A Mutual Fund is a type of investment where a pool of cash is collected from many investors and is invested in different tradable assets such as a pool of stocks, bonds, money market, and the like. 

Mutual Funds are one of the most diversified forms of investment, as funds have no limits when it comes to allocating their assets. More than local companies or Blue Chips stocks we know funds invest in, funds can go as broad as to investing in government securities, bonds, fixed income instruments, money market instruments, and even on global companies across the world.

In the Philippine setting, mutual funds can be invested in the top 30 companies that are listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. These companies are Jollibee, Meralco, Ayala Land, Inc. and more. Other mutual funds also offer different investment opportunities in bonds, money market, and real estate to maximize returns and minimize drawdowns.

Ultimately, the performance of the said fund will heavily depend on the performance of the overall markets and the fund manager itself.

How does it work – What are the benefits of investing in a mutual fund?

First of all, investors always have the option to invest in securities by themselves. What sets Mutual Funds more preferable among other investors are the convenience, diversification, and affordability especially if you don’t plan on actively trading your investment funds. 

Mutual funds are professionally managed by professional fund managers working to capitalize on market opportunities and generate income for investors. In layman’s terms, you allow professionals to conduct the necessary in-depth research and fund allocation for your investments. 

Pros 

• Affordable – You can invest in Mutual Funds for as low as 50 pesos using the Investa app https://www.investa.ph/
• Liquidity – Easy and quick withdrawal of funds
• Risk – Although you should never expect a 100% guaranteed return, investing in mutual funds is less risky than investing in individual stocks due to the diversification of your portfolio.
• Professionally Managed – Professionals will manage your portfolio to maximize returns.
• Less Time Consumption – Fund managers will perform all the necessary research provided for you.

Cons

• Fees – Take account the commission fees, interest, and related fees.
• Holding Period – Holding your funds at a longer period of time will maximize revenue and minimize costs of withdrawal. Withdrawing funds too early may incur larger fees. 

Factors to Consider in Choosing the Right Mutual Fund for You

One of the most common investing principles is to understand your Risk Profile to recognize which fund is right for you.

Note: Rate of Return is proportional to Level of Risk 

Conservative Investment (Low risk – Low Return)

A conservative approach to your mutual fund indicates that the said investment will be focusing more on fixed income securities. These types of securities offer little to no risk, but in return it offers a smaller window of returns in comparison to the Moderate and the Aggressive fund.

Moderate Risk Investment (Medium Risk – Medium Return)

A moderate approach to your mutual funds indicates that this said investment will be balanced. It is spread across fixed income securities to high risk assets. The profit factor and the risks involved are in the middle of being steady and erratic, as the name of the fund suggests.

Aggressive Investment (High Risk – High Return)

An Aggressive approach to your mutual fund indicates that the said investment will be focusing more on high risk assets. These types of securities offer greater profit potential at the expense of greater risks involved in comparison to the Conservative and the Moderate fund.

Fund Manager 

It is necessary to conduct research on the fund manager to fully recognize their investment strategies and outlook on the market. This will help you select a fund that invests in securities that you also believe will bring you attractive returns in the long-term.

For as low as 50 pesos, you can now invest in mutual funds using the new Investa app! Register for free at https://www.investa.ph/

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A round of applause to SteadyTito for being this week’s Featured Trader! 

Trader Steady Tito has been a member in the Investagrams community since 2018, making this his 5th year in the platform. On his entire stay, he remained a valuable community member as he constantly shares his analysis and insights on stocks that are showing strength.

Based on observation, Steady Tito is fond of trading on strength when prices are attempting to break resistance. He supports price action using the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving average convergence divergence (MACD), 2 of the most commonly used and effective indicators, to validate strong breakouts.  

Steady Tito spotted Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (PSE:LC) , a company that specializes in Gold mining, when it was attempting to break its resistance at 0.1450 just a few days before it made its way to 0.1560 level, an instant +7.50% gain. It’s MACD was trading slightly above 0 levels showing signs of strength, followed by its RSI still approaching overbought areas. For this kind of setup, it is wise to look for proper entries whether you wait for a bounce off the resistance to buy on support or buy on a strong breakout with volume.

Remember to never give in to FOMO! 

Buying due to FOMO is one of the worst methods done by an emotional trader who does not have a solid plan, ending with them slicing their portfolio’s hard earned profits. If you’re late to PSE:LC, best to wait for a retest back to its support or a short pullback to minimize your risk and also widen your profit window on this trade. Buying at its peak will not give you an attractive risk-reward ratio as your cutloss level is far below your average price. Worst case scenario, you will avoid cutting your losses and hope that the stock will recover.

