Top 10 Countries Ranked According to GDP (2011)

May 24, 2012 Leave a comment


I just want to compare the top 10 world largest economies GDP vs. the Philippine GDP. Of course, it’s a no contest that US is the world biggest economies followed by China.

Below is the list of Top 10 Countries Rank According to their GDP (2011).

1. United States of America  (GDP = 15.1 Trillion USD)

2. China (GDP = 7.3 Trillion USD)

3. Japan (GDP = 5.9 Trillion USD)

4. Germany (GDP = 3.6 Trillion GDP)

5. France (GDP= 2.8 Trillion USD)

6. Brazil (GDP= 2.5 Trillion USD)

7. United Kingdom (GDP= 2.4 Trillion USD)

8. Italy (GDP= 2.2 Trillion USD)

9. Russia (GDP= 1.9 Trillion USD)

10. Canada (GDP = 1.7 Trillion USD)

The Philippines with a GDP of 213.1 Billion USD last 2011 was ranked number 46.

source : IMF, Wikipedia

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Investing in Philippine Real Estate

May 23, 2012 Leave a comment


Real Estate has been one of the most traditional and good investment since, it appreciates over time. In the Philippines, this kind of investment is well known to most Filipinos.

Before I worked abroad, I have bought some properties in Cavite, Philippines. Right now, I was happy with the value of my properties worth, and of course with the monthly rental income it generates.

Actually, there were shopping malls built near my properties, and this bring a plus factor to appreciates its value fast.

In the Philippines, the growth of real estate is towards the south especially in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Batangas areas. Prices of land on these provinces are increasing and a lot of companies are establishing their manufacturing facilities in these areas.

Actually, it needs due diligence in acquiring real estate property. Make sure that its location has a proper infrastructure like roads, utility services, a nearby supermarket and church. I guess you don’t want to live in uncivilized place so before buying, at least consider these things.

The only problem I see on this kind of investment is its “Liquidity”. If you want some cash and, you want to sell your land (or house and lot), it takes more time to liquidate. Unlike stocks and bonds securities that you could easily cash out, most of the time it takes a year to sell a real estate property.

I have heard a lot of stories about a properties being sold at a very low price (sometimes below it’s purchase value). To prevent this situation, it is only wise to have enough cash park as an emergency.

I was not good when it comes to Real Estate investing, but I found myself overweight on this kind of  investment.

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Quotes:

Don’t wait to buy land, buy land and wait. – Will Rogers

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Mayday.. Mayday.. Sell In May

May 15, 2012 1 Comment


May 15, 2012, I was in shocked when I see my stock portfolio down by almost 10% in just 2 weeks time.

In stock market there is a popular saying “Sell in May and go away” in which some traders adhere to by selling their stock position in May.

Is the month of May a cursed month for the stock market that selling most of your stock position is a safe refuge? I think there might are some factors that is causing the market to behave in such a bearish manner.

I am not a certified Financial Analysis but these are my views why the Philippine Stock Market is weak in May.

  1. The current macro economic events in Europe like the news of Greece exit to Euro plays significant role in the current sell-off that we are seeing right now. I guess every equity market in the world could not be spared by this macro events.
  1. The standoff in the Panatag shoal between China and Philippines could escalate into an armed hostility (I hope it will not go there.) This tension will somehow cause the market to react negatively.
  1. After the PSE index reach the 5300 and the market was up by more than 20% year to date, many analysts were expecting that it is already ripe for profit taking and a correction is inevitable.
  1. The month of June is coming (start of school), I think some retail investors want to take some profits to pay for the school expenses.
  1. IPO’s of big companies like GT Capital and East West Bank is somehow eating up liquidity from index stocks. This will divert the flow of funds away from the index stocks. (But I think this will only affect the market on the short term.)

So, should you invest or sell in May? The decision to invest or sell in May is up to every investor. Investors should carefully weigh in the pros and cons of their investment choice before jumping into it.

No one can predict the depth of the market corrections that we are seeing right now, but I still believe that stock with good fundamentals and sustainable growth will always emerge.

As for me, the Philippine growth story still looks promising. With the PPP (Public Private Partnership) as the driver of the market to move higher, and backed by robust and strong OFW remittance.

I think it’s more fun and profitable to invest in the Philippines.

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Discipline and Sacrifice

April 30, 2012 1 Comment


For an OFW like me, investing requires discipline and sacrifice.

