Skip to main content

Would You Invest Your Money At Intrigador Financials?

CMBC International

I'm going to make an obvious fictional financial group for illustrative purposes. Let's say that one day, a new financial group opens called the Intrigador Financials. Intrigador means one who likes to look for intrigue. Back in the 2000s, I remember watching ISPUP on ABC-5 during my high school to college days. One of the parodies was called Intrigador--a parody of the Filipino documentary show Imbestigator, which means investigator. I decided to imagine this group because of how social media gossipers make poor financial advisers (read here). Even worse, I'm afraid that more Filipinos are more than willing to listen to social media gossipers instead of the legendary investor, Warren Edward Buffett (read here). Besides, the abundance of play-to-earn scam Google ads even inspired me to write this even further. I hope that Google will ban these ads for good. I decided to even install one of the games to find out for myself. The ad says, "No ads! You earn!" but the game is so plagued with ads that even the gaming is interrupted too often. It's nothing more than a scam where the developers want to suck you into making ad revenue for them. 

Let's say that one day, social media gossipers decided to finally establish their own financial group. These people are just good at looking for intriga. Intrigue can be defined as anything that arouses curiosity, or make secret plans to do something illicit to someone. I think intrigue can be especially linked with gossip. In the Philippines, the Tagalog word intrigador can often be associated with the word chismoso or gossiper. Just reading Facebook comments regarding the stock market's health and the move to open to 100% foreign direct investments (FDIs) are really either irritating or funny. So, let's say these guys decided to open a group. Maybe, they will create a fake Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and fake receipts. If they do get an SEC permit (as well as other permits)--it might be through bribery. I can't even imagine if they have the capital to start a group. I'm also reminded of my MBA days when the symposium also mentioned, "Check out for the SEC registration." I even heard that the scam game Axie Infinity isn't registered with the SEC. Either way, let's just imagine that Intrigador Financials does exist.

I could imagine the launching of Intrigador Financials. It might be something similar to how the late Gerald Cotten of the now-defunct Quadriga-CX (read here) operated his company. It's common to see intriga is very common. That's why talk shows tend to be very popular in the Philippines. Comments on Facebook sections are very toxic with their intriga. They may finally decide to take advantage of the bear market, financial illiteracy, and their own stupidity to run the company. They might have a slogan like, "Bear market is unbearable? Invest in your future with Intrigador Financials! Make your PHP 1,000.00 worth a million today!" I could imagine a huge line will finally line up to sign in to join Intrigador Financials. Maybe, Intrigador Financials will put on a very pang-masa (for the masses) image to click with people. People will be given a good seminar at the opening of Intrigador Financials. They may say, "Okay! Let's start off with PHP 1,000.00" Why I used the amount PHP 1,000.00 is because some index funds start off as small as PHP 1,000.00 so people don't have to pay a huge sum to get started. Though, it's advisable to reach at least PHP 8,000.00 minimum then add more (maybe by adding PHP 1,000.00 to PHP 3,000.00 for starters either monthy or quarterly) to get a long-term profit. 

If Intrigador Financials exists as a scam then I can expect them to receive payments through illicit means. One of them is the use of cryptocurrency which I don't trust. One reason why I want to avoid cryptocurrency like sewage water is because of the tendency to be anonymous in financial transactions. It's one thing to earn money under a registered pseudonym (which can be a trading name). It's another thing to transact money anonymously. Cryptocurrency is absolute garbage also due to how volatile it is. If you've seen Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror--cryptocurrency was widely used by sex predators in South Korea because of its difficulty to trace the transactor. I could imagine that Intrigador Financials will prefer cryptocurrency as their mode of payment. Either they believe cryptocurrency is a feasible form of digital currency or they want to avoid detection. Though, they can also go for back-alley payments instead of stuff like bank transfers where they can be detected.