The best traders don’t just make good profits, but also have the best risk management setups.

To learn more about Risk Management, visit here 

FUNDAMENTAL VIEWPOINT

Aside from looking at its technical view point, one of the main catalysts of the stock’s strong uptrend is due to the weak U.S dollar and strong inflation happening globally especially in the U.S which often drives metal prices like gold higher. As you know, U.S inflation is at its hottest it has been since 1982 reaching 7.5% over labor shortages and tight oil supply.

The operation of PSE:LC engages in the exploration and mining of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and all kinds of ores, metals, minerals, oil, gas, and coal and their related by-products (PSE EDGE). This uptrend may stay intact for a while, but always remember to have your setups ready and manage risk.

Once again, KUDOS to SteadyTito for being this week’s Featured Trader! We hope you’ll enjoy your 14-day InvestaPrime Access and continue to be an inspiration to the trading community.

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It has been awhile since we’ve featured our fellow traders in the community. To start off the year, let’s congratulate PreserveYourCapital a.k.a @pc for being this week’s Featured Trader! 

Trader PreserveYourCapital is one of our most active traders on the platform as he consistently shares his personal insights and continues to add value to the Investa community. 

What makes trader PreserveYourCapital standout is the way he includes his own checklist PLUS a catalyst to back his analyses of his trades, which makes beginners understand them easily!

Trader Preserve Your Capital is fond of using the moving averages 20,50,100,200, and simple  which are commonly used and effective indicators to determine the short-term and long-term trend of the stock. Trader PreserveYourCapital posted his analysis on PSE:AGI back on January 24. Based on the chart, it is clear that it respects MA 50 and is trading above MA 20 indicating a strong short-term and long-term uptrend. I recommend buying on support areas set by trader PreserveYourCapital or when prices touch MA 50 level for better prices.

Kudos to PreserveYourCapital for spotting a good trade on PSE:AGI! Just like he said, the stock made a minor correction to close the gap at the P12.25 – P12.35 levels before a strong bounce to the P12.7 area. PSE:AGI began its uptrend in the 4th quarter of 2021 after it broke the first resistance set at P11.35. 

Fundamental Analysis [PSE:AGI]

After a long consolidation phase that happened during the first 3 quarters of the year, PSE:AGI finally started its rally by the end of November. We interpret that this movement was caused by the further easing of restrictions in the country which boosted productivity in the different sectors. More to this, PSE:AGI has consistently bought back shares which is a good fundamental catalyst for investors in the stock market. Companies usually do share buy-backs for 3 reasons:

• To preserve stock prices
• The Stock Price is Undervalued
• To look financially attractive to their investors 

Aside from moving averages, PreserveYourCapital also loves to use the Ichimoku Cloud when making trading decisions. According to his analysis on PSE:MONDE back on January 25, the stock has been retesting the cloud for the past few trading days and he is currently waiting for a buy signal once price breaks the cloud. Take note that the stock is in an uptrend if price is trading above the cloud, vice versa. As always, he adds the catalyst which is the possible inclusion of PSE:MONDE to the index.

After making a strong +65% rally from its listing date, PSE:MONDE has struggled to break past the P20.00 – P21.00 area causing it to tumble -25% from it’s all time high. PSE:MONDE tried to recover which only validated a Head & Shoulder pattern when seen at a longer time-frame, a bearish technical indicator causing it to tumble by -20%. We recommend buying this stock once indicators start to show bullish signals on this stock. In the case of PreserveYourCapital, he considers this stock to be bullish once prices break above the Ichimoku cloud. 

PreserveYourCapital has also been an interactive member in the community by creating engagement posts that are relatable and entertaining to other traders. One of his latest posts garnered 9 reacts and 22 comments, showing how other community members are enjoying the topic as it acknowledges the bashers of PSE:SPNEC who only wish to buy-back the stock at a lower price. You have to do what you got to do, right bashers?

Job well done to those traders who learned and gained profits by following the insights provided by PreserveYourCapital, and congratulations for being this week’s Featured Trader! Let’s continue to be an inspiration to the trading community.

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“DON’T LET IT BURN YOU TWICE” is a lesson every trader should keep in mind all throughout their trading journey. It’s in our nature to emotionally react to situations when all else fails against us in the stock market. But, what does it mean to “Not let it burn you twice?”

When we encounter a fail trade, we become overwhelmed with emotions that may lead us to:

Not follow the original trading plan

Your plan has already failed but you’re still hoping that prices will go back up and favor your way. Always remember, HOPING is not a trading strategy. This will only further wipe out your hard-earned profits or worse, your capital.’

