UITF Triple Threat: BDO vs. BPI vs. Metrobank!

Last week, we introduced you to unit investment trust funds or UITFs. If you recall, a UITF is a type of investment where funds from several investors are pooled and invested in a portfolio of securities that is actively managed by a professional fund manager. In this post, we take a look at the different factors that you should consider in choosing a UITF and a side-by-side comparison of the UITFs offered by the biggest banks in the country.

1. Your risk profile and investment horizon

How do you view risk? Are you more of a risk taker or a risk avoider? How long can you afford to invest your money? Typically, your answers to these questions would follow a certain relationship: in general, risk-averse investors prefer to invest only in one year or less while risk-seeking individuals would be more inclined to play the game in the long run.
Your risk profile and investment horizon would determine the kind of UITF you should choose: for example, if you think you are a risk averse investor with a short investment horizon, then the highly liquid money market fund would be better suited for you. The rule of thumb is to match your risk appetite to the risk of the securities the fund is invested in. Below we see a side-by-side of three kinds of UITFs in terms of composition, risk, and liquidity considerations.

	Money Market Fund	Balanced Fund	Equity Fund
Composition	Special Deposit Accounts (SDAs) and Treasury bills	50% Fixed Income Securities, 50% PSEi stocks	80 to 90% PSEi stocks
Fund Risk	Low	Medium	High
Minimum Holding Period	Up to 7 days	30 to 90 days	30 to 90 days

2. Minimum investment

Perhaps the most important measure of how affordable an investment is is the minimum required investment: many of us would probably love to own a Jollibee franchise, if only the required 25-million-plus-peso investment were within our reach. The same is true for UITFs, as banks require varying minimum investments for their UITFs. On a similar note, banks also require a minimum amount for additional investments, sometimes making it more challenging for simple investors to quickly increase their UITF participation.

3. Fees

Banks perform the service of safekeeping, managing, and balancing our funds for a fee (if you ever hear a bank give something, anything, away for free, let me know), or actually, several fees: the trust or management fee, custodian fee, audit fee, and early redemption fee, just to name a few. If you are a “price conscious” buyer of anything, then UITF fees should matter significantly to you. But to simplify things, let’s just focus on the two most significant fees: the annual management fee and the early redemption fee, which you’ll have to pony up in case you decide to sell your units before the minimum holding period expires.

Below we see how Banco de Oro (BDO), Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), and Metrobank compare in terms of minimum investment, fees, and minimum holding period for the three UITF types mentioned above.

Money Market Fund

	BDO	BPI	Metrobank
Minimum Investment	100,000 pesos	50,000 pesos	50,000 pesos
Minimum Additional	100,000 pesos	10,000 pesos	25,000 pesos
Management/Trust Fee	0.50% per year	0.75% per year	1.00% per year
Early Redemption Fee	None	0.25% of original investment	50% of income
Minimum Holding Period	None	7 days	7 days

Balanced Fund

	BDO	BPI	Metrobank
Minimum Investment	10,000 pesos	50,000 pesos	25,000 pesos
Minimum Additional	10,000 pesos	10,000 pesos	25,000 pesos
Management/Trust Fee	1.00% per year	1.50% per year	2.00% per year
Early Redemption Fee	0.50% of original investment	0.50% of original investment	50% of income
Minimum Holding Period	30 days	90 days	90 days

Equity Fund

	BDO	BPI	Metrobank
Minimum Investment	10,000 pesos	50,000 pesos	25,000 pesos
Minimum Additional	10,000 pesos	10,000 pesos	25,000 pesos
Management/Trust Fee	1.00% per year	1.50% per year	2.00% per year
Early Redemption Fee	1.00% of original investment	0.50% of original investment	50% of income
Minimum Holding Period	30 days	90 days	90 days

4. Bank reputation

In the end, your choice of bank may just boil down to how much trust you place on each. Maybe you already have decades of pleasant experience with a particular bank, and you would want to reward it by giving it more of your business. Maybe you’re just trying to impress a cute bank teller of that bank; in that case, maybe there’s no minimum investment or management fee high enough to keep you from choosing the bank, or making a fool of yourself (no joke, I feel you bro).

5. That’s it

We’re done here? How about the each fund’s past performance? Shouldn’t that be a factor in choosing a UITF?

