Gaining (or Regaining) Investment Muscles with GInvest

I was thinking about the time when I opened a GCash account because some of my favorite restaurants aren't in Foodpanda anymore. Shawarma Gourmet no longer was in Grab Food and I wanted to buy their pita bread to eat steaks with. Eventually, I found the feature called GInvest which is basically investing for a minimum of PHP 50.00 or PHP 1,000.00 for starters. I've had some investments such as AXA's Chinese Tycoon, Retail Treasury Bond (RTB), and Long Term Negotiable Certificate of Deposit. Basically, these are mutual funds. However, I felt the need to do some investment muscles. For privacy purposes, I'm not going to display full data here and neither should you.

I thought about how GInvest has opened some time ago but I only got into it late last year. I decided to drop in a few pesos into the local investments (which have PHP 50.00 minimum) and the international investments (which have PHP 1,000.00 minimum). I took the risk assessment and found myself in the "moderately aggressive". However, the application allows aggressive investment even for that. I guess my risk appetite changed from moderate to moderately aggressive. I decided to drop in some money here and there to see how it goes.

It would be good to know that GCash is short for Globe Cash. GCash is partnered with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) as well as other partner banks. Pretty much, GCash is a legitimate platform for digital money which can't be compared to cryptocurrency which I'm wary about. I decided to give it a try. I admit that I sold one of my earlier investments (which only made a few centavos) and transferred to a more aggressive package. Meanwhile, I try to keep in mind to invest the money only which you don't need now. So what I did was to put some money in GSavings (which is ran by Commerce International Merchant Bankers or CIMB) to take advantage of the 2.5% interest rate. I decided to abide by the minimum deposit since banks do require them. GSavings is a powerful safeguard if ever I need to use GCash for future transactions.

It would be important to know that just investing PHP 50.00 or PHP 1,000.00 will not make it increase in a short amount of time. One reason why people enter into the Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes is because of the promise of fast gains. Neither stocks nor bonds promise immediate high returns. Both amounts are the starting point. Chances are the PHP 50.00 was raised to PHP 55.00 and the PHP 1,000.00 was raised to PHP 1,050.00 for a start. It's really not an instant wealth maker which is a good thing. It means that the returns are in moderation no matter how aggressive the package is. There's a reminder function that informs you to invest at least a certain amount at a certain period of time. It's like I should invest at least a certain amount per month or per quarter. It would help develop discipline overtime such as dropping PHP 50.00 a day (which would mean investing PHP 1,500 per month) or PHP 1,000.00 a month for a start.

Basically, it will be a good feeding muscle. One of the things that I felt was pay attention to the Net Asset Value Per Unit (NAVPU). If the NAVPU is down then I feel it's time to buy low and sell high. Buying high and selling higher can be good but only if you're quite experienced. Otherwise, buying high to sell higher might soon result in a loss. Though, some people buy stocks to hold on to them if they give dividends. Some of them buy the stocks to get a share in the company. A share is a specific number of stocks required to form at least one share. I think it would be a good idea to at least buy low and sell high. If the NAVPU is low then one can get more units. Though I don't suggest buying when the NAVPU is way too low either. It might mean the performance isn't good. Though buying at a slightly higher price might be the better advantage.

I think one disadvantage with GInvest is the amount of time from purchase and sales. The good news is you bought the value on that day. For some reason, GInvest delivers your units after a certain number of business days instead. I guess it's because the feature is still new so what's why the purchases and sales can't be made immediately. Yet, if you bought it for that day then that's the amount charged to you. One needs to be rather patient in doing GInvest. I feel the feature was deliberately done to avoid overbuying by making purchasers wait for their investments to arrive. Take note that the cutoff time is from 12:00 A.M. to 11:59 P.M.--something I need to take note of when continuing my journey here.

I consider GInvest it as my petty cash investment. It would probably help me build better muscle for investments. The aim isn't all about making millions but making sure to have money to meet your needs. I think putting some money in the Philippine Stock Index Fund would help me get a know-how before I decide to buy stocks and handle them myself from the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEI). Getting some feeder funds would mean getting small units of stocks from global companies. I feel learning all about them would be essential before I enter a bigger amount into them. Then again, I won't be showing financial figures because people have the right to financial privacy.

