MAY-ANN O.

LANARIA

SBENTREP-2B

One of the decisions that almost everyone makes is to save more money, which is a
great plan to prepare for the future. But isn't it growing over time, which sounds as great
as hiding extras for a rainy day? If it's the length you want to go, it's a good idea to put
an "investment start" in your determination. Investing is a great way to make money
over time. It's useful when you're preparing for a better-planned future and unexpected
situations arise. And if you have someone you love to watch out for, you might want to
think about making money for their future as well. There are several ways to start
investing in Philippines, which are: (a) Tight-Budgeted Investments like bonds, stocks,
Forex, mutual Funds and etc. that has minimum Monthly Investment of 10k and below.
(b)Cryptocurrency Investment such as, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin and etc. It’s a digital
or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to
counterfeit or double-spend. (c) Passive-Income Investments and (d) Self-Investment.

The best way to succeed in making investments is by diversifying and investing in

multiple vehicles instead of concentrating on one. The advantage of having multiple
investments is that in the case that one fails, you have others that you can rely on to
shift your concentration. If all investments do well, then the more income you’d be able
to generate.

Here’s the top 20 ideal investment in the Philippines;

 
1. BTID (Minimum Monthly Investment: Php 2,000 - Php 3,000)
 
Buy Term and Invest the Difference is essentially an investment strategy that involves
buying term life insurance and investing the difference in other investment vehicles,
hence the name. This philosophy gives you the opportunity to spread out your
investments elsewhere. 
 
In order to understand how BTID works, here are some things you need to understand
about life insurance.
 
There are two main types, namely term life insurance, and whole life insurance. 
 
Whole or permanent insurance is much more costly because of the additional
advantages it maintains over term investments. These plans usually last up to when you
are 88 to 100 years old. It also offers a savings component or “cash value” which you
can borrow from. However, this is what makes them relatively more expensive than
term life insurance, usually five to ten times the cost.
 
 
2. VUL (Minimum Monthly Investment: Php 2,000 - Php 3,000) 
 
Purchasing whole life insurance comes with benefits that buying term won’t have. As
mentioned above, everything is taken care of when you purchase this plan. You
wouldn’t have to construct a savings plan because this already acts as one, plus it
guarantees coverage for a much longer period. 
 
Sure, it costs more and you may not get as big of a return as BTID, but that doesn’t
mean that your money isn’t growing. With most VUL plans to guarantee a 7.8 - 16.6
percent of average returns yearly, it’s still pretty stable and gives decent returns. 
 
The biggest advantage of this strategy is its convenience. This is most ideal for people
who don’t want an overly complicated investment plan and just want enough to get by
comfortably. 
 
3. ETF (Minimum Monthly Investment: Php 2,000 - Php 5,000 depending on the
minimum board lot and market price)
 
If you’re up and geared towards serious investing, then ETF is one of the best options
that can help you learn more about how the world of investment works.
 
ETF or Exchange-Traded Fund is an open-ended investment fund that holds assets
like stocks, bonds, commodities, and many others. They hold similar characteristics to
mutual funds. The difference is that ETFs are traded within the day rather than being
purchased with the end-of-day value. This ultimately combines the ability to diversify
that mutual bonds possess with the flexibility of the stock market.  
 

 
4. Bonds (Minimum Investment: Php 5,000)
 
There are two types of bonds you can invest in the Philippines, namely corporate
bonds and government bonds. The difference between the two is who you’re lending
the money to. When you invest in corporate bonds, you’re lending money to a
corporation. Likewise with government bonds. 
 
There is no guarantee of which of the two are better to go for since they differ in risk
profile as well. Corporate bonds often have higher yields, but this is because of the
higher risks it carries most of the time. 
 
Most banks can help you get started with investing in corporate bonds. Several banks
also carry Government bonds that you can ask about. The information on how to get
started is public knowledge and will most likely be posted on their website. You can
contact them online to get a better perspective of how it works.
 
5. Stocks (Minimum Investment: Php 5,000)
 
Stocks have been increasingly doing well over the years, which means you wouldn’t
want to miss out on the opportunity it could hold in 2020 and beyond. 
 
Understanding the Philippine Stock Market won’t take overnight. With it constantly
changing, you need to be updated at all times. This type of investment needs constant
monitoring and work put into it, which means if you do choose to venture into it, you’re
going to need to read up on it. 
 
