Tag: investment

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Which Equity Mutual Fund Is For You?

First things first, what is an equity mutual fund? An equity fund, also known as stock funds, is a mutual fund that invests principally in stocks. The fund manager tries to offer great returns by spreading the investment across companies from different sectors or with varying market capitalizations.

Typically, equity funds are known to generate better returns than term deposits or debt-based funds but there is still a considerable amount of risk associated with these funds since their performance depends on various market conditions. Without further ado, here are the different types of equity mutual funds.

INVESTMENT STRATEGY-BASED CATEGORIZATION

Sectoral Fund

Also known as a theme fund, sector funds follow a specific investment theme like an international theme or local theme. Some themes might also invest in a particular sector of the market like technology or pharmaceutical. It is important to note that these funds carry a higher risk since they focus on a specific sector or theme.

Contra Equity Fund

As the name suggests, contra equity funds follow a contrarian or nonconformist strategy of investing. These equity funds analyze the market to find under-performing stocks and purchase them at low prices. This would be under the assumption that these stocks will recover in the long term.

MARKET CAPITALIZATION-BASED CATEGORIZATION

Large-Cap Fund

Typically, the large-cap fund invests a minimum of 80% of the investment in equity shares of the top 100 countries according to market capitalization. This strategy is considered to be more stable than the mid-cap and small-cap focused funds.

Mid-Cap Fund

Mid-cap funds invest around 65% of the total assets in equity shares of the top 101 to 250 companies according to market capitalization. These schemes tend to offer better returns than the large-cap strategy but tend to also become more volatile.

Small-Cap Fund

Considered the most volatile out of the three, the small-cap fund invests about 65% of the asset in equity shares of companies ranking 251 and below according to market capitalization. If done right, small-cap funds tend to offer the most returns compared to large-cap and mid-cap funds.

Multi-Cap Fund

Multi-cap funds usually invest in a mix of equity shares from large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap companies in varying proportions. With this type of fund, the fund manager keeps rebalancing the portfolio to match the market and economic conditions as well as the investment objective of the scheme.

INVESTMENT STYLE-BASED CATEGORIZATION

Active Fund

These schemes are actively managed by the fund managers who handpick the stocks that they want to invest in.

Passive Fund

Passive funds usually track a market index which determines the list of stock that the scheme will invest in. Unlike active funds, this strategy does not require the fund manager to have an active role in the selection of the stocks.

Now, the choice is yours, Ka-Investa. Do you want to get into Mutual Funds? If yes, which one would you like to explore on?

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Is Your Insurance Policy Right For You? (Part 2)

Although we can’t predict the future, we can protect ourselves if something unexpected were to happen. Insurance is meant to safeguard us from fortuitous events financially. Here are some insurance options you’ll want to look into and purchase.

Life Insurance

This is considered the most common type of insurance where you pay premiums to receive protection in case you pass away. The greatest benefits of life insurance include the ability to cover your funeral expenses as well as provide for your beneficiaries. Within life insurance, there are multiple types of policies to choose from. The two basic types are traditional whole life and term life. Traditional whole life is used as an income tool and an insurance investment. Term life insurance, on the other hand, is a policy that covers you for a set amount of time.

Health Insurance

Health insurance typically pays or helps pay for medical, surgical, and sometimes even dental expenses. This can cover you and your immediate family to be able to pay less on check-ups or in case someone gets hospitalized. The Philippine government actually has universal health coverage, PhilHealth, that Filipinos are entitled to.

Educational Insurance

As the name suggests, this type of insurance can cover education fees. With the inflation of tuition fees, educational insurance lets you save money in advance. The money you put in will be invested by your policyholder and can be cashed out for tuition payments, school allowances, and other educational expenses. Educational insurance can be started as early as possible to get the best prices.

Vehicle Insurance

When buying a car, motorcycle, or any type of vehicle, it’s important to also buy insurance that will cover that investment. This insurance can offer reassurance in case you get into an accident, your vehicle gets stolen, vandalized, or damaged by a natural disaster. There are two types of vehicle insurance you’ll need to consider. Compulsory Third Party Liability (CTPL), the most basic and least expensive car insurance in the Philippines, is not only government-mandated but also covers the interest of the third party in the event of an accident. Comprehensive Car Insurance (Compre) is not mandatory but is highly recommended because this protects you, your cars, and your passengers.

Property Insurance

Property insurance is a broad term for a series of policies needed for property protection coverage. Within property insurance includes policies like renters insurance, flood insurance, and earthquake insurance. This is needed for cases such as fire, floods, earthquakes, and theft. This type of insurance gives you coverage of your house and the furniture inside.

