Why Buy the Dip with Index Funds for Those Scared of Direct Stock Trading

I recklessly placed small amounts of money on GInvest. What I didn't notice (at first) was that the Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) offerings also have index funds and feeder funds. Feeder funds are in a collective investment scheme (CIS) abroad with companies such as Samsung and Apple. Currently, I'm into the ATRAM Global Consumer Trends Feeder Fund via GInvest (and I sold the other feeder fund where I only invested PHP 1,000.00 to test my skill). It turns out that the best strategy for index funds or feeder funds is to buy and hold for as long as possible. Seeing the stock market in red made me want to open a direct stock trading account. However, knowing my attention deficit disorder (ADD)--the second-best choice might be to invest in UITFs. The recent dips in the UITF may be that big chance to buy more units than usual. That's what I slowly did--buying UITFs at a dip. That's why I tend to check on my investments nearly daily--I want to buy the dip as much as possible!

From Bankrate, I think this would serve as good advice about buying during a dip:

3 investing strategies to consider if you want to buy the dip
If you’re thinking about buying the dip for the long term, you have a number of strategies that you could use to find attractive returns. Here are three of the most popular:
Buy the best stocks in a beaten-down sector. If a whole sector has fallen because investors have turned sour on it, you may have an opportunity to buy the best one or two stocks in the sector. You’ll be able to find the most competitively advantaged players and then buy them before the sector returns to investors’ favor in a couple years.
Buy a sector ETF. If you don’t want to do the legwork of investing in individual stocks, then you may be able to turn to a sector ETF and just buy a stake in all the companies in the sector. You’ll want to be careful that you’re actually buying the companies you intend, because some ETFs can be misnamed and hold many stocks you don’t want.
Buy the market with an index fund. If you don’t want to do the work to invest in individual stocks or specific sectors, you still have the option to invest in the market with an index fund. A fund based on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index can give you a stake in hundreds of America’s best stocks, and you can buy while it’s out of favor. It’s a great pick for investors who don’t have the time or energy required for more intense investing, and it’s also Warren Buffett’s recommendation for most investors.
Buying while the market is falling is difficult for many investors, however, because it hurts to lose money and the negative sentiment may be worrying, at least in the short term. That’s why Buffett has said, “The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.”
If you’re buying the dip for the long term, you’ll need to have the fortitude to stick with your investments while they fall and hold them through the eventual upturn (hopefully).

Some people have the time and expertise to stand out in stock trading. However, with so little money, it might be best not to directly get into stocks. That's why I wrote that rushing into the stock market hoping to make easy money is suicide. The stock market isn't something that you invest in and you get rich overnight. Any investment that gives you fast returns will soon drain you of your re-investments. Some people may reinvest their "earnings" from a Ponzi scheme into the same scheme to lose it eventually.

I think two of GInvest's current offerings (via ATRAM) would be the Philippine Stock Index Fund (which I'm now trying to buy more units due to the dip) and the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund. In the case of the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund--it sells at a lower NAVPU which means my PHP 1,000.00 will buy more units. The Philippine Stock Index Fund has a higher NAVPU. That means my PHP 1,000 will buy lesser units which I only have around 2.XXXXX units right now. I wonder how Philippine Stock Index Fund intends to allocate smaller units. Meanwhile, the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund has fund picks for the moments--making me know which allows me to indirectly buy stocks from the selected businesses. I'll be having minor stocks allocated with SM, Ayala, Globe, and JG Holdings based on the current fund picks.