To achieve financial independence, I need a discipline to manage my finances and keep a certain amount of money on my investment.

Of course, aside from discipline I should do some sacrifices like making a limit in dining out, watching movies and other entertainment or leisure that requires a big amount of money.

There were times that I was asking myself why I was doing these. Sounds like I was punishing myself, isn’t it?

I think it is true that in order to achieve Financial Independence, you have to live a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t. These phrases keeps me going in my journey to financial freedom.

For me, I am willing to trade few years of my life living with financial discipline and sacrifice, and spend the rest of it with fulfillment and happiness.

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Philippine Mutual Fund Performance – 1st Quarter 2012

April 25, 2012 3 Comments


The Philippine equity markets are doing well on the 1st quarter of 2012. Every funds with exposure to the stock market are profitable.

EQUITY FUNDS (primarily invested in Philippine Equities)

  1. Philam Strategic Growth Fund – 21.3%
  2. Philippine Stock Index Fund – 18.6%
  3. Philequity Fund – 17.1%
  4. First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund – 16.6%
  5. Sun Life Prosperity Phil. Equity Fund – 15.8%
  6. ATRKE Equity Opportunity Fund – 15.7%
  7. PhilEquity PSE Index Fund – 14.4%
  8. United Fund – 6.7%

BALANCED FUNDS (primarily invested in Philippine Equities and Bonds)

  1. ALFM Growth Fund – 24.1%
  2. Bahay Pari Solidaritas Fund – 23.4%
  3. GSIS Mutual Fund – 20.2%
  4. Philam Fund – 19.9%
  5. NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils. – 17.8%
  6. First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund – 16.1%
  7. ATRKE Philippine Balanced Fund – 12.2%
  8. Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund – 12.1%
  9. Optima Balanced Fund – 11.6%

 BOND FUNDS (primarily invested in Peso debt securities)

  1. Cocolife Fixed Income Fund – 3.5%
  2. First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund – 2.3%
  3. Ekklesia Mutual Fund – 1.6%
  4. ALFM Peso Bond Fund – 1.3%
  5. Prudentialife Fixed Income Fund – 1.3%
  6. Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund – 0.89%
  7. Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund – 0.84%
  8. Philequity Peso Bond Fund – 0.77%
  9. Philam Bond Fund – 0.55%

More Financial analyst are optimistic on the Philippine Stock Market and they have a positive outlook that the PSEi will reach 6000 by the end of the year.

Source : (PIFA)

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

March 29, 2012 3 Comments


The Philippine Stock Market is on the run.  Couldn’t believe that some of  my stocks increase by more than 20% in just 2 months time.

JGS for instance, 2 months ago I bought more of this stock when its price goes down to 25php. Right now it was trading more than 31php, it’s up more than 20% in just 2 months.

2nd is RFM, actually I considered this as a boring stock because of it’s low liquidity. However, with the popularity of Magnun Ice Cream, it’s stock price rise by more than 30% in just 2 months. Also, I just recently read an article from Philstar that because of this Magnun Ice Cream, Selecta company will become much bigger than RFM. Take note that RFM is the mother company of Selecta.

Another is NIKL (Nickel Asia), it’s stock price were up more than 30% in just 2 months. Because of the Indonesia’s ban on Nickel ore exports, NIKL with it’s nickel reserves becomes the beneficiary of this ban in Indonesia.

Of course, there are some lagging stocks in my portfolio like EDC, SMC, PCOR and PX. Sometimes, I was thinking on selling some of my positions in NIKL, and buy SMC, PCOR or EDC.

It may sounds logical, isn’t it?

However, in the stock market, what is high now can go much higher tomorrow, and what is low now can dive much lower tomorrow. Or it maybe the other way around, no one can predict the market anyway.

I still believe that at the end of the day, the fundamental will still weighs the stock. And if you are holding on stocks with good fundamentals then you are a winner.

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Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC) Stock Price Surge

March 10, 2012 Leave a comment


Wonder why Alaska Milk Corporation (PSE Ticker : AMC) surge to 25% in just 1 trading days?

It’s because Royal Friesland Campina (RFC) announced that it’s increasing it’s stake in the AMC from 8.1% to 68.9%.

Royal Friesland Campina (RFC), the leading dairy company in the Netherlands with sales of almost €9 billion and with 19,000 employees operating in 25 countries.