Though, there's also the possibility that Intrigador Financials may legally register with the government. They will get their SEC registration, they are issuing receipts and the BIR looks at them as a legitimate taxpayers, they have their business permit, and the like. However, not all companies registered with the SEC are doing clean business. Sometimes, it could just be a legal front to hide one's activities. Just remember that the now-defunct Legacy Group of Companies had its SEC permit. Maybe, Intrigador Financials may be run by legitimate financial graduates. Maybe, its founder is a graduate of any accounting or business-related courses. Maybe, one of its trustees has a business management degree from De La Salle University (DLSU) or Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU). I think it would be something that some of its founders are licensed CPAs. Maybe, some of them would have an economics degree from the University of the Philippines (UP). Sounds good, right? Yet impressive credentials don't always translate into accountability and credibility. Sometimes, the worst crooks may have the best grades in school.

I could imagine now with Intrigador Financials having its office, its impressive settings, and one of its key people is a business management graduate from DLSU. This same person from DLSU has been to Vietnam and Singapore. Let's say another founder is a graduate of the London School of Economics. You can have impressive people running it. However, they can either be a group of swindlers, a group of educated but foolish people (such as in the story of The Scholars and the Lion), or a bad combination of both. You walk into their building and you're impressed at all the diplomas they have. I remembered being told back in my college days at the University of San Carlos (USC) that a Carolinian diploma isn't a recipe for instant success--by the professors nonetheless. You get to sit with one of their financial advisers. This financial adviser may be talking about trying to create a moneyless system which he experimented on with selling calamansi based on points. Another may be a licensed engineer who says that 60-40 restrictions are good for the country. 

Now, it's time to get a financial package from Intrigador Financials. Maybe, these are the possible funds you'll get. Just take note that I just imagined these for illustrative purposes so please don't call the cops since Intrigador Financials is just a fictional crime syndicate for illustrative purposes only:
  1. Andy Investor Fund--Are the investors' confidence down? This fund will help you survive by navigating investors that are unshaken. We will guarantee you that we will give you confidence higher than the investors in the market. You can survive the stock market crash by outperforming it in just a month or two.
  2. Axie Infinity Fund--This fund is dedicated to trying to make your money work based on the hit game. Expert players of Axie Infinity will turn your PHP 1,000.00 into money. The money will be spent to buy Axies and Smooth Love Potions (SLPs) for investment. In no time, you will make money in this bear market faster than the stock market recovers. You can forget about AXA (which is robbery in broad daylight) and buy this fund instead.
  3. Calamansi Points Fund--Do you want to survive stagflation? Invest your money in exchange for calamansi trading. Our experts will turn your PHP 1,000.00 or more into a points system that will guarantee high returns during stagflation. 
  4. Cryptocurrency Fund--Want to get rich fast? The crypto hype will be managed by our best cryptocurrency experts. We can make your money rise faster than it falls. 
  5. Gambler's Fund--This fund is managed by expert gamblers. This will make gambling better than investing. Our expert gamblers will go to the casino, bet the money, buy the guaranteed winning lottery number, and make sure you get more than you deserve.
  6. Indian Five-Six Fund--Want to earn PHP 6.00 for every PHP 5.00? Try this new package. Your money will be used to fund Indian five-six lenders. This fund is managed by the Indian five-six lenders who will make sure you get the best of your value. 
  7. Starry Stock Fund--Is the stock market in a crash? This fund only buys stocks during a bull market and sells them off when it's a bear market. You can expect your money back at a big return when the bear market strikes.
However, these are too good to be true, right (read here)? Yet, Intrigador Financials will say, "We're not scammers. Trust me, bro!" Obviously, a scammer will never admit to being a scammer. It's like how a swindler can lie about the quality of their products. They will spread gossip against economic liberalization because they want more gullible people to get scammed. They may try to hold a symposium called, "100% FDI: The Philippines' Loss of Sovereignty" while hypocritically using MACPros and the like. They may be using Zoom to do it online since the COVID-19 pandemic will limit physical presence. They will probably bully and heckle people as some of its founders have "elite degrees". It reminds me of how Philippine Senator Robin Padilla got a lot of Ad Hominem attacks from such people (read here).

