Trying to Plan Out What to Do as a Bull Market Starts

I was laughing just thinking about ignorance about the bear and bull markets. Yes, we know about social media gossipers (seldom called a marites in Filipino) tend to spread gossip. I ran into several people panicking when the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) was mostly red. Others would panic but Warren Edward Buffett recommends, "Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful." That's the best market timing. Some people do cost averaging because it's practically less risky in contrast to lump sum investing. Buffett recommends that non-technical people should periodically invest in a low-cost index fund over a period of ten years.

Now, the Philippine Star has an article by Wilson Sy, where the first paragraph talks about the Philippines' entry towards the bull market:

Most stock markets have undergone a dramatic shift to start the year, transitioning from a bear market to a bull market. Peak inflation, a slower pace of interest rate hikes, a reversal in the value of the US dollar, and China’s reopening have attracted investors back to stocks. Note that 74 percent of the 50 countries that compose the MSCI All-Country Weighted Index (ACWI) are already in a bull market. A bullish stock market is defined as a market index rising at least 20 percent from its lows.
Philippine stocks have also entered a bull market, with the PSE Index climbing 25 percent from its October low and the iShares MSCI Philippines ETF (EPHE) rising 33 percent.

The article came out on January 23, 2023, and its recent lunar date is January 1, 2023, in the Lunar Chinese Calendar. I did invest some money into several UITFs such as the ATRAM Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund. I did some cost averaging and a few lump sums during the bear market. When I looked at the bear market, I decided not to listen to the mariteses (and they're probably not even financially healthy) and chose to listen to Buffett. I did buy some units from the ATRAM Consumer Trends fund and the ATRAM Technology Fund since America was also hit by the bull market. Now, it's time to hold.

Back then, I was scared of stock trading because of stock market losses. It turns out that such people were doing day trading instead of long-term investments. Some people end up buying stocks from companies with questionable records such as high debts. Meanwhile, the alternative is getting a low-cost equity fund (though some are slightly higher due to some active fees). A Philippine stock index fund would mean investing in the Top 30 best companies in the country. That means I get Jollibee, Ayala, SM, Gokongwei, and Globe in that portfolio.

Should I just sell my index fund yet? In my case, I want to do some long-term as it has helped curb my spendthrift tendencies (read the article here). That's why I continued with the AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund. It's because I want to focus on time in the stock market over timing the stock market. The only good market timing is what Buffett says, "Be greedy when others are fearful. Be fearful when others are greedy." It's like buying a lot of devalued stocks from good companies either by direct picking or focusing on an equity fund. Meanwhile, I was thinking maybe I should cost the average instead into the index fund (PHP 1,000 per month) for another 12 months while waiting for a bigger index score. Though, I could pull out some of the investments (when the NAVPU gets higher) while maintaining cost averaging to a single (or another) index fund.

Yet, it doesn't mean I can't do some "short-term" equity investing. Maybe, I could sell some funds when their NAVPU gets higher due to the stock performance. Maybe, I can profit from the bear-to-bull market (though better wait for a higher score) one way or another. But as Buffett would say, patience is key in stock market profits (read the article here).

Comments

Filipino First Policy Also Responsible That ONLY 2/10 Pinoys Have Emergency Funds

Yes, it's been a day since Typhoon Tino. It was a stormy, scary time, and I thought about how expenses were piling up after I was hit by Typhoon Odette . Thankfully, I had contingency savings at that time. However, with Uswan moving upwards and entering another area of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, I considered the issue of emergency savings. I thought about how Christmas can be the most stressful time of the year, with issues such as traffic caused by last-minute Christmas shopping . This time, I thought about some not-so-surprising statistics on Filipinos. It turns out that only 2/10 Filipinos have enough emergency savings . This should be considered disturbing, and this is another thing I failed to consider in my younger, more foolish years, according to the Philippine Star : Commissioned by insurance firm EastWest Ageas, the PURPLE Report conducted by consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ showed that most Filipinos only have P50,000 in emerg...

Confusing Foreign Direct Investment for Foreign Imperialism for the Bajillionth Time

I guess those fools of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (and many of its deluded supporters) either refuse to get it or are blatantly lying. Almost every rally held by what many believe are CPP-NPA legal fronts also confuses foreign investors for foreign invasion or even foreign imperialism . Once again, do I need to say that 100% FDI ownership is all about the shares and not land ownership ? What makes it even more hypocritical is that they are actually recording these things on imported media . They're sharing their anti-FDI rants using imported devices, imported platforms, and imported social media (read here ). When I do ask them on Facebook, they say how can they take them seriously and that they're "simply forced to participate in capitalism". Did anybody (especially those they call "evil capitalists") force them to buy the expensive Apple equipment when they could've settled for Xiaomi or Huawei? A simple research on the dictionary will tell us...

Should Noynoy Aquino be a Valid Excuse to Reject Econ Cha Cha?

Philippine Star Updated January 25, 2025 This may be a touchy post. Politics is often a source of fights during parties. That's why we're told not to talk about politics during parties. Unfortunately, some people on Facebook are now using the late Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino Jr. as an excuse not to execute even economic charter change. Never mind that blatant supporter of Atty. Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona-Robredo, Andrew James Masigan, supports economic charter change . The late Charles Edward P. Celdran was also an anti-Duterte critic. As I looked at some okay boomer posts, I'm not surprised at people who still use Noynoy as an excuse to shout with all their might, "No to economic charter change!" Somebody posted on Facebook the following. As always, I won't publicly shame anyone. If possible, I will only refer to them by codenames or use the name Anonymous. I want to remain as professional as possible. This person said that under N...