Open FDI Equals CHINA?!

This is an interesting drawing I found on Facebook. It's often used to portray people who look at the removal of the unnecessarily restrictive 60-40 shares ownership policy as, "The current president's gift to China." The same was done during former Philippine president Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte. The same was also done with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. It makes me think of stupid comments written by idiots on Facebook. It would be ironic if a lot of anti-FDI and anti-American rants were made not only on Facebook but also were typed using Apple gadgets of all things! They may be quick to use whatever irrational reasons. Some reasons can range from foreigners "unfairly" owning the means to produce equipment (read here ) and that they're simply forced to participate in the capitalist economy model to survive (read here ). However, I must ask if these guys were forced to use the luxury brands they're using (read here ). As the map shows, s

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics Will Ultimately Hurt the WORKING CLASS

Cartoonist Zach Some people claim to fight for the working class--while refusing to work themselves. Some people claim to fight for the working class--while supporting policies that will prove detrimental to the working class. One of these policies is #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba--meaning to raise salaries and lower prices. I wrote some time ago about why #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba doesn't work . However, I'lm still attacked by Ad Homimens and Nom Sequiturs. How's that even possible anyway? Economics isn't magic! If President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise of PHP 20.00 kilo rice is absurd--so is the promise of #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics! Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I don't need a PhD in economics to understand cost accounting. The income statement would include salaries as part of the cost. The cost of goods sold includes salaries. Marketing and promotions include salaries. General and administrative would include salaries. Pa

Is Anybody Willing to Prove Filipino First Policy Has a Place in the Rising Asian Century for a Million Pesos, Tax Free?

Yesterday was the birthday of former president Carlos P. Garcia, who died in 1971. Garcia is often associated with the Filipino First Policy. Back in the 1990s, I remember how Filipino First Policy was taught in values education classes --never mind the glaring contradictions. The contradictions are that imported equipment was used, or that we can literally never escape the use of imported equipment. I wrote an article discussing why Garcia's Filipino First Policy has no place in the rising Asian Century . I haven't done academic work right now, having been disgruntled by the Filipino education system. Sadly, not even graduate school taught me the basics of stock market investment (such as equity funds) or how Cash 2 Go works. That's why some people say, "It's just a degree!" I often said, "Well your doctor went to college, your lawyer went to college, etc." However, it looks like a college degree may not be for everyone, under K+12! Some people are

Millions of Studies from the Trust Me Bro School of Economics Show #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Business Model Works

Happy Labor Day anyone? It's this time of the year when labor groups like Kilusang Mayo Uno (literally the May One Movement) would protest. They would raise banners demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba. For those who don't speak Tagalog, it means raising salaries and lowering the prices of goods. However, basic cost accounting will tell you that salaries are part of the cost of production . People ignore facts and choose their feelings a lot . I tell them that salaries are part of the cost of production (no need for a Ph. D for that, which I no longer aim to get) but they just sneer at it . They think the government has absolute control over the economy like magic . Members of Filipino labor groups may even say that wage hikes aren't inflationary even when evidence shows otherwise. The Economics Help website presents why doing so can actually worsen inflation: Wage Push Inflation. If labour is able to push for higher wages, despite lower growth, then we could get a combi

What's the Use of Complaining About Jollibee Acquiring Companies BUT Not Accepting Open FDI to Bring in COMPETITION to the Philippines?

Anti-Snowflake Squad Facebook Page I was checking across Facebook and noticed some idiots complaining about Jollibee acquiring companies. The same idiots turned out to be anti-FDI--the same group that converses with Porky Madugo and Mukhang Adik. As usual, I will not directly link the idiots (or even reveal them directly, they will reveal themselves) to avoid giving them clout. Here's a statement by Porky that may make anyone wonder if (1) he knows he's lying (which I think he is for some self-serving reason ), or (2) he doesn't know what he's talking about: The monopolization of business ruins the business. It degrades the quality of the business of a product. If you think monopolization is good, that's stupidity. It kills the competition and it kills the business. Well, as old saying goes: "capitalists are the only one will destroy themselves." Since when did capitalism mean killing competition? Isn't Porky supposedly a die-hard Communist? In the

