Bringing More Filipino Closer to Investment

September 3, 2012 Leave a comment


I want to share an interesting report from the Philippine Stock Exchange about the statistics of Filipinos with retail stock trading accounts.

The 2011 report on the “Profile of Filipino Stock Market Investors” published by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) shows that there are a total of 478,362 retail stock trading accounts owned by Filipinos. These numbers represents only 1% of the Philippine population. (source: PSE)

Compare to other Asian countries, more than 33% of the Singapore population invest in the stock market. I think this is the main reason why Singapore produce more millionaires.

In Japan and Australia, around 25% of their population are investing in stocks; around 18% in Malaysia; around 17 in Hong Kong; and around 10% in Korea.

Compare to the countries mentioned above, I guess Philippines is still far behind when it comes to investment literacy.

Is there any are other way to bring more Filipino people closer to the world of investment?

I was thinking that the media companies in the Philippines (like TV Stations, Newspaper, Magazines etc.) will be a good driving force to promote investment literacy in our country.  Of course this only my opinion, I don’t think big TV stations will trade their prime time slots for telenovela in exchange for the investment advocacy show.

With the help of internet (thru social networks) more bloggers are now promoting financial and investment literacy on their blogs.  Anyway, saving and investment topics are still boring to many Filipinos, it might be more interesting to bet and try our luck on the Lotto (Philippine Lottery) rather than tracking the performance of the Philippine Stocks or interest rates….

***********************************************************************************************

About these ads

Filed under Investment Tagged with ,

Investors Eyes on FED’s Jackson Hole Meeting

August 28, 2012 Leave a comment


Located in the State of Wyoming, Jackson Hole is where the US Federal Reserve holds its annual symposium. All eyes are now on Jackson Hole since this much anticipated event is attended by the world’s central bankers, policy experts and leading economists who is waiting for the FED and ECB next move.

Will the FED and ECB arsenal are good enough to keep the world economy up from recession?

Bernanke’s speech will be on August 31,2012 (Friday) which should provide clues whether another round of quantitative easing (QE) is in the making.

And on September 1, 2012 (Saturday) Mario Draghi will give his speech about what the ECB is planning to do.

I think most investors in the Stock Market will be holding their breathe over the week waiting for the FED’s chairman and ECB President speech.

The Philippine Stock Market was not an exemption for this kind of event, and also holding it’s breathe waiting for the Global market reaction after the FED’s make its moves.

This breath taking event may keep most investors on the sideline causing a thin trading activities on our local stock market.

The big question right now is: As an investor, do you believe that the Fed and the ECB has the right tools and are ready to provide more easing if the need arises?

Will the FED, ECB and other countries central banks will be able turn the world economy up from a recession? Or will the global economy continue to slowdown?

*************************************************************************************************

Filed under Investment Tagged with ,

Investing in Condo

August 24, 2012 Leave a comment


After the Epic flood that inundated the Metro Manila area, I am considering investing in condominium. I think many will  say that it is not a way a family should live in due to lack of space and loss of privacy, but there may be other reasons that living in a condominium may outweighs these 2 problems.

For those who are considering buying or investing in a condo, here are some checklist that you need to look for before committing your money into it.

1. Check the developer – look for the developers track record in delivering their projects.

2. Check for the location – is it near to any business establishment, malls, hospital, schools, church etc? I think you don’t want to buy a condo in a dull place.

3. Access to public transportation – is it easily accessible to any public transportation?

4. Look out for the condo dues – check the amenities and determine how much dues are you going to pay.

Once you decided to buy a condo, check your cash on hand. In buying a condo,  it is advisable to make straight cash or partial spot down payments to take advantage of the discounts offered by developers.

Many developers gives good discount for a cash buyer and we should take advantage of this opportunity if we can afford paying it in full amount.

*******************************************************************************************

Filed under Investment Tagged with

PSE Index Composition (September 2012)

August 23, 2012 Leave a comment


Cebu Air (CEB) out, Petron (PCOR) in……..