Popular corporations like Jollibee, San Miguel Corporation, and Aboitiz Power Corp are
just some of the industries that rely on stockholders. But don’t go ahead and place your
bet on the companies that you can name at the top of your head. It is important that you
research well on the industries and how well they’re doing in the market. 
 
You should also consider the price and risk factors going in. The perfect opportunity in
stocks is when you buy stocks for a low price and are able to sell for a
much higher cost. Buy stocks that are set below their Buy Below Price or BBP. On
average, you can expect about 10.8 percent on average returns.
 

6. Mutual Funds (Minimum Investment: Php 5,000)

 
 Mutual funds dip into a little bit of everything. A mutual fund company basically collects
funds from different investors and distributes them to stocks, bonds, money market
instruments, and more.
 
These are the four types of mutual funds that you can find in the Philippines:

 Stock or Equity Funds - These funds have the highest risk involved with the
goal of a long term capital growth inset. They do, however, get the biggest returns
usually within five years or more.

 Money Market Funds  - These are short-term funds for investments like
corporate bonds and time deposits, usually with an investment timeframe of a year or
less. This is your safest bet, though it generates the least amount of income compared
to other MFs. 

 Bond Funds - With a higher risk than bond funds, balanced funds invest in a mix
of stocks, bonds, and money market instruments for moderate risk.

 Balanced Funds - These funds have the highest risk involved with the goal of a
long term capital growth inset. They do, however, get the biggest returns usually within
five years or more.

Be wary of mutual fund company scams that can be found online. Legitimate
mutual fund companies in the Philippines are registered under the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). They are all required to follow the Investment Company
Act (Republic Act 2629), which makes this investment relatively less risky because of
being constantly monitored by the government. You can expect 2 to 5 percent on
average returns in this investment.

 
7. Forex Trading  (Minimum Investment: Php 5,000)
 
The Foreign Exchange Market is a global decentralized marketplace for exchanging
national currencies against one another. Because of its international reach of
commerce, trade, and finance, this has become the largest and most liquid asset
markets. 
 
With possible average returns of 1 percent straight up to 10 percent monthly, the reward
that comes with well and carefully managed forex trading is quite high. Because of that,
don’t expect to be great at it the first time around. It requires constant practice in order
to get the hang of it, so it’s something that you should just continuously do to get good
at it.
 
8. PERA (Minimum Investment: Php 5,000 - Php 10,000)
 
It is a must that you save up for your retirement as soon as you start working.
Government investments that are required for most employment such as SSS and
PAG-IBIG will help you out upon retiring, though future pensions may only be enough to
get by. 
 
The US has tax retirement plans such as 401ks and IRAs to help them invest for
retirement much easier. Plus, it helps them better grow their interests compared to
banks and comes with some tax advantages. 
 
Find these investment plans interesting and wish you could give them a try? Well, you
most certainly can because the Philippines has its own version of the 401ks and IRAs.
In December 2016, Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP introduced the Personal Equity
& Retirement Account, or PERA for short. 
 
This plan lets you invest once a year until you are 55 years old with an average return of
5 to 15 percent yearly. The main perk of this plan is the tax benefits that come along
with it. Income earned from PERA is not taxed. And when ready to be withdrawn, it
won’t be taxed any withholding taxes, capital gains tax, and regular income tax, which is
considered to be much better than bank interest rates. 
 
 
9. Small Business (Minimum Investment: Php 5,000 - Php 10,000)
 
Small businesses have become a popular vehicle for investment for people with full-
time jobs that want something on the sideline. Going into a small scale business may
not require as much starting capital compared to the capital needed for a full-time
growing business, but it will need some time and effort put into it as well.
  
This investment can eventually turn into something more if you want to grow it. By
selling online or being recommended by customers to the people they know, it is
possible for this investment into a much bigger venture. Not only will it secure you
financially for the future, but it may also turn your future around completely.
 
 

Cryptocurrency Investment
 
Cryptocurrency investment in the Philippines has been increasingly piquing the interests
of Filipinos everywhere since everything is shifting towards the digital. But because it is
internet-based, it is understandable how people can be quite apprehensive about it
because of the mistrust shrouding the online world. However, this doesn’t make it any
less legitimate than other types of investments.
 
When you’re looking into investing in this type of vehicle, then it’s going to take some
research to fully understand how it works. Here are some general notes to keep in mind
about cryptocurrency:

10. Bitcoin (BTC)

 
This is the most popular form of cryptocurrency in the Philippines that investors seem to
flock to. It is, after all, the very first established cryptocurrency. 
 