Now that you mention it—yes, it should. Well, kind of. While I might agree that better past performance may well indicate a better-skilled fund manager, in general all funds behave more or less similarly with respect to a particular benchmark like the PSEi; for the balanced and equity funds, for example, half the time you’ll see the fund outperform the benchmark, and half the time you’ll see it bite the dust, regardless of the bank, and the fund manager, for that matter.
Also, as a rule don’t rely on past performance so much; the future is waaaay less predictable than what many so-called professionals profess. If predicting the future were just as easy as getting the average fund yield in the past five years or so, then we would all be richer by now.

So, are you able to choose a UITF yet? I have. Because I think a can afford to invest a small sum in the long run (and also because I’m blinded by pure, unadulterated greed for high returns), I’m planning to invest in one of those equity funds, despite the looming cloud of uncertainty brought about by the coming elections. As for the bank whose fund I’ll patronize, the answer to me is clear as day; it seems I won’t be seeing that cute bank teller for a while. ;)


Click here for a one-on-one comparison of BDO and BPI UITFs.

5 Signs That You Are Ready to be a Successful Entrepreneur

Everyone dreams of being a successful entrepreneur, but we all know that entrepreneurship is not for everyone. There's no sure-fire formula for entrepreneurial success; in fact, we all learned from the last post that even college education does not a successful business person make. So what does it take to be the next Lucio Tan, John Gokongwei, or Henry Sy? Here are a few signs that you are ready for the entrepreneurial prime time.

1. You start spending less than you used to.

Frugality is a trait shared by most, if not all, of the most successful Filipino entrepreneurs. For example, taipan John Gokongwei Jr. has always been known as a notorious penny pincher, both in his personal life and in his many business. Before he founded his own airline, people close to him say that he always preferred to fly economy class, while according to others, he would often choose to work in a simple but functional office space over a classy but impractical one. Successful entrepreneurs know that almost all businesses go through a rough and unstable period at the onset of the venture, and that prudence in managing resources--like keeping down costs and expenses--will go a long way in keeping the business afloat in times of distress.

2. You are passionate about your business idea.

Remember, being an entrepreneur does not only entail staking your hard-earned capital into a business venture, it also requires that you run the business yourself, at least in the beginning, unlike with passive investment vehicles, where the only decision you'll likely make is when to buy and when to sell (of course investing in individual stocks also requires that you know the company you're investing in with a certain degree of intimacy, but that's another matter...). In running your business, your passion is what will convince your customers to patronize your product or service, or your bankers to extend you a much needed line of credit. Your passion for your business is a sign that you believe in what you're selling, and could very well determine whether your business will be a success or not.

3. You are disciplined and hard working.

Perhaps one of the reasons why many of the most successful Filipino entrepreneurs are of Chinese descent is because the Lucio Tans, Henry Sys, and John Gokongweis of this world strictly live by the traditional Chinese Confucian values of hard work, honesty, and perseverance.

Founding and running a startup often means doing most, if not all, of the business functions yourself. Successful entrepreneurs are often all-in-one managers, marketers, secretaries, and even janitors for their fledgeling businesses. In many cases, doing everything yourself will not even be a matter of choice: your limited resources will sometimes prevent you from getting extra help. But apart from the immediate monetary benefit, doing everything yourself fortunately also results in you knowing everything there is to know about your business; getting your hands dirty and knowing your business (and customers) first-hand will better prepare you in leading your company in the future.

4. You are willing and able to take risks.

Setting up and running a business from scratch may be the riskiest financial undertaking on the face of the earth. Risk in startups come in many shapes and forms: the uncertainty of the demand for your product, the volatility of the prices and instability of the supply of your key raw materials, foreign exchange fluctuations, and perhaps most importantly, the very real and almost always magnified possibility of complete and utter financial ruin. A normal guy would almost surely shit his pants once he realizes the mess he puts himself in by starting a business; a successful entrepreneur would eat risks like the ones mentioned above for breakfast. He (or she) would have the balls, composure, and mental capacity needed to not only face these risks but to also make sound decisions amidst all the uncertainty.

5. You know how to balance work with the other aspects of your life.

What do Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, and Lance Gokongwei have in common? Industry leaders all, check. Members of prominent and influential families, check. Well, what else?

If you are have been exposed to the running phenomenon that has gripped the nation these past two years or so, then you might have seen Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala participate in one or two events. You might also be aware that Wilfred Steven Uytengsu was the face of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines held last year. And if you haven't been living under a rock in the past two years, then you should know how Lance Gokongwei has transformed from a casual to a highly competitive distance runner, culminating in his participation in the New York City Marathon late last year.

