How Mutual Funds Grow Your Money

By: Ben O. de Vera  (Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 8, 2015)

Investment option for beginners and those who want to start small but gain big

With a growing economy and as more and more Filipinos earn more, investment opportunities have become very appealing to those who want to further grow their hard-earned money faster than just depositing them in banks.

For those who want to start their investments small but gain big, the mutual fund is the way to go, according to the Philippine Investment Funds Association Inc. (PIFA), a group composed of 10 fund management companies behind 53 member funds.

Continue Reading here: 
How Mutual Funds Grow Your Money (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Click here for more about Mutual Fund Companies at the PIFA website.

GMA News - How to INVEST in the STOCK MARKET

Best-Selling Author and Financial Adviser Francisco Colayco explains how to invest in the STOCK MARKET thru MUTUAL FUNDS:

Click HERE for additional information about MUTUAL FUNDS from Philam Asset Management, Inc. (PAMI).

GMA News TV Program -- Explains Investing in MUTUAL FUNDS (c/o Pesos and Sense)

What is a MUTUAL FUND?
Why Invest in the STOCK MARKET?
How does Investing in the STOCK MARKET thru MUTUAL FUNDs work?

Checkout this video from Pesos and Sense:

Pesos and Sense is a GMA News TV Program which seeks to bring Financial Literacy to Filipinos.

Click here for additional MUTUAL FUNDS information from Philam Asset Management, Inc. (PAMI).

Why INVEST in the STOCK MARKET?

Are you still putting your hard-earned SAVINGS in regular bank accounts which gives you only around 1% return per year?

To Learn more about Investing in the Stock Market (thru Mutual Funds):

Click here: Investing in Mutual Funds.

INVEST in KNOWLEDGE First! -- KNOW and LEARN Where to Invest First! ... (To avoid scams too.)

ANC On The Money: Growing Your Money Via Mutual Funds

See Investing in Mutual Funds to learn more.

See also: List of Investment Funds in the Philippines from Bloomberg.com.

Performance Charts of Investment Funds in the Philippines (Mutual Funds and UITFs)

Do you want to regularly monitor the Performance Charts of your Investment Funds in the Philippines?

Are you looking for the Performance Charts of the Philippine based Mutual Funds from the following Asset Management companies?
-- Philam Asset Management, Inc. Funds
-- First Metro Asset Management, Inc. Funds
-- Philequity Management, Inc. Funds

How about the Performance Charts of Philippine based Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs)?

Then checkout this page at Bloomberg.com's website which lists the links to the Historical Performance Charts of Philippine based Mutual Funds and UITFs:

Click on the link below:
List of Investment Funds in the Philippines @ Bloomberg.com

Bo Sanchez on ANC's "On The Money" talking about INVESTING in the STOCK MARKET

Well Known Preacher and Best Selling Author Bo Sanchez on ANC's "On The Money" sharing about Financial Literacy and Investing in the Stock Market.

If you Invested in Philam Mutual Funds

IF YOU INVESTED in the Philam Strategic Growth Fund during the Peak of the World Financial Crisis of 2008...

Your Investment would have gained 385% in just over 4 years time.

If you Invested in Philam Mutual Funds

IF YOU INVESTED in the Philam Strategic Growth Fund during the Peak of the World Financial Crisis of 2008...

Click on image to enlarge view.

Your Investment would have gained 320% in just about 4 years time.

See also: About Investing in Mutual Funds 

INVEST IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Very informative promotional video about the advantages of investing in the Philippines.

Is Investing in the Stock Market only for the Very Rich and Highly Sophisticated People?

Checkout this FREE E-book by best-selling author and international speaker Bo Sanchez to know the answer.

Click HERE to download the FREE PDF E-book from Citiseconline.com.

Other resources:
Why Invest in the Stock Market?
Pesos and Sense Videos on the Stock Market (Pesos and Sense is a GMA NEWS TV Program)

Pesos and Sense Video: The Stock Market

Checkout this very informative video from Pesos and Sense explaining the Stock Market and about being Part-Owners (or Shareholders) of corporations:

(Pesos and Sense is a GMA NEWS TV Program advocating Financial Literacy for Filipinos).

Click here for other Financial Literacy Videos from Pesos and Sense.

GMA News - Investing in Philippine Stocks: A Quick Guide

A very good article from GMA News about Investing in Philippine Stocks.

Excerpt:

"Yung stock market natin is one of the oldest in the Asia Pacific... We have to educate the Filipinos about these investments… that [the stock market] could be a very good alternative investment instrument to everybody, not only for rich Filipinos,” - Jay Peñaflor, Assistant Head of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Market Education department.

Checkout the link below for the whole article:

GMA News - Investing in Philippine Stocks: A Quick Guide,
April 5, 2012

Why Invest in the Stock Market?

Click to view larger image.

Helpful Tutorials on Stock Market Investing:

<Videos from Investopedia.com>

•      What is INFLATION? 
•      What are STOCKS?
•      What is a Mutual Fund?

<Videos from Pesos and Sense> 

(a GMA News TV Program advocating Financial Literacy awareness.)

•      The Stock Market (Featuring popular author and motivational speaker Bo Sanchez)

•      Investing in Stocks thru Mutual Funds

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Website

Philippine Stock Exchange Website

Risk VS Reward:

Know what you are risking and what opportunities you are missing (So Click on the Picture below)...

Is Personal Finance Management "Rocket Science"?