Travel Insurance

Got the travel bug lately? Well, before you book the ticket or board the plane, don’t forget that there’s insurance for that too. Travel insurance gives you traveling protection locally and abroad. In case you lose your luggage, have a delay in your flight, and run into accidents while traveling, this insurance will come in handy.

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Busy for Trading? This is the key!

“Saka na ko mag-iinvest, kapag ‘di na busy.”

Isa sa pinakamalaking dahilan kung bakit ang komplikado at overwhelming ng pag-iinvest ay dahil napakarami nating options. From stocks and bonds, to real estate or money markets — madalas natin marinig ang mga ito; pero mahirap pumili kung ano ang makakapag-guarantee sa atin ng good returns. Plus, madami sa atin ay busy sa work, kaya hindi tayo makahanap ng oras para mag-aral ng mga ito.

Pero ka-Investa, what if we tell you: pwede ka na mag-invest nang hindi naglalaan ng napakalaking oras at effort through mutual funds? 

“Pero paano ba ako magsisimula?” “Mutual funds? Ano ba yan?”

Essentially, mag-aambag ka lang, kikita ka na. No joke.

Nagwowork kasi ang mutual funds sa pamamagitan ng pagtitipon tipon ng pera ng mga investors. Ang funds na natipon ay siyang i-iinvest sa mga assets tulad ng stocks, bonds, money market, at iba pa. 

“Ha, so paano ko mahahawakan ang pera ko?”

Good question, ka-Investa! Ito actually ang rason bakit swak ang mutual funds sa mga busy na tao — ang pera sa mutual funds ay hinahandle ng professional fund managers. Sila ang bahala sa pagpapalago, at ginagawa nila ito sa pamamagitan ng pag-iinvest sa iba’t ibang nasabing securities. 

Ngayon, ang tanong mo siguro: “paano ba ako kikita?”

Kapag tumataas ang value ng mga securities ng mutual funds, dito ka ngayon kikita. Sa madaling salita, kapag may mutual fund account ka, nagiging part-owner ka ng mga investment securities ng mutual funds. Kaya’t kapag kumita ang mga securities na ito, ikaw din ay kumikita.

Ngunit shempre, gaya ng ibang investments, may risk din ang mutual funds dahil nag-flufluctuate ang value ng investments.

At shempre, kailangan alam pa rin natin kung ano ba talaga ang goals ng investment natin. 

“Long-term o short-term investment ba ito?” ”Kailangan ko ba ang pera, if in case may emergency?” Ilan ito sa mga tanong na kailangan mo sagutin bago ka mag-invest. 

Lagi natin tatadaan na walang 100% sure return, ngunit malaki ang possibility na kumita tayo kung alam natin ang objectives natin, at pinaplano natin ito.

Pero at the end of the day, ang maganda sa mutual funds ay pwede ka mag-diversify, at kapag bumaba ang value ng isang stock, maliit lamang ang epekto nito dahil diversified ang portfolio. Kaya in the long-run, pwedeng masabi na sustainable ang mutual funds.

Ka-Investa, kung may oras tayo mag-scroll sa social media, then dapat kaya din natin mag-laan ng oras sa pag-iinvest. Kailangan lang natin alamin kung saan tayo magsisimula.

Kung nagustuhan mo ang article na ito, don’t worry kasi marami pa kaming i-rerelease tungkol sa mutual funds and investing. Mananatili kaming andito, hangga’t matulungan namin ang lahat ng Pilipino sa kanilang investment journey.

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Help! My Account Balance is ALWAYS ZERO! (How to be Faithful to Your Savings)

Are you having trouble saving your money?

Yung kaka-sweldo mo pa lang, kinabukasan, ubos na agad?

Maybe you just want to learn how to save better. Let us give you some realistic tips on how to save and to faithfully stick to it.

STOP THE IMPULSE BUYS

The culprit for most useless spending is the impulse buy on things we don’t need and sometimes things we don’t even want. The term “budol” is commonly used with our budding online culture. Nowadays, impulse buys are getting easier and easier with some just a click away.

The best way to stop this habit is to give yourself time before hitting add to cart. For smaller purchases, 24 to 48 hours would suffice but for larger purchases, give yourself a week to research the product further. It’s up to your discretion on what you consider a small and large purchase.