To invest in Bitcoin is similar to other investment vehicles. First, you let out cash via
digital wallets that hold BTC, which most virtual exchanges do. Then you check
websites the Coin Market Cap website to check out current prices. You can either
transfer your Bitcoins to exchanges, buy from sellers, or transfer your BTC from your
digital wallet to exchanges.
 
As of the moment of this writing, 1 BTC is more than Php 360,600 and may have either
increased or decreased since. The average return in this investment is high, but so is
the risk that comes along with it.
 
11. Bitcoin Cash (BHC)
 
Bitcoin Cash or BHC is a fork created in 2017 that is at a much more affordable rate
than Bitcoins. It has cheaper transfer fees, faster transfer times, and can handle more
transactions per second compared to Bitcoin.
 
Be wary before investing in this cryptocurrency. It is fairly new to the market, so it’s had
its ups and downs since it started. 1 BHC is more or less Php 9,300.
 
12. Litecoin (LTC)
 
Litecoin or LTC is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that is also a software based on an
open-source cryptographic tool. Such as the previous currencies, LTC is also
decentralized and is slightly identical to Bitcoin. 
 
The difference of Litecoin from Bitcoin is that it processes a block within 2.5 minutes,
compared to the 10-minute processing in Bitcoin. It also uses scrypt algorithm, which
makes it more difficult to create and more expensive to use than Bitcoin.
 
 13. Ethereum (ETH)
 
This cryptocurrency is slowly gaining popularity in the Philippines and other countries
around the world as an alternative to bitcoin. Ethereum or ETH is an open-source
blockchain that features many of the same characteristics as bitcoin. It is also
decentralized and can be used to make payments, as collateral, or as a store of value.
 
But unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum features a scripting functionality. It is
programmable, meaning developers can build new kinds of applications. 
 
Almost all cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines trade Ethereum, with 1 ETH
being more or less Php 6,400 as of the moment.

14. E-commerce Websites

 
The internet has given many more opportunities for anyone to grow a fortune. One way
is investing through websites, which have become avenues for online advertising and
the like. But if you’re interested in having a solid business but don’t have much time to
fully concentrate on it, buying an e-commerce website offers just the thing to satisfy
your entrepreneurial drive with the convenience that the online world can provide.
 
Instead of creating a website from scratch, find an already created website to invest and
revamp, much like a relaunching. There are several websites for auction online that you
can buy through sites like Flippa.com. But if you’re looking for an established online
business to invest in, then try going through Exchangemarketplace.com where you’d
find e-commerce businesses for sale. And because the sites also offer support, you
have to invest only about 8-10 hours a week of your time. 

 Know the Ropes

You need to be familiar with how e-commerce works as well as how to operate a
website. 
 
Even with assistance, you would still need some knowledge on how to run websites like
the platforms it uses (e.g. WordPress, Drupal, TYPO3, Joomla), the traffic quality (how
many people visit), and its ranks on search engines. 
 
And as for the e-commerce side of things, know the products or services it tends to, the
target market that it caters to, and what further business plans can push it to grow.

 Consider the Website’s History

Sellers have to post the reason why they are selling their sites. Most of them say that
it’s simply because they no longer have time on their hands to keep it up, a reason that
you can verify yourself through research.
  
Review the performance throughout the years and how well it’s done monthly. If it is
consistently going downhill, then the reason for selling it could be because it’s near
failure. If you’re not interested in the challenge to improve the business completely, then
avoid purchasing these sites. But if it’s been steadily growing, then these sites are the
passive income sites you’re looking for.

 Price and Maintenance Cost

You would need to have a good business judgment to know if these sites are worth the
investment. Consider the costs to run it and the price that it’s going for. It may promise
that it earns a certain amount of revenue, but you need to be able to verify that yourself.
 
15. P2P Lending
 
Micro-lending or peer-to-peer lending is an unconventional form of investment that
takes away the “middleman,” such as banks and corporations, out of the equation. 
 
The concept of it is nothing new, with it being similar or the same as utang or loaning.
But instead of taking to the streets, there are many online platforms where you can be
an investor in this type of vehicle. 
 
Because there is no actual centralized platform calling the shots, the interest rate can
be much more flexible depending on the two parties. That said, this type of investment
can be quite risky since you would be loaning to people who are essentially strangers to
you. 
 
