I would buy shares any day. Do your due diligence and concentrate on having just 3 or maximum of four companies. Make sure that they give dividends because you may need the cash a few months down the line. From there, relax and wait for dividend checks every year or half year...you will not know when the portfolio reaches 5 million and then you can cash out and invest in real estate. I am currently following my own advice and so far so good. You will never regret. I believe that armed with the right education in investing in stocks, coupled with strict discipline and patience, you can make returns averaging 50% each year in stocks alone. Some years may be worse than others, that is the average return for an educated individual investor. Not many businesses worth 1.2 million will make you 600k each year and even if they do, they will need your time and hence not passive.

@jakuz read this first www.wazua.co.ke/forum.aspx?g=posts&t=12920 (132fragments) take notes after which move to stocks forum

@Rollout

How does donating to the church make @jakuz extra money on the side or is it the sort of 'panda mbegu thing'. If you want to preserve the money totally invest in unit trusts and get at the minimum 9k per month on 1.2m or risk it in counters at the NSE with better returns but with risks as well. Choice of counters matter.