Here are a few things NerdWallet shares about what to know about index funds to say why it's best to use index funds while one may be studying how to directly trade in stocks:

They're an indirect way to buy the whole market. An index fund buys the securities that make up an entire index. For example, if the index tracks the Standard & Poor's 500 — an index of 500 of the largest companies in the United States — the fund buys shares from every company listed on the index (or a representative sample of stocks). An investor, in turn, buys shares from the fund, whose value will mirror the gains and losses of the index being tracked.
By accepting defeat, you actually win. Picking individual stocks, you're probably not going to outperform the market. Not even the pros do: Research shows that from 2001 to 2016, more than 90% of active fund managers underperformed their benchmark index. So, meeting market gains is a surer bet than beating the market, and that's just what index funds are designed to do.
Index funds are increasingly popular with investors. According to Morningstar, actively managed mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the U.S. saw outflows of nearly $514 billion, while passively managed funds saw nearly $1.6 trillion in new money from April 2014 to April 2017. The rise of robo-advisors and passive investing in general have helped fuel interest. See a deeper comparison of index funds and mutual funds here.
Index funds are available across a variety of asset classes. Investors can buy funds that focus on companies with small, medium or large capital values, or focus on a sector like technology or energy. These indexes are perhaps less diversified than the broadest market index, but still more so than if you were to buy stock in a handful of companies within a sector.

References

"Buying the dip: Is this a good strategy when markets are falling?" by James Royal (May 26, 2022)

https://www.bankrate.com/investing/buy-the-dip-in-markets-stocks/

"What Is an Index Fund? An Easy Way to Enter the Stock Market" by Kevin Voigt (March 20, 2021)

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/what-is-an-index-fund

Get Stuck with EDSA, End Up Like Nokia

Yes, we should never forget what history teaches us. A classmate of mine, back in high school, wrote a simple and blunt essay called "History: A Teacher". I doubt he still has a soft copy, given it was already more than 20 years ago. I'd like to quote Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan wrote this in Philippine Star --something that should remain relevant: I would never undervalue the 1987 Constitution. It dismantled the legal framework of a repressive regime and established the democratic institutions we enjoy today. For this, I am grateful. The 1987 Constitution was crafted with the best of intentions. It sought to put the Filipino first in all aspects of governance and to level the playing field amongst sectors and peoples. But it is far from perfect. It failed to consider the importance of foreign capital and technologies and the stiff competition we would have to face to obtain them. In short, its economic provisions were short-sighted . So despite the Constitut...

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Bad Accounting

I would like to apologize in advance to my readers. The picture I'm presenting is in Tagalog, and not all my readers speak Tagalog. I would translate the picture's text into English for convenience. It says: "Ano ang bumubuo sa mga presyo?" means "What comprises the price?" "Gastos ng materyales" means materials expense "Gastos sa kasangkapan" means depreciation expense ""Gastos sa pasahod" means salary expense "Kapitalista" means capitalist Renta is well, rent "Kayang pababain ang presyo" means "Prices can be lowered". It says that capitalists (industrialists, landlords, bankers) and elitist governments are part in the gross profit. Get rid of excise taxes (either permanently or temporarily) for the prices of goods and services. In the times of crisis, in the burden of sacrifices, we need to be watchful for capacity. Whatever savings for times of difficulty by the workers and countrymen, the...

Past Chinese School Education in the Philippines was Based on "Sǐ Jì Yìng Bèi"

Chinoys of my age (and older) may remember these textbooks. I called them as the "symbol of trauma". It was memorizing something without understanding it . One would just memorize (without understanding it) because it was typical. Not being able to memorize what was assigned? Get a bad grade? One can expect physical punishment like hitting the hand with a ruler or chili in the mouth. Chinese language teachers are stereotypically strict . The language textbooks (above) are what were used during the 1990s to the early 2000s. As I wrote it, the Sinjiang textbooks aren't effective in teaching Mandarin , in a world where Mandarin has over a billion speakers! There's a Chinese proverb that says, "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death". That's exactly what those textbooks are. Memorize to the point of death! Okay, it may sound exaggerated. However, that's how Chinese language teachers in the Philippines were made to teach the ...

Migrante International's Really Bad Economic Literacy

March 17 (which is tomorrow) seems to be an unofficial holiday for some people, right? I'm sickened that the late Flor Contemplacion has been treated like she's some national heroine (and thankfully, tomorrow isn't a holiday) even after Singapore had proven her guilt. A movie was made by Joel Lamangan called The Flor Contemplacion Story . The call for Migrante (Migrant) International has been to remember Flor even after several years. What's not too surprising was to learn that Flor's sons were all arrested for drug-related charges. Even her eldest son died while in prison. You have Migrante International wanting to end the labor export policy. However, a post by Migrante really shows how this group fails basic economics. I will not post the whole press statement but one part that made my eyes roll. >> Further opening the country’s economy to foreign ownership and control will worsen the exploitation of our people and the environment without creating a susta...