Protectionists' Scare Tactics Against Free Trade for the Philippines

Happy Halloween, I guess? I decided to write this article just today to tackle scare tactics against economic liberalization. A scare tactic is defined as a strategy intended to manipulate public opinion about a particular issue by arousing fear or alarm. Economic liberalization is defined by Investopedia as: Trade liberalization is the removal or reduction of restrictions or barriers on the free exchange of goods between nations. These barriers include tariffs, such as duties and surcharges, and nontariff barriers, such as licensing rules and quotas. Economists often view the easing or eradication of these restrictions as steps to promote free trade. This is also where we have free trade . I've read protectionist scare tactics during the times of former Philippine presidents, the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, and Rodrigo R. Duterte. I found a lot on Facebook and Twitter . It's not uncommon really that stupid people abound on social media and write the stupidest thin...

Helping Others is Good But Not to One's Own Expense

I advocate for helping others. I believe in helping others but there were times I overdid it. One time, I gave up so much that I had to be stopped. I was told, "If you gave everything now, how can you help others later?" I would donate some sums here and there, without thinking much. I'm not going to write them all. Some of them left me good while others left a bad taste (and a bad record) for me to endure. Sure, I want to help people but I tend to overlook the consequences. Some of the bad habits I had in the name of helping others are like: Being too generous with buying with credit. Eventually, I lost a lot of money which was never recovered . Some seasoned entrepreneurs may admit their own falls including the credit trap pitfall. Being too willing to give a discount without thinking about how it'd affect profits. Sure, a cheap price can draw people near. However, there are times when the prices of goods and services need to be raised to keep a business running. I ...

Schools Need to Learn to Stop Giving Too Much Homework

I think one of the things I want to write about education right now is the problem of too much homework . It almost didn't matter which school you went to in the Philippines or in some area--there's hardly a policy that discourages the regulation of homework. I'm not saying that homework should be abolished altogether compared to class ranking. I still think that regulated homework is the key. The benefits of homework are told by the Global Indian International School from Singapore: What is the Purpose of Homework? Homework is an essential part of every student's education. The purpose of homework for students is to practice what they have learned in class . It also gives students an opportunity to practice time management skills . Homework can also help build character by teaching children how to cope with frustration and how to manage their stress levels when they encounter difficulties or setbacks . Homework is a part of the school day, but it's also a huge p...

Learning About Reversible Chinese Words

I wanted to write more about Chinese education. I did write about the constraints that hit Chinese education . I had problems with how too much memorization became the focus. With Chinese, there's also the world of reversible words which change in meaning . In English, we can compare that to the anagram where switching letters change the meaning . For example, evil and vile may be synonymous but live and evil aren't. In Chinese, we can have two characters getting swapped which may either change the meaning entirely or change to a related meaning. Remember that they may be related but they don't have the same meaning. I could remember how the Hokkien calls visitors lang ke and while we called the customer ke lang. Both are people but both have a different purpose. I got into the LTL Mandarin School website and found reversible Chinese words. I won't tackle it all here because 164 words would mean I'll have to write an entire lecture. I think one of the biggest probl...

Why the DSWD Still Needs PRIVATE Sectors in Disaster Relief Operations

DSWD Field Office 7 - Central Visayas It's disheartening to know that after the Bogo earthquake in Cebu last September 30, 2025. Today, an earthquake Davao Oriental this day on October 10, 2025. It's sad to think that today is October 10, which is the Double 10 celebration for Taiwan . Right now, it's effortless for fools on Facebook (which is ironic) giving anti-capitalist, anti-business rants, never mind that even Vietnam is no longer solely dependent on State-Owned Enterprises! Instead, it made me think of the COVID-19 incident all over again, such as how Foodpanda and Grab, both foreign delivery services , have been helpful to Filipino businesses . Some idiots said on Facebook (and as always, I will not mention their names, they're public figures ) that it is the workers who did the work, not the owners, and that the government should provide everything. One crazy comment I got from someone on Facebook was, "Why should there be private enterprises? The DSWD is ...

Profood International Corporation's Calamansi Ginger Grean Tea Concentrate

I'm someone who always buys local and imported food products. However, I tend to buy local where I go because eating local is usually more beneficial. I was buying some stuff last Sunday. I found this product which I haven't heard of yet. It's called Calamansi Ginger Green Tea. If South Koreans have their Honey Citron, then maybe we can say Filipinos have Calamansi Ginger Green Tea concentrate, which also contains honey. I gave it a shot, and it gives some relief for the throat. I drank Ginga Ginger Brew after I caught Omicron. That was the time when COVID-19 would eventually "get us all". I was looking for Ginga ginger powder but I wasn't able to find it. Fortunately, this food product ws available and it's helping me. I tend to get throat problems whenever the weather changes too much! I would drink it either lukewarm or cold, due to the weather conditions. The combination of ginger and calamansi helped me feel better. I would like to recommend this foo...

GrabFood vs. FoodPanda--How Foreign Delivery Services Help Grow Filipino Businesses

Moneymax I could remember the pandemic when ordering from GrabFood and Foodpanda became the thing. The COVID-19 pandemic would've totally stifled the restaurant and food businesses, especially before the vaccinations. Right now, I've had my three Pfizer shots in total. As restaurants began to re-open, dine-in was still strictly not allowed until a certain percentage of Cebu City was vaccinated. I began to order some food whenever I need to (or want to) even with such limited choices. This had me thinking about how imported services can help local businesses. Whether those "nationalists" want to admit it or not--neither GrabFood nor Foodpanda are founded by Filipinos. Instead, GrabFood is founded in Singapore and Foodpanda is founded in Berlin, Germany. If it wasn't for the fall of the Berlin Wall--there would be no Foopanda. Back then, I remembered dining in my favorite local restaurants. However, the delivery service came and there were times I felt too lazy to ...

Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Search This Blog