Practical Tips: Making Investment Easy and Fun for Everyone

The world of investment might seem like an overwhelming topic, reserved only for the wealthy, or for those with the knack for numbers. However, investing is for everyone, and can be suited to one’s condition and enthusiasm. It can be, in fact, fun and easy, you just need someone to guide and help you. 

BPI Race on Investment Board Game

“BPI endeavors to be an enabler for every Filipino would-be investor, by providing financial advice making investment easy and accessible to anyone,” Remarie Suzette Ablan-Ayson, Vice President and Department Head of Wealth Management at BPI Asset Management and Trust Group said.

Ayson offers some practical to-do’s to jumpstart investing:

• Identify your short-term, medium-term and long-term life goals.

“You can always dream of a good life, but not know the ways to achieve it. It can be quite overwhelming at first but the trick is to segment your goals in the short-term and long- term,” Ayson explains. “Write down all of your goals and then classify. For example, do you want to buy a car in three years? That is a medium-term goal. Meanwhile, saving for early retirement is a long-term goal.”

• Conduct a financial health check.

Like taking care of your physical well-being, it is a good habit to check your financial health as well. This means sorting out your available funds according to emergency funds, current income, and investible funds. 

“This is important for you, so you can set aside funds for unexpected situations, such as accidents or personal emergencies,” Ayson advises. “Know your cash flow, and recognize the potential of your untapped resources, or what could be your future investments.” 

One must see the value that investment funds can supply your income and eventually aid you in your financial goals and needs.

• Learn about investments—and have fun.

One of the ways to refine your goals is to gain more knowledge and know-how on investment, which can be aided by consulting with an investment counselor.

“An investment counselor can help you further tailor-fit your investments according to your profile and be updated on what’s new in the finance and banking industry,” Ayson advises. 

One of the ways for any individual to have access to investment counselors is through BPI Asset Management’s Financial Wellness seminars, where the importance of investing is explained through interactive ways. 

Through the years, BPI Asset Management has continuously come up with innovative ways to educate non-investors on the basics of investing and how it can help them achieve their goals. 

Recently, BPI introduced the Race on Investments (ROI) board game, a first in the banking industry. 

“We recognize that every Filipino is unique and has a distinct manner of learning. Thus, we have innovated once again and created a new tool in educating clients through the Race on Investments board game,” Ayson said. 

“Through the board game, we take the discussion on investments beyond pure concepts and allow individuals to see for themselves how investments can work in real life, within the context of a game,” Ayson added. 

BPI - Bank of the Philippine Islands

• Know the qualities of a good investment. Determine the investment that is right for you.

Now after knowing what investment is better for your personality, how do you know exactly what is a good investment? Here are some characteristics of a good investment.
One, it can beat inflation. Prices naturally increase over time. In fact, over a three-year period, prices can go up by almost 3%. 

“Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where all things are equal, as economists have always dreamed of. A good investment can beat inflation by increasing not decreasing your money’s worth over time,” Ayson explains. 

Second, risk is compensated with reward. “This depends how you assess yourself, if you are averse to risks or comfortable with it,” Ayson points out. 

BPI has three types of funds to cater to each profile as well as your goals. For example, the BPI Short-Term Fund is classified as a short-term, low risk, and low reward type of fund. It is invested mostly in time deposit and term deposit facility of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. 

Meanwhile, if you are looking to achieve financial goals in three years, the Odyssey Medium Term Bond Fund is a good choice. The fund is invested mostly in Philippine government and corporate bonds. 

Lastly, the BPI Philippine Equity Index Fund is a long-term, high risk, and high reward type of fund. Addressing your retirement and long-term needs, this type of fund has a larger yield compared to other funds because it is invested in shares issued by Philippine companies in the Philippine Stocks Exchange Index (PSEi). 

Third, it can help you achieve your life goals according to your plan. “To get your money’s worth, the key is to know how these types of investments work and more importantly, how these can work for you,” Ayson says.

• Diversify your investments.

Knowing the type of investments is one thing, but putting your actual hard-earned money into them is another matter. The key to getting the most out of your investment is diversification into the three types of funds. 

“You may have a preferred fund based on your risk profile but it is ideal that you place sufficient amounts in each type. This will give you the largest returns, as much as 5% in five years for a P100,000 initial investment—much higher compared to just parking it in your savings account or putting everything in one entire fund,” Ayson explains. 

The world of investment might be intimidating at first, but we can all learn that this is not entirely true. Through learning your different investment options, you wouldn’t have to depend on a single source of income for when you want to travel, buy a car, or save for retirement.

With proper guidance and advisory, investing can help you achieve your life aspirations, thus making the best happen. Know more about it at BPI.com.ph.