LESSEN THE WINDOW SHOPPING

Shopping sites make window shopping inevitable. As soon as you open the site, you are immediately greeted by multiple deals for things you don’t necessarily need or want. Sometimes, we don’t even notice we’re window shopping with simple scrolling or checking out a popup ad of a product.

With this in mind, make sure you really want to spend money on what you find. Don’t use sales and discounts as a way to justify buying things you will not use.

REGULARLY CHECK YOUR ACCOUNT BALANCE

Sometimes, the best wake-up call is checking your bank account and regularly seeing how much you spent in a day or a week. With the budding of the online culture, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With buying made so easy, checking your balance has been made easier as well.

Depending on your bank, download the corresponding app to have a real-time update on your purchases. Regularly looking at your account balance is a great habit to keep yourself in check with frivolous spending.

LOCK YOUR MONEY AWAY

The final tip sounds less drastic than it what it actually is. The basic thought process is if you don’t have extra money to spend, you won’t be tempted to buy useless things. How exactly do you “lock your money away”? Well, a suggestion could be making use of time deposits.

Think of time deposits as piggy banks that earn money the longer you leave it in. It’s there to keep your money safe so instead of collecting dust or you being tempted to use it, time deposits can help you save better while earning you money. This is a great incentive to keep “locking your money away”.

Ka-Investa, saving is realistically hard. We have our own responsibilities and desires. But remember, savings can save you especially during rainy days. It’s always good that we have something to use during emergencies and other urgent expenses.

You can start by saving even at least Php 500 per pay day. That relatively small amount can compound in the long run. The amount you save is not a problem. What’s more important is the habit of saving & that you start now. Happy saving, Ka-Investa!

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Is Life Insurance a Good Investment?

The most popular question you’ll hear from finance is, “where’s the best place to invest my money?” The standard answers would be stocks, savings accounts and even real estate but did you know that your health is an investment. That’s where life insurance comes in.

Did you know that the most preferred insurance product among insurance owners in the Philippines is life insurance? In a recent survey among insurance owners, more than 30 percent prefer life insurance among other insurance products. The statistics of 2019 show that almost 1 million Filipinos with pre-need insurance plans took life insurance plans. So, what is life insurance?

According to Investopedia, life insurance is a contract between an insurer and a policyholder. A life insurance policy guarantees the insurer a sum of money to named beneficiaries in the case of the death of the insurance holder.

How does life insurance work? Depending on your policy or your investment company, you pay an installment of your insurance also known as an insurance premium. A typical life insurance policy can be referred to as your “piggy bank”. This piggy bank is 100 percent safe but you won’t be gaining an interest rate. The best thing life insurance offers in security.

If something were to happen to you, your payouts would help your beneficiaries. If nothing happens to you when your coverage ends, you receive your insurance premiums back. An important note is that life insurance is better to start as young as possible. The older you start, the more expensive the life insurance policy gets.

The great aspect of life insurance policies is that there are so many choices to fit your wants and needs. Some policies offer interest rates while others are solely made for future plans. Whatever plan you decide to get, the most important benefits of life insurance are securing your future as well as providing support to your loved ones if something happens to you.

With the current health situation around the world, this is definitely an investment worth considering. Wouldn’t you want to know that you and your loved ones will be taken care of?

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InvestaUniversity opens FREE Stock Market Classes for Everyone

Investagrams, the fastest growing social-financial platform, is opening the newest FREE Stock Market learning space named InvestaUniversity. The online university offers basic to advanced lessons about finances and investment to all. 

No matter the financial status, age, experience, and education — everyone can learn how to invest in the stock market. Everyone can improve their financial lives through wise investing.  Everyone is accepted into the InvestaUniversity. 

The mission is to create at least 10 Million investing Filipinos. And Investagrams saw that the only way to make this a reality is to help all Filipinos be educated about the unlimited opportunities in the stock market. Hence, the birth of InvestaUniversity. 

Investagrams pooled in a team of educators — JC Bisnar (CEO of Investagrams), Christian Silverio (Investagrams’ resident trader and private fund manager), and Paolo Tomacruz (Investagrams’ resident trader and private fund manager) who will break down the complex concepts of the financial markets to easy-to-learn and friendly weekly lessons. 

To further the students’ learning, InvestaUniversity has also prepared activities and homework which will be discussed in the live online discussions. 

“In InvestaUniversity, no one gets left behind. All the courses, the videos, the core curriculum, ia-upload natin ang mga lesson sa ating mga ng channels — on Youtube, Facebook, and on InvestaLearn platform — all for free. Kung gusto mag-participate, mas magkaroon ng commitment, magkaroon ng access sa mga benefits, then you can pay a tuition fee. At the end, bahala ka na literal. Dito sa InvestaUniv, we want it to make it as open and as inclusive as possible, and InvestaUniversity will make sure that no one gets left behind,” JC Bisnar, CEO of Investagrams said in their launch video. 