"Filipino First Policy" Has NO PLACE in the Rising Asian 21st Century

I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First . I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy . Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value...

Has Passing Down Hatred for Singapore (Because of Flor Contemplacion) Economically Helped the Philippines?

PEH.ph It was on March 17, 1995, when Flor Contemplacion was executed in Singapore. I've noticed that I've been addressing her as the late many times, even if the late is a statement that may be ony appropriate if the person has been recently deceased within 10 years. It's about to become 30 years since Flor was hanged in Singapore. However, generational hatred would've been passed down from 1995 up to 2025. Some people are still tagging #JusticeFor Flor. These traits may be passed down from the Batang 1990s to their children in this generation. It may also be passed down from parent to child, even if the child was born in the 2000s to 2010s. Somebody born in 2000s and beyond might even say, "Papa and mama told me about Flor Contemplacion! That's why I hate Singapore!" Talk about a child born in 2004 who's probably angry with Singapore, because his parents kept telling him about how Flor was supposedly "unjustly treated" over there. Some tim...

My First Taste of Sichuan at Yang Hero IT Park

I was doing some random historical study. One of the many things I recalled from Asian history class was the Chinese Communist Party in Sichuan. It's an interesting piece of historical detail that Mao Zedong (and other Chinese communists) were avid lovers of spicy food . Yang Hero had its first branch in Gaisano Tabunok. It opened a branch in IT Park last May 25, 2023 . The menus had Chinese translations. The establishment has made me realize the importance of learning Mandarin . True, I could order their food without speaking Mandarin. However, I still feel that the increasing number of Chinese businesses left and right would mean, "You may need to learn some Mandarin now to connect with more people in the world." For a bit of background, here's what I gathered from Sun Star Cebu: Evanmarie Mendoza, social media specialist at Yang Hero, said: “The Chinese barbecue is also a must-try for foodies as it differs from the regular ones that we typically have here in the P...

Tealive's Aren Caramel (Kaong Sugar Caramel) Series

I usually tend to associate sugar with cane sugar. In this case, Tealive (read my review here ) uses a sugar known as gula aren. I did some research and found out that Gula Aren is made from the sap of the sugar palm tree. The fruit is also known as kaong in the Filipino language. Granted, the Filipino language also derives from the Malaysian and Indonesian languages--it may be derived from the Indonesian word kolang kaling . The Philippines may also be producing its own gula aren or palm sugar. Sugar palm or kaong is pretty much grown as a staple in Filipino cooking too. Here's a video from an Indonesian woman. Watching this, it's safe to assume that kaong farmers in the Philippines follow more or less the same routine. Maybe, some people may call it latik though latik is made from coconut milk and not coconut sap. Though, some Filipinos may still call palm sugar as latik. The video above also shows an Indonesian binignit with some kaong. I was shocked to learn kaong is also u...

Getting Stingy at the Cost of Fire Safety?

March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...

Started to Invest in the ATRAM Global Equity Opportunity Feeder Fund

It's time to begin a new road into investing. I went from a moderate risk taker to a moderately aggressive risk taker. Of course, I need to be careful with how much money I invest or I don't invest the money that I need. I believe that one could start by investing 15% to 20% of one's income. Basically, it's money that's not needed now. Fortune Recommends gives this ideal sweet spot: Many of the experts we spoke with suggested, as a general rule, to invest a set percentage of your after-tax income. Although that percentage can vary depending on your income, savings, and debts. “ Ideally, you’ll invest somewhere around 15%–25% of your post-tax income, ” says Mark Henry, founder and CEO at Alloy Wealth Management. “If you need to start smaller and work your way up to that goal, that’s fine. The important part is that you actually start.” Some budgeting strategies account for this, such as the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, which breaks your monthly budget into three ca...

Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

Search This Blog