The PSE has announced late Wednesday (September 22, 2012)  review of 30 companies comprising the PSEi, Petron will again be part of the list of the country’s most liquid, largest in market capitalization stocks and most closely watched stocks.

Petron (Ticker : PCOR) had a market capitalization of P94.5 billion compared to Cebu Air’s (Ticker : CEB) P41 billion, which suggests the oil refiner is valued twice higher by the market over airline operator.

To be included in the PSEi, a publicly listed company must satisfy these three criteria – the free float level, liquidity and  market capitalization.

Below are the list of the new PSE index composition:

Source : Philippine Stock Exchange

***************************************************************************************

Filed under Investment Tagged with ,

List of Licensed Insurance Brokers in the Philippines (2012)

August 21, 2012 Leave a comment


Once you decided to get an Insurance, you must have to deal with the Insurance Broker.

To make sure you are dealing with a licensed broker, below are the list of life and non-life insurance broker in the Philippines for the year 2011-2012.

You can also go to the Philippine Insurance Commission website to check if the broker you are dealing has a license to do the transaction.

Click the link below for the complete list of Life and Non-Life insurance broker in the Philippines.

List of Insurance Brokers (2012)

source : Philippine Insurance Commission (http://www.insurance.gov.ph/)

******************************************************************************************************

Filed under Financials, Investment Tagged with ,

Top Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines (2011)

August 20, 2012 2 Comments


Below are the ranking of Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines according to their Premium Income, Networth and Paid-up Capital  for the year 2011.

You can click the link below for the complete ranking from each category.

1. Life Insurance Ranking According to Premium Income (2011)

2. Life Insurance Ranking According to Networth (2011)

3. Life Insurance Ranking According to Paid-up Capital (2011)

Philam Life, the biggest Life Insurance company in the Philippines tops them in all categories.

source : Philippine Insurance Commission ( http://www.insurance.gov.ph/ )

*******************************************************************************************

Filed under Financials, Investment Tagged with ,

Epic Flood and PSE

August 14, 2012 Leave a comment


Another great flood that will test the resiliency of the Filipino people and the Philippine Stock Market. Last week, torrential monsoon rains caused an epic flood that submerged the Metro Manila and other near provinces. Actually the recent floods is like the movie Waterworld.

I think this torrential rain is one of the most financially damaging natural disaster that our country has dealt with, and government is still assessing the overall damage it has brought.

Some of the direct effects of these flood are:

1. Damage to properties – flooded houses, submerged cars and home appliances.

2. Damage to agriculture – damage crops, fields and plants. These may bring the price of the vegetable to go up in few weeks.

3. Damage to infrastructure and utilities – damage to roads, bridges, power lines and other utilities.

I am not an economist, and I think the flood damages will play a great impact in our economy.

Philippine is known for experiencing devastating typhoons and tropical storms. The damage will be substantial but I am very hopeful that our country will recover very soon and again show its resilience in the face of adversity and challenges from this recent calamity.

**************************************************************************************************

Filed under Investment Tagged with , ,

The Month of August or Au-Ghost

August 11, 2012 Leave a comment


In Chinese or Buddhist/Taoist belief, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the ”Month of the Hungry Ghost.”

This makes the month of August a bad time to do activities such as strolling, traveling, or starting a new business (even investing).

August has been known as the “Ghost Month” in the Stock Market, since historically every August, the market slows down since there are few investors who are doing transactions. I guess most of these investors who minimize trading during the month of August were mainly Buddhist believers.

In my own point view, if the market anticipate the ghosts early enough, of course there won’t be anyone left who would sell in August but, if traders are complacent in July, the hungry ghosts would probably haunting us this month.

Should I buy or sell when the ghost appear? I think due diligence is still the name of the game. Buy only a stocks with good fundamentals and think long term.

As the famous investor said : Investing is not about exceptional intelligence, it is about proper temperamental.

When the market panics, those who can keep their heads up knowing the fundamentals of the company their holding is intact will always emerge as a victor.

Anyway, this Ghost month maybe an opportunity to accumulate more stocks in preparation for the Santa Claus rally.