Here we see three examples of highly successful business leaders who are able to balance work and play. In fact, if you ask them they would probably tell you that they are as passionate about their sport as their various businesses, if not more so. To be a successful entrepreneur, you will need to balance your work life and your life outside work, just as these three respectable gentlemen have.

Is College Necessary for Young Entrepreneurs?

IN THE NEWS from YoungEntrepreneur.com

YoungEntrepreneur.com co-founder Adam Toren asks this question amid the surprising results of a study conducted by OnlineCollegesandUniversities.com, which shows that the benefits of a college diploma may not be worth the time and monetary investment involved. Toren further argues that since many of the things entrepreneurs need to know can be provided by extra-curricular sources like the Internet, books, actual experience, and mentors, maybe would-be entrepreneurs would best be served by not going to college.

Source: Online Colleges and Universities

In a follow-up article entitled 100 Top Entrepreneurs Who Succeeded without a College Degree, Toren further strengthens the argument against college education for entrepreneurs by providing an exhaustive list of 100 successful entrepreneurs who were not able to complete (in some cases, even start) a college degree.

Some notable names in the list include:

• Dave Thomas, billionaire founder of Wendy’s. Dropped out of high school at 15.
• George Eastman, multimillionaire inventor, Kodak founder. Dropped out of high school.
• Henry Ford, billionaire founder of Ford Motor Company. Did not attend college.
• Michael Dell, billionaire founder of Dell Computers, which started out of his college dorm room. Dropped out of college.
• Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s. Dropped out of high school.
• Richard Branson, billionaire founder of Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Mobile, and more. Dropped out of high school at 16.

What do you guys think? Can entrepreneurship be taught in school? Putting it another way, can an aspiring entrepreneur learn anything worthwhile in college? Can you think of a notable Filipino entrepreneur who does not have a college degree (all the famous names I can think of seem to have completed college)? Air your thoughts by posting a comment below.

6 Questions About UITFs Answered

INVESTMENT SPOTLIGHT

1. What is it?

UITF stands for unit investment trust fund. It is a type of investment where the money of several investors are pooled and invested in an actively managed portfolio of bank deposits, government securities, bonds, stocks, and other marketable instruments that are traded in organized exchanges.

2. How can I make money out of it?

Investors participate by buying "shares" or units of the fund at the current market value called Net Asset Value Per Unit or NAVPU. The NAVPU goes up or down depending on the price movement of the fund's underlying assets, and on the interest and/or dividends earned by the investment. UITF participants earn returns in the form of capital gains as the NAVPU appreciates over time. The NAVPU is recalculated daily.

3. What are the different kinds of UITF?

UITFs may be classified based on composition (fixed income securities or equity) and denomination (Philippine peso or US dollar). Most banks would offer the following common flavors of peso-denominated UITFs:

Money Market Fund
Composition: Special Deposit Accounts (SDAs) and T-bills
Investment horizon: Short term (one-year or less)
Special feature: No minimum holding period

Balanced Fund
Composition: 50% Fixed Income Securities, 50% PSEi stocks
Investment horizon: medium term

Equity Fund
Composition: 80 to 90% PSEi stocks
Investment horizon: long term

4. How much would I need to invest?

UITFs offered by the major banks in the country require a minimum investment of 10,000 to 100,000 pesos, depending on the bank and fund type. Minimum additional investments run from a low of 10,000 pesos to a high of 25,000.

5. What are the advantages of UITFs over other investments.

• Even the most "safe" UITF, the Money Market Fund, generally outperforms personal savings accounts, time deposits, and even treasury bills consistently. For example, BPI's version, the Short Term Fund, yielded 3.24% to 6.71% per annum in the past four years. Riskier funds can yield significantly higher returns, anywhere from 10% to 40% per year, reflecting the high return potential of the riskier underlying assets (mostly corporate bonds and stocks).
• UITFs are generally very liquid. Money Market Funds have no minimum holding period, so you can sell your units anytime without incurring any fees. While other types of UITF may feature a minimum holding period (from 30 to 90 days), you can still sell your units before this period expires by paying an early redemption fee of 0.5% to 1%.
• With some funds requiring only 10,000 pesos, UITFs are affordable. Also, With UITFs you have access to blue chip stocks and other securities that, if considered individually, would require minimum investments that may be beyond your reach.
• By investing in UITFs, particularly in the Balanced or Equity Fund, you enjoy the risk-reducing benefits of diversification (investing in several assets with the aim of eliminating risk) without the hassle and cost of doing it yourself.
• You get to benefit from the expertise of a professional fund manager, who balances and reformulates the composition of the funds in reaction to a host of factors that may affect the prices of the underlying assets. Of course other experts and some investing schools of thought question the wisdom of of actively managed portfolios, but I digress..
• Unlike other "high maintenance" investments that require a sizeable chunk of your time and attention, UITFs are generally passive. I mean, after buying several hundred units, the next big decision you'll have to make is when to redeem your investment. Remember, NAVPUs are recomputed once a day, so there won't be intraday fluctuations to stare at all day and get anxious over.

