, taking into account the additional dividend, the yield was 4.90%. In 2018, it reached 6.18%.

This year alone, the most traded stocks in Electrobrass – the ordinary (ELET3) – achieved a cumulative 33.08% on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3). It sounds tempting, but in the past 12 months, Eletrobras has gained just 5.56%, slightly more than FGTS, according to experts.

After all, it’s time to invest in FGTS

For those new to stocks, Ilan Arbetman, an analyst at Ativa Investimentos, recommends not using half of the FGTS balance, but a smaller portion.

“Maybe there’s a lot of money to put in one stock,” he says.

For me, betting half the fund on one stock and relying on the company’s performance is a lot. I like my weight proportionate.
Ilan ARPTMANAnalyst at Ativa Investimentos

And if your only savings is FGTS, the risk is even greater. That’s why it may be best to use only a small portion of the stock and leave the rest in the background, according to the pros.

What are the risks?

In the stock market, one day assets go down, and the next day they go up. This can make many people nervous. Stocks are high-risk investments, and there’s no way of knowing if you’ll be able to count on their return in an emergency, such as a layoff or illness.

That’s why analysts say it’s better to invest if you already have an amount saved for unexpected events (emergency reserve) in another type of investment, such as a fixed income fund. “So investing in stocks is for the long haul,” says Landers, of BTG.

Another tip is not to follow the daily rise and fall of stock prices. “Do you look at your FGTS balance every day? So why keep track of that back and forth? It’s best to let that investment grow for a few years,” he says.

Anyone who does not like the experience after a year can return the money to the fund.

How will it work?

“I think in mid-June there will be a definition of how the process is going to be done for the worker,” Arbitman stated.

In 2002, Landers says, the search for Vale stocks (VALE3) was too high. At that time, the government released shares worth R$1 billion, but the demand was R$3 billion.

“So those with availability should sign up for even 50% to secure the highest possible share,” says the BTG analyst.

Is it certain that the procedure will produce more FGTS?

The stock market is called variable, so it has no fixed income or assured profits.

“We think Eletrobras management will improve a lot with privatization,” says Ilan Arptman, of Ativa. And if that happens, the shareholder wins.

“Just to give you an idea, Eletrobras haven’t won an auction for power transmission since the middle of the last decade,” he stated. However, the company’s stock has remained on the upside ever since. The trend, then, is improvement, according to the expert.