——————————————————————————–

Filed under Investment Tagged with ,

The Philippine Mutual Fund Performance for the 1st half of 2012

July 19, 2012 Leave a comment


The Philippine Mutual Fund Performance for the 1st half of 2012.

EQUITY FUNDS (primarily invested in Philippine Peso equity securities)

1.    Philam Strategic Growth Fund – 22.5%
2.    Philippine Stock Index Fund – 21.4%
3.    Philequity Fund – 21.20%
4.    Sun Life Prosperity Phil. Equity Fund – 19.2%
5.    Philequity PSE Index Fund – 18.5%
6.    ATRKE Equity Opportunity Fund – 17.6%
7.    First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund – 17.6%
8.    United Fund – 8.6%

BALANCED FUNDS (primarily invested in Philippine Peso debt and equity securities)

1.    GSIS Mutual Fund – 21.5%
2.    Philam Fund – 20.6%
3.    Bahay Pari Solidaritas Fund – 19.2%
4.    NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils. – 17.8%
5.    ALFM Growth Fund – 16.89%
6.    First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund – 16.3%
7.    Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund – 14.1%
8.    Optima Balanced Fund – 13.9%
9.    ATRKE Philippine Balanced Fund – 13.8%

BOND FUNDS (primarily invested in Philippine Peso debt securities)

1.    Cocolife Fixed Income Fund – 4.68%
2.    First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund – 2.77%
3.    Philequity Peso Bond Fund – 2.08%
4.    Ekklesia Mutual Fund – 1.97%
5.    ALFM Peso Bond Fund – 1.66%
6.    Prudentialife Fixed Income Fund – 1.38%
7.    Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund – 1.36%
8.    Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund – 1.20%
9.    Grepalife Fixed Income Fund – 0.87%
10.   Philam Bond Fund – 0.50%

source : PIFA

Filed under Investment Tagged with

PSE Index Stock And Their Dividend Yield (2012)

June 10, 2012 2 Comments


For a dividend hunter investor, below are the list of PSE Index stock with their corresponding dividend yield.

A stocks dividend yield is the annual cash dividend payment divided by the current stock price. Actually, there were only few stocks listed in the PSE that pays cash dividend.

1    Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) – 3.16%
2    Aboitiz Power (AP) – 3.90%
3    Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) – 3.08%
4    Ayala Corporation (AC) – 0.91%
5     Ayala Land (ALI) – 1.09%
6     Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. (BDO) – 1.47%
7    Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) – 2.65%
8    Belle Corporation (BEL) – 0.00%
9    Cebu Air Inc. (CEB) – 0.00%
10    DMCI Holdings (DMC) – 2.14%
11    Energy Development Corporation (EDC) – 1.72%
12         First Gen Corporation (FGEN) – 0.00%
13    Globe Telecom (GLO) – 6.12%
14    International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICT) – 0.93%
15    JG Summit Holdings (JGS) – 0.15%
16    Jollibee Foods Corporation ( JFC) – 1.07%
17    Manila Electric Company (MER) – 5.08%
18    Manila Water Company (MWC) – 2.41%
19    Megaworld Corporation (MEG) – 1.24%
20    Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPI) – 0.73%
21    Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (MBT) – 2.31%
22    Philex Mining Corporation (PX) – 0.59%
23    Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (TEL) – 5.18%
24    Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) – 2.19%
25    San Miguel Corporation (SMC) – 0.92%
26    Semirara Mining Corporation (SCC) – 5.46%
27    SM Development Corporation (SMDC) – 0.74%
28    SM Investments Corporation (SM) – 1.52%
29    SM Prime Holdings (SMPH) – 1.89%
30    Universal Robina Corporation (URC) – 2.44%

source : Bloomberg

I may say that the concept of dividend were somehow boring since, there were only few companies paying it. However, we should not discount the fact that companies paying dividend is profitable and healthy in their industry.

Companies like PLDT(TEL), Meralco(MER), Semirara Mining (SCC) and Globe Telecoms (GLO) pays good dividend. In fact, their dividend yield is higher compared to the bank time deposit yields.

***************************************************************************

Filed under Investment Tagged with , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →