Thursday, May 16, 2013

Financial IQ: Is it time to take profit on Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)?

English: Phillippine stock market board
English: Phillippine stock market board (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

Do you still have a lot of investments on the Philippine Stock Exchange?  If so, it is definitely worth your time to go through this.  For the complete article, please visit the link below.


Q: The stock market has started to move sideways last week after registering an all-time high at 6,800 points recently. I wonder if this is a good time to take profits now as many stocks are already expensive, but I also worry that I might regret it later if the market resumes its uptrend and goes up further. I want to maximize my profits from stocks. Can you advise me? – Evan De Vera by e-mail

A: The reason you hesitate to sell your stocks now is you have the feeling of greed that comes with the anticipation that the market will further go up. The feeling of greed tells you to hold on to your stocks and wait for it to go higher as everyone expects the stock market to break the 7,000 target soon. There is a feeling of denial within you every time you see the market falling because you don’t want to hurt your ego by accepting the possibility that you may be wrong about your expectations.

Yes, there is no doubt that the market will go up again and possibly set another record high but every time the market goes up, the risk of losing also gets bigger. Considering the rocket speed and steep rise of the PSE index, which rose by 18 percent in less than three months, it is not hard to see that the stock market may soon be due for massive correction.

It may not necessarily be a sharp fall unless there is a reason for the market to panic but it may decline slowly on choppy fashion. Speculators will trade less as buying slows down. Traders take a back seat and assess where the market stands fundamentally. Some may fear that the market has topped already. Others think that since the Philippine stock market is already trading at scary valuations, many stocks are now ripe for the harvest.


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Thursday, May 9, 2013

Financial IQ: Possible US Mutual Funds to buy

Mutual Funds for Dummies ... U.S. Funds at War...
Mutual Funds for Dummies ... U.S. Funds at War -- Too simple? (Monday, June 4, 2012) ...item 3.. Music to Help Study and Work - 26:39 minutes ... (Photo credit: marsmet545)


Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

If you are investing on US mutual funds, you may also want to check this out.  Gives you suggestions on possible ones that may fit your needs.


You've heard it all before: You can't time the market. Diversification is a winning strategy. Keep your costs low, and one of the best ways of doing that is to invest in index funds, which beat most actively managed funds over time.

You've probably ignored some of these truisms. Maybe you've ignored them all. You've probably made other mistakes. But what you want to do now is choose solid investments -- and get on with the rest of your life.

If that description fits you, you'll appreciate what follows: a portfolio of exchange-traded index funds that you can buy and hold virtually forever. I'll even suggest what percentages to hold in each fund and how to gear down as you approach and live in retirement.

Because all of my picks are index funds, you'll never own a fund that tops the performance charts. You'll give up the chance of beating the indexes. You'll have little to talk about at the office water cooler. But you're practically guaranteed to beat roughly two-thirds of actively managed fund portfolios. Not bad.

All the ETFs in this article are Vanguard ETFs because Vanguard is the industry's low-cost provider and because ETFs tend to be even more tax-efficient than ordinary index funds. But you can accomplish the same goals with ishares ETFs or with Vanguard's regular mutual funds.

One big caveat: This portfolio isn't designed with today's market in mind. It's a long-term portfolio, not one that will require adjustments every year or two. For example, I'm including an index fund that tracks small-company stocks, even though small caps, by most measures, look overvalued today. Why? Because over the long term, small caps will do just fine.

Following are the exchange-traded funds to use and the percentage of your stock holdings to put in each (I'll add bond funds later):

Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI), 40%. This ETF, which for years has tracked the MSCI US Broad Market Index, is switching over to the CRSP U.S. Total Market Index. But the change will be invisible to investors. Vanguard is changing the index provider on 22 funds because -- you guessed it -- it will lower costs. Total Stock Market invests in virtually every U.S. stock with a market value of at least $10 million. All told, it owns more than 3,200 stocks, but they're weighted by market value. The largest holding, at last report, was Apple, at 3.2% of assets. The fund charges a mere 0.06% of assets annually.