La Salsa: The Delicious Filipino-Mexican Cantina at Lahug, Cebu City

La Salsa Facebook Page I've eaten at La Salsa Twice. I've tried eating at El Taquito (which is probably no longer operational in Cebu) and El Loco (which closed down years ago). I've eaten the Mexican American style of Red Lizard (read here ). La Salsa Filipino-Mexican Cantina offers a delicious blend of Mexican food for the Filipino customer. It's another experience for delicious Mexican-style cooking. I've tried their beef fajita and enchilada. These are some of my favorite Mexican foods. For my first two dine-ins--I felt the cozy atmosphere of a home . I expected the enchiladas to be thinner but they are thicker. Perhaps, it's a different enchilada than the one I ate years ago. Both are delicious in their own way. I enjoyed the huger serving of enchilada. Right now, it's still the soft opening. Some items won't be available at the moment. Based on my own personal review, I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys fusion cooking. I love h

Forget About Open FDI, Let's Open #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Stores Instead

A really disastrous decision! Before the Buwan ng Wika ends, I want to write about those who have been demanding "Sahod itaas! Presyo ibaba!" (Raise salaries, lower prices). Back in 2022, I wrote an article discussing why the demands for higher salaries, lower prices of goods, and handouts for all are a recipe for disaster . I could laugh at people who believed in the promise of PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice promise of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Before that, people had been demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba during the reigns of the late former president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and former president Rodrigo R. Duterte. Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I did explain why the model doesn't work. In the cost of production, you need to account for everything that happens including salaries . Raising salaries during inflation can actually worsen the situation . It's because sticky inflation happens with cost-push factors (ex. cost of gasoline, co

A Fun Song to Start Learning the New Pinyin Sequence

I was looking for a song in relation to the BoPoMoFo. In my case, I'm prone to calling Pinyin "BoPoMoFo" until today (read here ). It's because Pinyin basically serves the same purpose as Zhuyin--teaching one how to read Chinese. I'd like to say that I got too comfortable with this old sequence: I may hate memorizing Zhuyin but I like treating Pinyin in the same sequence. The new table which uses the 23 initials-24 finals method (read here ) can be confusing. Some old-timers may have an easier time transliterating the Zhuyin into Pinyin. However, I still find the new sequence confusing. I may no longer remember Zhuyin (and I kept failing at it and kept memorizing sentences without understanding) but I can remember Pinyin. Except my memorization of the Pinyin was in the BoPoMoFo sequence. With more than a billion Chinese speakers worldwide--can we keep using the old books to teach Mandarin? That's why I wrote about why the old Chinese textbooks can't be us

"But the Philippines Isn't Taiwan!" is Just Another Lame Excuse to Justify Filipino First Policy

Atlas Institute for Internal Affairs Happy Double 10 to Taiwan! Chinese Filipino schools would take part in what's often called the Double 10 celebrations. October is the 10th month and it's the 10th day. I remember talking about how Taiwan succeeded by accepting FDIs and how the Filipino First Policy caused us to fail . The typical response I would get on American-made social media (of all places), such as Facebook, would be, "How many times do I need to stress that the Philippines isn't Taiwan. We are the Philippines! We are unique!" If those fools did a study, they may realize that there's a link between the Taiwanese aborigines and the Filipino aborigines (read here ). The Philippines should've learned from Taiwan during COVID-19 One of the best models for fighting COVID-19 was Taiwan. Sure, I'm more in favor of shifting to a parliamentary system and Taiwan is still a presidential country (with parliamentary features). Former Taiwanese president

The Pinaskohan Mentality is Keeping Poor Filipinos, POOR

Philippine Star Is it me or is the Christmas Season really that toxic in the Philippines? I wrote an article about the irony of early Christmas season with late Christmas shopping . I didn't think about writing this but is it me or do people like to ask for impunity during the Christmas season? Think about that toxic former friend or former romantic partner. You cut off that person because of the toxic behavior he or she shows. However, you meet at a public place during the -ber months. The person says, "Let's reconcile! It's Christmas!" I can be open to reconciliation with classmates with who I had a childish quarrel back in high school. So far, one of the people I had a childish grudge wasn't a toxic person. The reason why I feel I can reconcile with that person is because he's productive . The same can't be said for people who have a toxic attitude. What do several Filipinos look forward to during Christmas? Would it be just the spiritual signific

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