In a yearly study conducted by Citibank, it was determined that the average Filipino income earner has a low Financial IQ of around 48 (out of 100).
(Please refer to this 2011 Study which indicates that the average Filipino earner is not knowledgeable in basic money management skills.)

This study may be some indicator that to the average Filipino, Personal Finance Management is a "rocket science" which requires very serious study and complex mathematics to understand.

But the fact of the matter is that Personal Finance Management is just an easy collection of very simple and practical rules even an elementary kid can understand.

Checkout the rules below and see if you agree.
(The rules are even simplified into a "Ten Commandments" format to make it easier to remember):

Ten Commandments of Personal Finance Management
     I.  Thou Shalt Take Action
    II.  Thou Shalt Pay Off All Credit Card Debt
   III.  Thou Shalt Understand the Difference Between WANTS and NEEDS
   IV.  Thou Shalt Live on Less Than You Earn
    V.  Thou Shalt Pay Yourself First
   VI.  Thou Shalt Set Financial Goals
  VII.  Thou Shalt Educate Yourself and Be Responsible for Your Decision
 VIII. Thou Shalt Save and Invest
   IX.  Thou Shalt Protect Your Finances
    X.  Thou Shalt Donate to Worthy Causes and Those Less Fortunate

Source:
http://www.thestreet.com/newsanalysis/opinion/10370223.html

So, is Personal Finance Management "rocket science"?
Will the average Filipino find these rules difficult to comprehend?
What do you think?

Financial Stages -- Nag Level-Up ka na ba?

Personal Finance Basics - Financial Stages

View more presentations from Healthywealth Phils

1 out of 10 OFWs financially broke: study

By Macel Ingles, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau and U.S. News Agency / Asian
(www.usnewslasvegas.com, Nov. 12, 2011)

 ...
 The study made by the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI) also showed that most or around 80% of Filipinos working abroad overspend on investments on houses and home improvements.

Also, 8 out of 10 do not have savings and are unable to prepare for their retirement or return to the country and are caught in a cycle of debt and poverty
...
According to Vincent Rapisura, CEO of SEDPI, it is a sad phenomenon that OFWs do not enjoy financial stability despite years of working abroad.
...

Read more: 1 out of 10 OFWs financially broke: study
(Source: http://www.usnewslasvegas.com)

Work "smart". Not just work "hard". Be Financially Literate. -- (To avoid scams too).

As part of the advocacy of this blog, let me share the article below from our Senator Ed Angara about the sad state of "financial illiteracy" affecting most Filipinos.

I hope we take this as a challenge and motivation to educate ourselves on this very important skill-set so that we will later reap the benefits of this "investment" in financial education by knowing how to make our money work harder for us and not us working harder for money.

In other words, financial literacy will allow us Filipinos to earn better by working "smarter" instead of simply working "harder".

Isn't that a good thing if we have more free time for our families instead of working overtime for money?

I hope more Filipinos will be enlightened on the need for Financial Literacy for them to be better able to manage and grow their earning power (actively and passively) more efficiently. At the same time this will also contribute to more investments in our local industries. This, in turn, will lead to improvements in our economy, more jobs for the Filipinos, and a future First World financial status for the Philippines.

Go Philippines!

Angara calls for 'financial literacy' for Filipinos 

While Filipinos are obsessed with political news and are keen followers of most political developments, they are sadly stuck in a depressing state of "financial illiteracy" which has dragged down economic growth, Senator Edgardo J. Angara has lamented.

Angara, chairman of the senate committee on banks, said that the "financial illiteracy" that afflicts most Filipinos has dampened investments, failed to develop new financial instruments and constricted the growth of the stock exchange. 

"We are so financially illiterate that we can not even get people to invest in the capital market. And it often takes a long, long while before new financial instruments are offered to would-be-investors," Angara said during a recent financial forum that introduced the REIT, a special real estate investment vehicle. 

The banking system holds a staggering amount of US$80 billion, money which should not have sitting in banks had there been a wide menu of investment and opportunities instruments available", according to Angara. 

"We cannot even unlock the investment power of money locked in the banks and this is a sad thing," said Angara. 

Even the financial pyramiding scams are proof that people have money to invest and are on the lookout on where to place their money. 

"The financial pyramids have been built by people who want to generate income from their money. There is really money lying around waiting to be tapped and the architects of the pyramiding scam tapped into this kind of money," he added. 

Angara said the stock exchange is constrained by the limited number of companies listed in it and there is very little financial sophistication to push people into investing into the stock market. 

The efforts to expand the market and lure in the investors are hamstrung by the lack of interest in financial journalism and business news, said Angara. 

"Unlike in other countries where people read the developments in the stock market and other financial markets with real interest, there is no similar enthusiasm here for financial and business news and this has not helped increase the financial sophistication of Filipinos who want to invest", added Angara. 

The pre-need firms, he said, are generally regarded as steady anchors of the capital market in developed economies but this is not the case in the Philippines. 

"There is an urgent need to put in place sweeping reforms in the pre-need industry to transform the industry into a powerful component of the capital market", said Angara. 

Angara said that people with money also invest in land but since these buyers have no solid grounding in the real estate market, "liquidity often turns out into illiquidity."

Source: Angara calls for 'Financial Literacy' for Filipinos (http://www.edangara.com) 

Having problems paying your Credit Card debts?

Maybe this quote below explains some of the reasons why...

Will Rogers Quote on Money, Debt, and a pretentious lifestyle:

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
― Will Rogers