Force more trades to try and make up for the loss trade

You can’t accept the fact that you lost your previous trade. To make up for it, you’ll force an impulse trade to try and generate profits without a solid plan of action. If luck is on your side, you’ll win the trade. But reality is, you’re placing even more risk to your portfolio.

Be demotivated and give up

The worst possible scenario is for you to become demotivated and give up after a failed trade. Trading is a difficult process and even the most successful traders incur losing trades. Remember that the biggest difference between winners and losers is that the former don’t quit and they continue to fail until they succeed.

How do we keep ourselves motivated and stand back up after experiencing failure? Here are a few tips that could help you stay on your goal:

Focus on yourself

Traders tend to compare themselves with other professional traders who earn large sums of profits. Remember that most successful traders have their own stories where they also incur large losses but only choose to share their profits to the community. So instead of wasting time on others, focus on yourself and be patient in your success.

Take a break from trading

It’s not wrong to take your mind off trading for a couple of days. Give yourself a short vacation to relieve yourself from all the stress and frustration your body has taken from trading. Remember that overtrading can cost you your portfolio as you start to make less sound decisions on your trades. Once you come back from your break, you’ll be trading at your best self physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Remind yourself of successful trades

We tend to only focus on the bad trades because those are the ones that hurt us the most. This puts us in a negative mentality that our entire trading journey is completely downhill. But, if we shift our mindset and constantly remind ourselves of the excitement and joy we felt as we made those profitable trades, it motivates and encourages us to make more of those in the future.

Go back to your goals

One of the most effective ways to get yourself back on your feet in times of failure is to go back to your goals and ask yourself why you started trading in the first place. Traders tend to fall off course because they forget the goals they set when they first started trading. Worst case scenario? They stop trying and leave the goals they were very excited to accomplish.

Don’t let a small setback stop you from moving towards your goals. Remember that a goal is like a target, it’s not always easy to hit. But after a couple more shots, you’ll eventually hit a bullseye.

Learn and unlearn

It may sound counterproductive to learn and unlearn. But the truth is, it is much more effective to unlearn old knowledge and replace it with new ones. Think of it as a hard drive with only a limited capacity. The only way to inject new files is to delete old and useless ones.

Start unlearning the old and bad knowledge and replace them with better ones to improve ourselves as traders. Ask yourself “What are my common mistakes and what strategies do not work for me?” Once you’ve gotten your answers, find alternatives to your strategies and implement them to improve your trading set up. If you’re interested to learn more about trading for free, check out Investa University!

Understand what motivates you

There is no “One Size Fits All” tip for motivation. Everyone has their own personal techniques on how they motivate themselves when they fall hard. Remember that the person who knows you best is yourself and understanding what motivates you will keep you consistent and on your feet throughout the journey.

We hope that these tips will help you in your future trades!

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Have a setup that suits your personality

It’s like how the saying goes “Your business is a reflection of you.” Similar to trading, your setup should be a direct representation of your personality. If your setup does not suit you, then you are making yourself more vulnerable to headaches, stress, and even losses in your trades. Choosing a setup that suits you will give you better chances of gaining profits.

Before you start trading, ask yourself these questions:

1. What are my strengths?

   A trader must know his/her own strengths to use them to their advantage. Pro-traders often show patience, firmness in following their plan, and control over their emotions when trading.

2. What are my weaknesses?

   A trader must recognize his/her own weaknesses to avoid them when executing their trades. Common weaknesses shown by traders are being greedy, being overwhelmed by emotions, and not following their trading plan.

3. How much time can I commit per day to trading?

It is important to know how much time you can commit per day to trading. This will help you figure out what kind of trader you want to be whether you are a scalper, a day trader, a swing trader, or a position trader. These will be further explained below. 

There are a dozen more questions you should ask yourself before you start trading. But, these questions should help you understand yourself more and establish grounds on how you are going to create your own trading setup.

Scalper 

This type of trader makes quick profits out of small price changes on their trades and they focus on making high volumes of small profits to accumulate large amounts of gains for the day. They also require a relatively strict exit strategy compared to other trading setups as one major loss may erase all their small profits.

Day trader

Like scalpers, day traders buy and sell within 1 day but trade on a longer time frame. Day traders find the best opportunity to trade for the day and hold for a longer period of time to gain large profits.

Swing Trader

Swing traders hold stocks or other tradable assets in the short-medium term (usually a couple of days to weeks). This type of trading considers the trend of a stock to tell which direction it is heading and execute an order. Unlike day trading, swing trading requires less time in monitoring your trades as there are no plans to make quick gains. 