6. Don't tell me UITFs are perfect. There must be one or two disadvantages, aren't there?

Of course there are. Two come to mind, actually.

• In order to become successful investor, you'll have to live by this universal credo: there's no such thing as a free lunch. All the benefits of UITFs discussed above come at a price: UITF management fees amount to 0.75% to 2% of your investment per year, again depending on the bank and fund type.
• Unlike personal savings accounts, time deposits, and other bank deposits, which are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation or PDIC, there's a possibility that you'll lose a portion of your investment in UITFs (except probably for the Money Market Fund). So if you're thinking of investing in the risky types of UITFs, be sure to invest only what you can afford to lose.

7. Okay, you have me convinced. Where do I sign up?

I did say I'll only answer six questions, didn't I?

Successful investing involves patience and a bit of hard work; for UITFs, just like any investment vehicle you'll consider, you'll have to do your homework to see the best that the market has to offer. Fortunately, here at Investor Juan we are more than willing to do the dirty work for you.

NEXT WEEK,

UITF Triple Threat: BDO vs. BPI vs. Metrobank!
See which one's best for you. Only on Investor Juan.

Petron Sets P100/share Price for Preferred Stock Offering

IN THE NEWS from Inquirer.net

Petron is set to issue 50 million perpetual preferred shares from February 15 to February 26 at 100 pesos per share. The offer features a dividend rate of 9.5281% per year.

The issue is aimed to finance the company's retail expansion program, which involves the construction of new service stations in remote areas. Petron also plans to allocate 3.9 billion pesos for the repayment of short-term debts.

Should the company be successful in increasing the issue from 50 million to 100 million shares or 10 billion pesos, it plans to set aside about 5 billion pesos for the construction of a new power plant within the company’s refinery compound in Limay, Bataan.

8 Frugal Ways of Making Valentine’s Day Extra Special

Regularly going out with someone can put significant pressure on your already depressed wallet. With the standard dinner and movie tickets, and the occassional nightcap of coffee or a few drinks, date expenses can really pile up and diminish your saving capacity. Not that there’s something wrong with being a gentleman and paying for an enchanting evening with a "special" friend; it’s just that sometimes the need to impress and be “galante” overcomes the real need to spend judiciously. Your spending limits will surely be tested this coming Valentine’s Sunday--that is, unless you heed some or all of these tips on how to enjoy that special day with your equally special someone without breaking your piggy bank.

1. Stay home.

You know how much traffic there’ll be around malls in the daytime, it’s Sunday. You know how much traffic there’ll be around Sta. Mesa and Pasig, it’s Valentine’s Day. So it might be best if you just hang out with your loved one at home; you can spend a few quiet, quality moments with her, and you won’t even have to spend for gas and parking, to boot.

2. Go nature-tripping.

If you’re really itching to go out, go to an outdoorsy place like UP Diliman (which is perfect on carless Sundays, especially at dusk), the La Mesa watershed, or Salcedo Park in Makati. Going to the mall will just make you and your girlfriend spend money on stuff you don’t and won’t really need.

3. Prepare a candlelit dinner for her.

Better yet, prepare the meal with her. A Valentine restaurant dinner will cost you anywhere from 1,000 pesos up, depending on how special you want the dinner to be, so doing your own cooking will save you a significant amount of dough without ruining the mood of the evening. It doesn’t take a Gordon Ramsay or Anthony Bourdain to pan fry a slab of steak and sautee mixed veggies. Use whatever money you’ll save to buy a bottle of wine to make the meal more memorable. Bon appetit!