Also, Friesland Campina will launch a tender offer for the remaining outstanding publicly traded shares. As what I read in the news, RFC will launch a tender offer for the remaining outstanding publicly traded shares at an identical price per share of up to P24.

With annual revenues of P12 billion, Alaska Milk has emerged as one of  major players in the Philippine dairy industry. It’s stock price increased by 53 percent in just 3 years period, while the company’s cash dividend yields an averaged 5.4 percent.

For those who are holding Alaska Milk (AMC) in their portfolio, I guess there is only one good phrase to say and it’s their famous slogan for more than a decades  “Wala pa ring tatalo sa Alaska – (Nothing beats Alaska – in English).”

Of course it’s hard to let go of a good company like AMC. Actually, I am planning to hold it for more than 5 years. But with the RFC tender offer of 24php, I guess it’s an offer that I could not refuse.

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Simple but not Easy

February 26, 2012 1 Comment


Just come to my senses, and realized that  Investing and Saving is simple but not easy.

In my quest for encouraging my fellow OFW to invest and save, I always say that investing and saving is simple but it never came to my senses and forgot to tell them that is not easy.

Actually, there is a big difference between simple and easy. When I say simple, it’s not really mean that it is easy.

Let’s say you are planning to invest an amount of 5000php every month. This plan sounds very simple, isn’t it?

But having the discipline of setting aside 5000php every month for investment is not that easy  because, putting this plan into work will require great discipline. I think no one will argue about it, actually it is easy to spend the 5000php for shopping rather than investing it.

I think this is the reason why only few people  are keen to investing and saving.

Anyway, every choice we make has an end result, and if we have a discipline to save and invest, the road to financial freedom is within our reach.

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Quote:

If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.  – Zig Ziglar

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Mr. OWEsome to Mr. Awesome

February 22, 2012 1 Comment


Every week days, waking up early and going to work is like a heavy burden. Actually, the one big reason that keeps me going or inspires me to go to work is the fact that I have to pay something. I have to pay for my house loan, for my kids school, for utility bills, insurance, foods, entertainment etc. etc.

Sometimes I called myself Mr. OWEsome. Why Mr. OWEsome?

I am Mr. OWEsome because, every time I get my paycheck I have to pay some that I owed.  Hate to admit it but it is true, and I think that I am not the only one living on a paycheck to paycheck scenario.

And with my 8 hours fixed income job as primary source of income, there is no other option but to work hard (even harder sometimes). Actually there is a huge difference between working because you need it, than working because you love it. But most of the time, we have to work because we need it.

Of course, I don’t want to live as Mr. OWEsome for the rest of my life, and I wanted to be free from my wage slave job.

I promised myself that few years from now my identity will change from being Mr. OWEsome to Mr. Awesome. (To give a short description of Mr. Awesome, he is a financially free person, who don’t work for money because money is already working for him.)

Easier said than done, but being Mr. Awesome takes a long and sometimes a painful process.

And how will I become Mr. Awesome?

By regularly investing mixed with disciplined spending, I am very optimistic that few years from now I could buy myself a freedom from my wage slave job and financial bondage.

Every time I imagine myself being free from a stressful corporate job , because I have an investment that can handle all my financial obligation is awesome.

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Salary and Survival

February 12, 2012 Leave a comment


For more than a decade working in a corporate world, I have come to realized that working 8 hours a day to earn a wage is just for survival. No wonder why too many people works for the rest of their life not knowing that salary as fixed source of income is good only for surviving the day.

Of course, we need our wage slave income to pay for our expenses but there are other ways to have a healthy financial life. I think we should also need other source of passive income that will someday free us from this wage slavery.

Some may say that they are receiving an awesome compensation and the need for proper financial controls is not really necessary. Remember that it is not our salary that makes us wealthy, but it is our spending habit. Most of the time, successful professionals are no more likely than ordinary folks when it come to spending, because the rules governing the right financial controls are quite different from what we are used to learning at school.

Again, I would like to tell everyone that every small amount that pass in our hands is buying us financial freedom. These may be a freedom from our debt obligation, 8 hours job etc.

The concept of passive source income may sounds boring, but just imagined that you will no longer need to rely on your next paycheck to meet your expenses and if you work smart, you can make enough so you can buy everything that money buys. Passive income is all about creating alternative sources of income so that you do not have to work for the money – let the money work for you and make more money.

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Quotes:

All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. – Aristotle

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