If this group ever existed, I'd simply have to reject them as another scam. I could trust AXA with my money because of their long-standing record. I decided to buy ATRAM funds via GCash because the company has a long-standing record. If these guys will ever exist--I can never give my recommendations to invest. They'll probably just run away with the money. Worse case scenario is Intrigador Financials will go bankrupt due to their mishandling of other people's money. 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Understanding of How Gasoline Prices Work

International State College of the Philippines Today is Flor Contempacion Day , and rallies are expected. However, whether it's Flor's death anniversary or not, rallies are expected for the wrongest of reasons. I would like to address this photo from the International State College of the Philippines' Facebook page. The demands here are rather clunky and stupid. We have the following demands that would naturally clash with each other, such as: No to the oil deregulation law while demanding lower oil prices. This is simply ignoring the basic fundamentals of economics, namely the law of supply and demand . They say that oil companies are greedy for gain. These rallyists probably don't really understand the difference between revenues and profits . Let's understand the Oil Deregulation Law  The Oil Deregulation Law, or the Republic Act No. 8479 , passed on February 10, 1998, under the late Fidel Valdez Ramos. Here's how the liberalization works: CHAPTER II  LIBERAL...
Read more

"Will #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics Lower Philippine Gas Prices?

Inquirer Gasoline prices have increased again, haven't they?  A few days ago, I wrote  why #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba's view of gas prices is questionable . Today, I feel like writing this after several complaints on Facebook. I would like to create a follow-up post. People are complaining too much without understanding the real reason why some countries have lower prices of gasoline. Real talk. We need to talk about economic policies,  and  of course, please do a study on supply-demand analysis  on supply chain management . Let's examine the complaints made by Bulatlat Bulatlat Here's a chart from Bulatlat that compares the increase in prices of gasoline between the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia. It's always problematic when people ignore simple economics. It's funny, but Bulatlat mentions this on their website: Note also how expensive our diesel and gasoline products are compared to those of our ASEAN neighbors. The estimated common price today of diesel in...
Read more

The Good Old Days when Gasoline was Cheaper Under the Late Noynoy Aquino

Millennials' Voice I would like to clarify first and foremost that this post isn't an attempt to say that the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III's legacy was all bad. Some good things happened. However, let me be clear that it's stupid to say, " We don't need economic cha-cha because of the late Noynoy. " However, let me clear that I decided to write this because of a Facebook post called Millennials' Voice , which wrote this: Did you know that during President Noynoy Aquino's time, the price of oil in the world market was high, between $100 and $110 per barrel. But even with those high prices, gasoline and diesel at local pumps in the country were still relatively affordable.  Under President Duterte, world oil prices went up and down, from a low of $41 to a high of $101 per barrel. The big jump to $101 in 2022 happened because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.   Now, under the current president, world oil prices have gone up again to around $...
Read more

Migrante International: Still Mourning for the Late Flor Contemplacion While Sticking to Third-World Development Economics

Unsurprisingly,  The Flor Contemplacion Story was uploaded a month ago. I wrote that there's a possible political motive behind the film getting uploaded on YouTube . That's why I even wrote a review against the film after I rewatched it in HD . It's no surprise that Migrante International is inducing its own migraines. The evidence against Flor was already overwhelming, as presented by the Singaporean court . Do these people act as if there was no injustice in the Philippines? What about how the Vizconde Massacre was handled where, until now, the real perpetrators have not been found? Two years after Flor's execution, the Chiong Sisters case arrested the wrong people,  and a doubtful Supreme Court of the Philippines' decision was released. Yes, a murder happened in all three cases. Singapore convicted the real killer of the slayings of Delia Maga and Nicholas Huang. Meanwhile, the Philippines had wrongly convicted Hubert Jeffry P. Webb (whose 15 years were wasted) ...
Read more

The Tragic Windfall of the Late Flor Contemplacion's Family

PEH.ph Last year, I wrote an article talking about Flor Contemplacion crybabies spreading fake news for 30 years . I noticed that the movie could be watched for free on YouTube (which is one hour and 52 minutes long), and the one that you had to pay for via rent or personal soft copy ( which is two hours and two minutes long). I was looking into the film and realized the "for free" version lacks the exaggerated water dunking and electrocution torture scene, which I believe is available, which is a ten-minute difference. I remember seeing the old version where Flor was tortured by Singaporean police via water dunking and electrocution, to get an answer out of her. The famous line by the late Nora Aunor was, "I did not kill anybody!" It's 31 years, and I don't expect the fake news about Flor to stop just because  it's past 30. No, fake news is that hard to kill even in the digital age. It reminds me of the fate of Flor's sons , where one of them, Sandr...
Read more