Vanguard Total International Stock (VXUS), 20%. Most of this fund is in stocks of large companies in developed nations. But it has 20% in small and midsize companies in developed markets and 20% in emerging-markets stocks. With about 6,200 holdings, the fund is even more diversified than Vanguard Total Stock Market. It's transitioning from tracking the MSCI All Country World ex US Investable Market Index to following the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index. The fund charges 0.16% annually.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets (VWO), 10%. I don't think the long-term trend toward globalization will run out of steam in the coming years, and over time, many emerging nations should mature into developed economies. But new entrants will take their places. This fund is changing over to the FTSE Emerging Markets Index, which, unlike the MSCI index it is replacing, classifies South Korea as a developed country and thus excludes it from the fund. Emerging-markets stocks will remain volatile but should deliver superior results over the long term. This fund charges 0.18% a year.

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (VIG), 10%. This fund seeks to mirror the obscure Nasdaq US Dividend Achievers Select Index. A strategy of investing in blue-chip companies that consistently increase their dividends has paid off over the long haul. This index consists only of companies that have raised their dividends in each of the past ten years and that pass other tests of financial strength. This is not a high-dividend fund; it yields 2.2%, about the same as the overall U.S. stock market. But its holdings are of the highest quality. The fund's expense ratio is 0.13%.

Vanguard Extended Market (VXF), 10%. This fund diversifies your U.S. holdings. It has all but 6% of assets in small and midsize companies. Small-caps and midcaps are riskier than stocks of large companies, but over time they have produced higher returns. The ETF tracks something called the S&P Completion Index, which includes virtually all U.S. stocks outside Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. The expense ratio is 0.14%.

Vanguard Small-Cap Value (VBR), 10%. Last but not least is this small-company value fund, which is switching from tracking the MSCI US Small Cap Value Index to mimicking the CRSP US Small Cap Value Index. The average market value of its holdings is about $1.4 billion. This fund is far more volatile than Vanguard Extended Market, but, over time, stocks of small, beaten-down companies have, on average, beaten stocks of larger, pricier companies. The expense ratio is 0.21%.

All you need now is a bond fund. In the area of low-cost index funds, the default choice is Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND) ETF. But because we've already had a 30-year-plus bull market in bonds and the risks of owning bonds are high, I instead recommend Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond (VCSH) ETF. It yields only 1.2% (compared with 1.7% for Total Bond Market), but Short-Term will lose a lot less than Total Bond when interest rates rise, as they inevitably will. Expenses are just 0.12%. (If you're investing in a taxable account, you'll probably be better off investing in a tax-free municipal-bond fund. But there are no good index funds in this area, so I suggest one of two actively managed funds, Vanguard Intermediate Term Tax-Exempt (VWITX) or Fidelity Intermediate Municipal Income (FLTMX).

How to split your money between stock and bond funds? If you have an average tolerance for the markets' inevitable belly flops, are investing for retirement and are at least ten years from your goal, put about 70% in stock funds. Subtract five or ten percentage points if you're a worrier, and add five points if selloffs don't give you the sweats. Cut your stock funds by five points when you're less than ten years from retirement.

Once you retire, you should cut your stock holdings to 60% of assets. If you have enough money and are a skittish investor, consider investing as little as 50% in stocks. And once you've launched your program, just add new money that comes your way in the same proportions as your initial investments. In other words, don't change a thing.


http://money.msn.com/exchange-traded-fund/7-funds-you-can-own-forever


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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Financial IQ: Some US stocks to consider

Huaneng Power International
Huaneng Power International (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

If you are investing in the US stock market, you may want to check out the suggested stocks below.  Please take note that US stock market is also on the high side, similar to Philippine stock market.