The perk of this is that you can start investing at a low rate of about Php 1,250. But you
still have to pick your investment wisely. FundKo, Blend PH, and MoneyMatch are just a
few legitimate online platforms that you can use in the Philippines.
 
16. Venture Capital and Angel Investing  
 
There are many brilliant business ventures that have the potential to become something
greater in the years to come. If you think that you have the right judgment to spot them
out, then you have the makings of a venture capitalist. 
 
Great and successful companies such as Uber, WhatsApp, and even Google started
out with funding from venture capitalists. So if you bet on the right people, you may
receive something much greater in return.
 
But in order to get into investing as a venture capitalist, you will most likely start out as
an angel investor. 
 
The difference between being an angel investor and a venture capitalist is where the
money comes from. Angel investors are often those who have money to spare and are
willing to support a business venture for a returned interest. Venture capitalists,
however, are private equity investors that get the funding from limited partnerships with
other investors, so technically they don’t use their own money.
  
17. Real Estate
 
The real estate industry has been steadily growing so far in the Philippines and looks
promising moving forward in the year 2020 and beyond. There are many ways to start
investing in real estate, and some of them don’t require much effort other than investing
financially. 
 
Self-Investments
 
Not all investments in the Philippines receive financial gain in return. As an investor,
your main goal is to prepare yourself for the future, so anything that can help that cause
is an investment in itself. 
 
There are investments in your life that you shouldn’t restrain yourself from making.
Make this 2020 the year of growth not only financially, but holistically in every possible
direction. Here are some self-investments that you can bump up of your new year’s
resolution list.
 
18. Knowledge and Skill Investments 
 
There is always room for you to improve yourself. Whether you want to pursue a new
useful skill or continue studying to fully equip yourself for your career moving forward,
investing in these will benefit you in the long run.
 
If you are not willing to spend for it, however, there is always the option to learn on your
own. The internet has made it possible for people to self-educate themselves to a
certain degree. 
. 
 
19. Health Investments
 
This investment goes beyond health and life insurance. Besides being financially
secured in case something wrong happens, you need to make sure that you’re actually
living the life you have to the fullest. 
 
Eating healthier and incorporating some simple exercise routines may cost you more
time and money, but take note that living a healthier lifestyle now will save you some
trouble in the future, both physically and financially. 
 
Mental health is equally as important to maintain and invest in. Don’t hold onto your
money too tight that you won’t give yourself a break once in a while. Allow yourself to
spend your money on occasional trips or vacations if it means that it will give your mind
some rest and improve your overall wellbeing.
 
20. Family Investments
 
When you’re a parent supporting a family, investing is not only for your future but for
theirs as well. Aside from a college fund set aside for the future, kids also need
knowledge and skill enhancement to prepare them for the future or ignite a sense of
passion in their life. 
 
Enrolling your children in extracurricular activities or supporting them in contests also
counts as a long-term investment. Yes, this may dip into your funds. You may have to
pay for classes, equipment, and the like. And there is no guarantee that your investment
will be utilized in their future (e.g. paying for basketball lessons doesn’t assure that your
child will grow up to be a professional basketball player). But the return of investment
you’ll be getting back can come in other forms. Your children could learn values such as
teamwork, discipline, and perseverance from these experiences, which are gains that
can benefit them in their path towards their own success.
 

Many people hesitate to give a portion of their hard-earned money for a promise
for something greater in return after some time. This is because nobody can truly
predict how the future will go. Investment in the Philippines does come with a risk factor,
but it can very well be worth it if you play your cards right.
The trick to investment is good research, patience, and a positive mindset. When
you are confident that what you’re investing in can help you in the long run, then there’s
no reason not to push through with it. And don’t be afraid of failure. If you worry too
much about the risk instead of the possibility, then it might just hinder you from making
better decisions. 
The rewards to longtime investment can be exponentially great and can possibly
earn you more than what you’ve projected. Whichever way you choose to invest in your
money this year will benefit you and your loved ones in the long haul. So by the end of
it, you can very well make your goal of creating a better life for yourself and the people
you love.
Many people hesitate to give a portion of their hard-earned money for a promise
for something greater in return after some time. This is because nobody can truly
predict how the future will go. Investment in the Philippines does come with a risk factor,
but it can very well be worth it if you play your cards right.