Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

One of the biggest misconceptions that I kept hearing is "Investment is only for the rich." It's a very common thing when I told some of my fellow Filipinos to learn to invest their money. Why is investment often thought of as "just for the rich"?  Here are some reasons I feel are  misconceptions that many Filipinos have   concerning investments: Investment is often thought of as investing in huge amounts of money. This has been true whether the investments would be bonds, stocks, and/or insurance.  Investment is often thought of as building a million-dollar business.  It's very easy to hear the statement, "Invest? I don't have a million pesos!" This brings up the irony that I've observed about turning down investment in favor of gambling (read here ). I remembered laughing while writing that article (all the while I was having my house repaired). Are they waiting until they win a million PHP in the lottery, jueteng, mahjong, etc. before th

I think one of the most misunderstood rules is the PHP 8,000.00 rule. One reason why I decided to reach at least PHP 8,000.00 for my three GInvest funds (ATRAM Global Consumer Trends Feeder Fund, ATRAM Global Technology Feeder Fund, and the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund) is because of that rule. Though, some people tend to misinterpret it that they shouldn't enter the stock market (in any way either through DIY trading or buying an index fund) until they have PHP 8,000.00. Personally, I took advantage of GInvest's minimum start-up for the local fund (start with PHP 50.00 but it's not going to grow big with just that) and the feeder funds with PHP 1,000.00 each. What I did (instead) was to slowly invest money until the minimum was met.  Why do I feel waiting until you have PHP 8,000.00 before you invest in a bad rule? The fees are there, yes, but you may not be able to take advantage of the low dips . The market is rather unpredictable with the supply and demand. Stocks

The Dollar Stretcher I admit I used to overspend as a teenager. Eventually, I started helping out in our family business, made some bad decisions typical of young people, and I admit I've got the tendency to overspend . I started to invest in time deposits and invested in treasury bond (which is loans for government and retail companies), and I was initially discouraged from stocks because of the volatility. My first bond was sold and I decided to reinvest the money. Right now, I wonder what I'd do with the money when it matures plus I still have a long-term negotiable certificate of deposit (LTNCD) due two years from now. I thought about the bear market and realized Warren Buffett  would advise buying the dip with an index fund. Before that, I decided to get into AXA's Chinese Tycoon Fund which invests in blue-chip companies by Filipino-Chinese businessmen (read here ). I wanted to increase my coverage but found out my short attention span can be a real killer. Before the

If there was one thing the COVID-19 pandemic did--I was practically forced to learn how to invest beyond showing up in person. I still prefer showing up in person to invest or to process transactions for more transparency. Given the conditions, it would be sometimes better to do some things online . I decided to get GCash (to pay restaurants that have deliveries but not through Grab and Foodpanda) and found GInvest. Previous features made it hard to count the number of units. I placed a few pesos to test my skill. I had to watch videos on how to invest effectively. Granted, it's my first time in so long to invest excess savings--I had made mistakes. Now, I decided to start buying a little more index funds and feeder funds. I decided to diversify my basket with two equity feeder funds from GInvest namely the Global Consumer Trends Feeder Fund and Global Technology Feeder Fund.  The  Peso Lab - Money Guide for Filipinos  explains the feeder fund (which is also a Unit Investment Trust

There was a time when I had some excess savings. I was worried my money was getting idle . Sure, savings is king but letting it sit idle in a savings account can be a bad thing. Sure, I'm having my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund for some time and I haven't withdrawn a single cent from it. I decided to use GCash and found out how it's actually convenient. With GCash, there's also GInvest. One of GInvest's greatest products for me to indirectly get into stocks would be the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund. I placed a few pesos at first because of the low rate. However, I decided to aim to invest at least PHP 1,000.00 per month (or more during a dip but not too much either) or reach a certain target before the year ends. Of course, I've got to curb my impulsive behavior by choosing not to invest too much and not have savings. The ATRAM Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund combines both active and passive investment. Some people prefer purely active or purely passive. It&

I guess it's more than time to tackle on Axie Infinity again. Last time, I wrote a post where I talked about how Axie Infinity promised riches but brought disaster . I even laughed writing about how someone may be dismissing AXA but playing Axie Infinity  thinking that it's an "investment". Instead, it might be wise to get an Index Fund that will start with a minimum of PHP 1,000.00 or higher. GInvest (which has both ATRAM and Seedbox involved) allows some people to start investing for as low as PHP 50.00 though it might be wise to spare PHP 1,000.00 instead. There are two index funds namely the Philippine Stock Index Fund and the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund--both focused on the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEI).  I still remember I wrote about  the irony of gambling but  not  investing . I guess people will find buying index funds or indexes boring. What I noticed after I bought my indexes (and again, I wouldn't tell how much I've placed and neith

I remembered wanting to invest in stocks but didn't have the money or expertise. Sometimes, it's advised to stay safe and get involved in stocks indirectly . There's the mutual fund and there's the Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF). I remembered when I wrote about how it might be wiser to save up first before investing in GInvest . Another one that I wrote focused on investing money in UITFs while studying stock trading . GInvest funds are UITFs since they are measured by Net Asset Value Per Unit (NAVPU). There are two that involve government securities. Others involve stuck (such as the Philippine Stock Index Fund and the Philippine Equity Smart Index Fund). Every time I purchase means I get a receipt as proof of purchase. There are also feeder funds which Banco De Oro (BDO) describes as a UITF that invests 90% of the money in a collective scheme. These would involve the use of foreign stocks such as Apple or Samsung--depending on which feeder fund one's investing

It's said anybody can do stock trading. However, the idea can be very suicidal if one decide to rush into stocks without studying how to effectively do it. Some people can even recklessly borrow tons of money and end up harming themselves when the trade was at a loss . They might've borrowed the money from a loan shark for all we know. I'm trying to study the stock trade though there's a good option. AXA Chinese Tycoon is a managed fund. Now, there's also Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) which could be a good alternative while one is learning to do stocks. Stocks can be learned but remember-- no investment is ever a walk in the park. Stocks need some time to learn.  I haven't started direct stock trading it. Meanwhile, I'm aware that funds like the AXA Chinese Tycoon or the UITFs are powered by stocks . The pandemic has prevented me from doing direct translations. Instead, I decided to use GCash and ATRAM (linked to GCash ) to start another trading portfoli

Business World Online I was looking at the election results where Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio are in the lead. Right now, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) is open but mostly in red . It's very common to see panic such as when the war in Ukraine started (and no, Vladimir Putin isn't investing in Ukraine, he's invading it). It's very easy to get carried by hearsay. However, we need to listen to the experts about stock market crashes and how to maneuver the recent crisis. We need to talk with the experts rather than the gossipmongers on social media such as Twitter and Facebook to get answers. Learning from Warren Buffett over social media naysayers One such experienced businessman is Warren Buffett. Buffett himself is a stock market legend. If I keep listening to the naysayers then I get nothing profitable. The Buffalo News reveals Buffett's three reasons not to worry about something like the current PSEi being mostly in red: 1. Investing

I have decided to try GInvest and I ended up selling a few investments off with little gain or at a minimal loss . The offer of starting to invest for as low as PHP 50.00 or PHP 1,000.00 is rather new. Most of the time, investment is focused on huge amounts. This is pretty much petty cash investments for beginners . The big hang is GInvest doesn't offer that your PHP 50.00 will become high. Instead, the reality is the market value of the money is based on the  number of units x Net Asset Value Per Unit (NAVPU) . So, buying only PHP 50.00 may be barely a unit meaning it's not going to yield much. Only a scam will offer a PHP 50.00 investment that will multiply itself rather fast. What I did (at first) was to put some money here and there to give them a shot. What I figured out it's not a feasible thing to do. It might be better to slowly plan even before making one single GInvest purchase. It would be good to look at some factors like "Is the NAVPU low today?" A lo

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 "m