Recently, I was able to join a market research project which aims to know the habits, attitudes and perceptions of middle class Filipinos towards banking. Around thirty individuals from Metro Manila, composed of employees, housewives and businessmen, were invited to participate in a focus group discussion and share their thoughts on the topic. As I [...]

Ask anyone invested in the Philippine stock market today and they’ll probably give you a wide smile. Why? Because for the past few weeks, the PSEi has been very bullish and has in fact set a new record and broke the 4,000 resistance level. While the market seems to be approaching resistance now, some analysts [...]

For today’s Reader Mail, I will answer one of the comments left by a reader in one of my posts about the BDO: Unit Investment Trust Funds. “MANROJ”, told me about his BDO Peso Balanced Fund investment and asked for advice on what he should do. I am certainly not a certified financial analyst nor [...]

For those who are invested or planning to invest in the Philippine Stock Market, here’s something you should know. Effective Monday, 26 July 2010, the Philippine Stock Exchange will be implementing a new trading system with a new set of trading rules. This is part of PSE’s commitment to enhance the trading experience and support [...]

Last weekend was a truly inspiring and educational experience for me as I attended the two-day Money Summit & Wealth Expo 2010. Never mind that I still haven’t fully rested from my Leyte trip, the energy of the speakers and the attendees were enough to fuel me throughout the event. As I browse through my [...]

Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Reader Mail. This is where I post the questions I receive from my readers and share with you the answers and advise I gave to them. For today, we’ll discuss the topics of finding work, investing and family finances. Note that the names of the senders have been made [...]

I would like to invite my readers to attend two great events this coming July 2010. First, as I’ve already written before, is the Money Summit & Wealth Expo 2010, which is a 2-day, whole day, super conference happening on July 2-3, 2010 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City. This is [...]

One of the questions I get asked very often is what’s the difference between a mutual fund and a unit investment trust fund or UITF? I understand the confusion of many for both actually look, work and perform the same way. But there are some key differences that an investor like you should know. But [...]

Have you heard of PERA or the Personal Equity Retirement Account? It’s a bill signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last August 22, 2008 which aims to help Filipinos, specially OFWs, to save for retirement. This is actually very similar to the Roth IRA and 401(k) which Americans enjoy. Unfortunately, available information about the PERA Bill [...]

A friend of mine said that it would be a good time to invest now because the country has a new president and people are optimistic. I agreed, but also disagreed with him. I said yes, it is a good time to invest now – but the reason is not really because of the new [...]

I was sorting through my letters last week when I noticed a Unit Investment Trust Fund product catalogue from BDO among them. I remember asking a BDO trust and investment officer for their UITF brochure a couple of months ago and I’m glad she was able to furnish me a copy of this through mail. [...]

Everyone would agree that investing is something that financially smart people do. However, not everyone who has the money does it. Why? There are many reasons but the most common are usually: one, they don’t know how to start or two, they’re really afraid to lose their money. If you’re this type of person, then [...]