4. Watch DVDs at home.

Movie tickets nowadays cost anywhere from 150 to 180 pesos, depending on the swankiness of the cinema or the buzz generated by the film, so it’s almost always a better idea to watch pirated rented movies instead. This is most especially true on Valentine’s Day, when conditions are perfect for staple chick flicks like Sleepless in Seattle, Serendipity, or Love Actually. Valentine's Day is the time to put your sensitive face on; you will have all the time in the world to watch the films that you really love (on your own, of course).

5. Play a video game with her.

Wouldn't it be cool to have a girl who loves gaming just as much as you do? Turn her into a gaming freak by playing any two-player game like Tekken or NBA Live or Gran Turismo and try to beat the crap out of each other. Play tennis on your Wii, complete with grunts a-la Serena Williams. Don’t have a next generation console? Then bring out your Family Computer and play Super Mario 3, she’ll be Mario and you’ll be Luigi; take turns beating the crap out of Bowser and his ugly progeny.

6. Run together.

Or play one-on-one basketball. Or Frisbee. Do something active together, hopefully something that would not cost you anything. Who knows, you might get the hang of it and decide to do it more frequently. Remember, a healthy body is a sound investment in itself.

7. Make her something.

One Valentine’s Day ages ago, I made my then-girlfriend a small bouquet of paper flowers. And I made a scrapbook for my ex before her. Don’t let the fact that they’re now both my exes scare you; as a rule, gifts you labor over, things that you imbue with your (figurative) blood, sweat, and tears are much appreciated by the opposite sex. Handmade gifts reflect how special your girl is to you, unlike trite, store-bought ones, which are sometimes even more expensive many times over.

8. Write her poetry.

Or a love letter. No matter what they say, most girls are hopeless romantics at heart. Giving her a carefully-crafted, cheesy line or two is just like playing poker: if you play your cards (and grammar) right, you just might end up being lucky.

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Credit Card

Credit cards are the most convenient source of financing available to almost everyone. With credit cards, you won’t need to carry a lot of cash for both planned and unanticipated purchases. And as Internet commerce continues to flourish, credit cards have also become essential to people who frequently buy and sell stuff online.

Unfortunately, this convenience may come at a very steep price: apart from the annual membership fee which ranges from 1,000 to 1,600 pesos, credit card debt also comes with very high (effective) interest rates, oftentimes as high as 51% per year! That means if you buy something worth 10,000 pesos today using your credit card, your debt may balloon up to 15,000 pesos in one year; that is, if you don’t play your cards right.

There are many ways of maximizing the benefits of credit card use and avoiding repressively high financial charges. Here are a few tips that will ensure that you get the most out of your credit card (and not the other way around).

1. Take advantage of the free stuff.

Do you know that you don't have pay the annual fee even once? Just call your credit card company and ask that your annual fee be waived; you'll be surprised how accommodating they can be to your request. Mine came with a condition, though: they requested that I sign up for SMS alerts that don't cost anything. Who was I to refuse?

Don't forget that you earn points for your purchases, points that can be converted to air travel miles, gadgets, food, and other freebies. Don't even complain if you just earn a 500 pesos Jollibee GC after a year of using your credit card: 500 pesos is infinitely better than nothing.

2. Get a free ride.

Most personal finance blogs or guides would advise you to always use cash whenever you can and avoid using your credit card to avoid financial charges. But remember, you’ll only have to pay interest on your credit card if you don’t fully pay your Total Amount Due before each monthly Payment Due Date. Paying off your credit card bills completely each month (not just the Minimum Amount Due) has the same effect as getting a short-term loan at zero percent interest; you’ll never find a sweeter deal anywhere else! By doing this, you avoid thousands of pesos in interest payments and accumulate very high savings in the long run.

3. Avoid being in debt (virtually) forever.

If you only pay the Minimum Amount Due, which is around 5% of the total amount, month after month, you’ll soon find yourself in a very deep financial hole that is almost impossible to get out of. For example, if you owe a credit card company 20,000 pesos and you only pay the minimum amount (let’s assume 5% of the total) every month, it will take you more than 16 years to bring down the debt balance to under 1,000 pesos and you will have paid a total of more than 40,000 pesos in interest charges! This happens because credit card payments go to interest first; by paying only the minimum amount, all your payments go to interest charges, leaving the principal almost untouched.

4. Pay more than the minimum.

If getting a totally “free ride” and paying the entire credit card balance every month is unrealistic for you, then just increase your monthly payment to a level that is significantly above the Minimum Amount Due and bite significant chunks off the principal every month. Taking another look at the above example, if you pay Php 1,200 religiously every month, it will now only take you a little over two years to completely pay off your 20,000 peso debt ; compare that to the 16-plus years it will take you if you only pay the minimum amount!

5. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

The only reason why you’ll find it hard to pay off the entire Total Amount Due of your credit card bill is if you continuously spend more than what you earn. Because credit cards give the illusion of enhanced spending power, it is important to know what your true spending limit is and try your best to avoid going beyond this amount.

In the end, it all just boils down to using your credit cards sensibly and responsibly. By following the above tips, you can avoid being a slave to credit card companies and make your credit card work for you instead.

Filipinos Poor Financial Planners -- Study

IN THE NEWS from Business World Online -

According to a study by financial services firm Sun Life of Canada (Phils.), Inc., Filipinos are poor financial planners, with only one in 10 able to leave something to their families when they die. Sunlife’s Study of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Relationships or SOLAR also showed that only 2% of Filipinos have saved enough for retirement, with 45% becoming dependent on relatives and 30% on charity. Meanwhile, 22% continue to work after retirement.

This is a pretty scary finding, one we would do well to heed and take notice. While some of us may not feel too obliged to save a little something for those we will eventually leave behind, preparing for our retirement is simply a must; we can think of it as the most important reason why we should take control of our finances now. When we retire, most of us will have limited periodic income (mostly from pension payments) and inflated expenses (mostly going to health care). In general, the best way to prepare for retirement would be to make sure that you have access to a substantial amount of ready, liquid capital and/or that you have the right kind of insurance. What this means exactly and how it can be done will be the topic of future posts.

5 Things You Need to Know About Investor Juan

1. I am an educator, first.

Yes, we’re all familiar with the cliche about teachers: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” And while I’ll be the first to admit that to certain frames of mind and in certain situations this saying does make sense, I also know that it won’t be hard to convince you that not everyone can teach. It requires unconditional love for the profession and your students (no matter how bratty or spoiled they behave, sometimes ;)), an almost inexhaustible well of patience, and an unassailable expertise on your chosen field of study. So we can treat this virtual venue as just another classroom where I get to share some of what I know to you and, just like a real-world class, you also sometimes get to teach me a trick or two.

2. Like you, I want to be rich.

As in honey-get-the-vacuum-there’s-dirt-all-over-the-carpet filthy rich, only filthier. And like most of you, there’s no fat, hefty inheritance in the horizon for me. But perhaps more importantly, unlike some of you, I don’t believe in get-rich-quick-schemes; only the people who peddle such crap get rich, mostly at the expense of the unfortunate souls who get duped by their hollow promises. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince most, if not all, of you that the first peso is just as important as the last that makes up that first million.

3. Personal finance is not just about budgeting.

Although it is almost always the first logical step for many of us who first need to save and amass capital before we can invest. It is also about choosing the right investment vehicle for you. Sometimes your own money will not be enough for a promising venture that unexpectedly comes your way, so you’ll have to go “OPM”, or use “other people’s money”. But you’ll have to be familiar with financing alternatives that offer fair rates, else you’ll find yourself beholden to the usurious rates of our turban-wearing and motorbike-riding friends from West Asia. These are some of the things that I‘ll talk about in this blog, based on the things I know as a teacher of Finance and on my experience as an individual investor like you.

4. The reason why I decided to put up this website is because I’ve become tired of all the boring and uninformative Filipino personal finance blogs out there.

Forgive the arrogance, but do try searching “Filipino personal finance” or “Philippines personal finance” and you’ll see that most of what’s out there is crap, written by people who, half the time, don’t even know what they’re talking about. I’m not saying I know everything there is to know about personal finance, but I will promise you that every analysis I give will be based on solid and accurate financial theory, that every market interest rate I will quote will come from a published source, and that ALL of my stories will be based (loosely) on real life experiences. But I can’t promise you that all my jokes will be funny. I ain’t no miracle worker.

5. Together, we’ll embark on a journey towards financial freedom.

Two years ago, I had just broken up with my girlfriend and I was left almost completely broke, having for years lived beyond my means. I quickly decided to shape up and take control of my life, both emotionally and financially. And even though romantic bliss has continued to elude me since then, I have been somewhat successful in turning my finances around; I now have around 400,000 pesos in assets, a result of prudent expense management, sound investing, hardwork and patience (one can never go wrong with “sipag at tiyaga”), and admittedly even a bit of luck. But my journey does not end there, and I plan to take the next step with you.

Welcome to Investor Juan!