Position Trader

Position traders buy and hold assets for the long term expecting an appreciation in value over the months or years to come. This type of trading removes the worry of short-term price fluctuations as this focuses more on the future value and outlook of the stock. Position traders consider the general market outlook, market trend, historical price data, and other fundamental factors that could affect their decision in purchasing the stock.

Do a Backtest

“History repeats itself” is a famous quote among the trading community when planning their trades. Backtesting is a strategy on how traders utilize historical price data and trends to help them execute and maximize their gains when trading. If the backtesting is proven valid on a market or stock, traders will grab this opportunity and use the historical data to their advantage.

The theoretical concept of backtesting is that the strategy that worked well in the past also works in the future, vise versa. Don’t forget to take into consideration the market condition when utilizing a backtesting strategy. Strategies used in the past during a bull market may not necessarily mean it would work on a bear market.

Try Virtual Trading

Practice really makes perfect. This is one of the best pieces of advice for newbie traders entering the market without hurting your capital while executing your trades. This way, you will know which trading strategies and setups you are most comfortable with and confident to execute when trading in the future. 

Use Investagrams virtual trading platform to practice spotting trends & patterns, setting profit targets, placing stop losses, and controlling your emotions to prepare yourself when you trade with real capital. Sign-up is completely free!

Journal your trades

It is highly encouraged for every trader to journal all their trades, especially for newbies.

Journaling will help you learn and assess those trades that went well and those that went wrong, learning from them afterward. If you don’t start journaling your trades, the tendency is you will be committing the same mistakes again in the future, resulting in losses.

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As we speak, Filipinos in areas from Visayas and Mindanao are struggling to find clean drinking water, food, and even shelter as their homes were destroyed by the recent typhoon.

Not only should we help the victims of the calamity, but we should also prepare ourselves for the next. For this InvestaDaily, we’ll point out the essentials that you need to prepare for the next natural calamity.

Flashlight

Have an emergency flashlight ready as electric poles and wirings are likely to get damaged causing a blackout. This also helps you avoid dangerous obstacles around the environment and prevent minor to critical injuries.

Medicine

Preparing medicine will save you the hassle of running to the pharmacy before, during, and after the calamity. Remember that transportation will be difficult and pharmacies will most likely run out of supply.

Water

Have gallons of water ready in your household. Post-typhoon Odette, home water pumps stopped working due to the power outage causing a shortage of water supply in the region. People struggled to find clean water as retail stores have either run out of stock or gouged their prices.

Ready-to-eat food

Prepare ready-to-eat foods that won’t easily spoil and can be easily stored. If a power outage were to happen, foods that require cold storage in the fridge will spoil. Having pre-cooked food such as canned goods is important to have in every household.

Cash

Always have cash on hand with you at all times as POS systems will be offline in case of a power outage. Finding ATMs is a common solution, but take note that these will either be out of cash or crowded as people will also be withdrawing cash.

Clothes

Always prepare an extra set of clothes beforehand to safeguard your physical body from the environment. If a power outage happens, it will be difficult to wash dirty and used clothes which is why it is important to pack in advance.

Mobile phone

Have your mobile phones ready in case you need to contact your family members or your emergency contacts in times of calamity. On top of that, always have a fully-charged power bank with you especially when there is no electricity.

Emergency contact list

Have an emergency contact list on your phone in case you need help. Your emergency contact list could be your family members, your office, and your close peers who are willing to help you in case of emergencies. Also, have a contact list of rescue departments in your area because you will never know when you need them.

Battery-powered radio

Owning a battery-powered radio keeps you up-to-date with the latest news during and after the calamity. This will help you assess the situation in the area and plan your next moves.

Extra batteries

Always carry extra batteries with you for your electronics (e.g. radio, flashlight, etc.). Electricity may not be available for a long period of time which is why it is important to always have a backup supply.

Evacuation centers

It is important to know the location of all evacuation centers in your area. If your home is no longer safe and you need assistance, head to the closest evacuation center.

First-aid kit

Always have a first-aid kit on hand to treat injuries and infections as it may take time for the ambulance and rescue team to reach your location.

Plan escape routes

Plan escape routes in your area, even at home, in case major roads are heavily trafficked or damaged. Knowing alternate routes will help you get to your destination quicker, especially in times of an emergency.

Don’t wait for the next storm to happen

You should start preparing the necessary kits beforehand since you will never know when the next storm might come. It may happen sooner than you think and it might be too late for you to prepare. Having an emergency fund/rainy day fund (at least 3-6 months-worth of your expenses) will also come in handy when dealing with unexpected circumstances or for you to have cash ready during emergencies. If you want to passively grow your emergency fund, you can invest through the Investa App.

Save this article and send it to your family and friends reminding them to always stay prepared!

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