Your tuition, your call. 

Promoting education for all and inclusivity, Investagrams made InvestaUniversity’s core program to be free. But if you want to commit, participate in the weekly activities, and gain some perks, you can settle a tuition fee of your choice. Whatever the amount, it’s all up to you.

This program and tuition fee scheme may be the first of its kind in the Philippine Stock Market. 

To enroll in InvestaUniversity, simply follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Subscribe to Investagrams’ YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/investagramsTV).

2. Follow the official Investagrams Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/investagrams).

3. Join the exclusive InvestaGroup community (www.investagrams.com/Group332).

Curious about InvestaUniversity? Know more here: http://invs.st/InvestaUniversity 

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Malayo man, malapit rin: An OFW Kid Story

Hi! I’m Coleen, an OFW kid. If you’re like me or if you’re a family of an OFW, you might relate to my story. Ever since, siguro hindi pa ako naipapanganak, OFW na ang tatay ko. In a year, masasabi ko na I get to see him 3-4 months? And hindi yan consecutive, magkakahiwalay pa yan.


Growing up, I’d always pray for his safety. Always praying that he will be able to come home safe to us – that no danger will happen to him. If that OFW is your spouse, parent, or someone very close to your heart, you might have the same worries as I do. Nung bata pa ako, lagi ko nang iniisip kung bakit kinakailangan maghiwalay ang pamilya para lang sa maginhawang buhay o di kaya para sa magandang kinabukasan. Wala na bang ibang paraan?

Because of wanting to spend more time with the family, my parents decided to start businesses. Sinubukan naming magtinda ng chocolates, peanut brittles, siopao, and even different kinds of soap like dishwashing liquid and detergents. Their biggest investment was opening a physical shop – a “karinderya”. Just like any young business, it was tough, and we can barely make ends meet. It was a struggle. As much as my parents wanted to go through the challenges, they couldn’t afford to lose their health, me and my sister’s education, and the “bonding” time with the family. Since the “karinderya” business was our family’s bread and butter, we had to give priority to the customers’ needs prior to ours.

My dad had to go back working abroad. It was better. While he’s away working, we do our best in school and in saving money so that we can make the most when he comes back. I was happy.

Fortunately, I wasn’t contented. Wow, fortunately. Haha. Maybe I always felt that there’s something else that we can do- that maybe I can do. Maybe business is the answer for some. But what if you’re not really a business-type of person? Yung tipong shy type ka tapos hirap kang mag invite sa mga pa-networking dyan, haha. Wala na bang ibang option?

EH DI STOCK MARKET!

Unfortunately, it cost my family so much for me to know the options. We’re not really educated that much when it comes to finances, investments, or even the stock market. Other people took advantage of my lack of knowledge. I started in forex trading before I got to the stock market. I did learn something from Forex and that’s it. I just learned from my mistakes and experiences. And yes, I lose money. May be there are a lot of victims out there like me.

It was really a tough time for me. There was regret, guilt, and depression. I just wanted to help my dad. I just wanted him not to work abroad anymore. I just wanted him home.


You see, I’m really blessed, lucky you may say. My dad was very supportive even in my forex journey. He continues to believe in me even in my failures. It was my dad who introduced me to the stock market. He wanted me to get back, stand up – and use what I’ve learn and apply it to the stock market. He gave me another capital to start again.

I might not be as good as the traders out there. I can earn a few hundreds to a thousand pesos for each trade. Sabi nga nila, “small progress is still progress”. The best part of our story was – our struggles in forex led us to get serious with the stock market.

Currently, as a family, we are investing in the stock market with the hopes of the day my dad won’t need to go abroad anymore. You see. We just need to learn and share it to others. By simply sharing, we can also make an impact to other’s lives. In consequence, has an impact to the future of our children – that someday no one has to work outside the country for a comfortable life.

To everyone who wants to learn about the Stock Market, pero hindi alam saan magsisimula. Baka makatulong ito sainyo!
Check : http://invs.st/OfwKid


It’s the Biggest Trading Competition sa Pilipinas, Investagrams will also give access to Beginner Friendly LEARNING MODULES
to those na sasali, aside from the chance na manalo ka! Ang tanong nalang, gusto mo ba talagang matuto at magsimula?

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