All 50 stocks in StockScouter's benchmark portfolio for May
Alliant Energy (LNT) -- Scouter score: 9
Spectra Energy (SE) -- Scouter score: 9
AES (AES) -- Scouter score: 9
Pepco (POM) -- Scouter score: 9
Ameren (AEE) -- Scouter score: 9
PPL (PPL) -- Scouter score: 8
Duke Energy (DUK) -- Scouter score: 8
Exelon (EXC) -- Scouter score: 8
EQT Midstream Partners (EQM) -- Scouter score: 10
Huaneng Power International (HNP) -- Scouter score: 10
CMS Energy (CMS) -- Scouter score: 9
Consolidated Edison (ED) -- Scouter score: 9
Northwestern (NWE) -- Scouter score: 9
American Electric Power (AEP) -- Scouter score: 9
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) -- Scouter score: 10
Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (SBS) -- Scouter score: 9
UIL (UIL) -- Scouter score: 9
Edison International (EIX) -- Scouter score: 9
Verizon Communications (VZ) -- Scouter score: 9
American States Water (AWR) -- Scouter score: 9
AT&T (T) -- Scouter score: 9
WGL (WGL) -- Scouter score: 9
Scana (SCG) -- Scouter score: 9
Vectren (VVC) -- Scouter score: 9
Otter Tail (OTTR) -- Scouter score: 9
Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE) -- Scouter score: 9
South Jersey Industries (SJI) -- Scouter score: 9
NV Energy (NVE) -- Scouter score: 9
ITC (ITC) -- Scouter score: 9
Piedmont Natural Gas (PNY) -- Scouter score: 9
Questar (STR) -- Scouter score: 9
OGE Energy (OGE) -- Scouter score: 9
Cleco (CNL) -- Scouter score: 9
Xcel Energy (XEL) -- Scouter score: 8
Laclede Group (LG) -- Scouter score: 8
NiSource (NI) -- Scouter score: 8
UNS Energy (UNS) -- Scouter score: 8
California Water Service Group (CWT) -- Scouter score: 8
Westar Energy (WE) -- Scouter score: 8
Southwest Gas (SWX) -- Scouter score: 8
Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) -- Scouter score: 8
Empire District Electric (EDE) -- Scouter score: 8
AGL Resources (GAS) -- Scouter score: 8
Northeast Utilities (NU) -- Scouter score: 8
Great Plains Energy (GXP) -- Scouter score: 8
Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP) -- Scouter score: 8
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) -- Scouter score: 8
Progressive Waste Solutions (BIN) -- Scouter score: 8
DirecTV (DTV) -- Scouter score: 10
Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) -- Scouter score: 10

http://money.msn.com/stock-broker-guided/50-stocks-to-buy-in-may-2013

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Financial IQ: Do you take advantage of tax savings?

Marriage Day
Marriage Day (Photo credit: Fikra)

Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

Did you know that in China... happy couples still apply for divorce?  Why?  So that they can enjoy some of the tax breaks... and afterwards, they can get married again.  Can't fault them... as they are just taking advantage of opportunities to save, which is quite significant as it involves property acquisitions. :)


Long queues of happy couples waiting to get married might be a common sight in Las Vegas. But lines of happily married couples waiting to get divorced? Only in China.

In major cities across the country last month, thousands of couples rushed to their local divorce registry office to dissolve their marriages in order to benefit from fast-expiring tax breaks on property investments for unmarried individuals. Local media reported long waits at registries in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and elsewhere as savvy investors sought to buy or sell a second home before the government introduced strict new regulations that would force married homeowners to pay hefty taxes on the sale of second properties.

The new regulations are designed to cool speculation in China’s feverish property market and are part of a package of measures that would require couples to pay up to 20% capital gains tax on the sale of second homes. But for determined investors, nothing gets in the way of a good bargain, and some quickly noticed that the 20% impost didn’t apply if the second home was bought before the couple were married — or after they got divorced.

China’s marriage law allows for divorce if couples simply sign an agreement to divorce, present themselves at the registry office and pay a fee of just $1.50. Weighed against the prospect of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit from property investments, many couples are deciding the $1.50 charge is worth it.

According to media reports, in March the number of couples getting divorced in Tianjin, a large city on the eastern seaboard, soared to 300 per day — more than triple the normal amount. In Beijing, too, realtors reported a boom in divorcing couples seeking out new houses. “Half of the deals I made last month were cases where the couples were getting divorced,” a Mr. Jin, who works as an agent at one of the biggest realtors in Beijing, tells TIME. “These were all young couples between 25 and 35 years old, and all of them were looking to buy another house as an investment.”

As an emerging middle class accumulates wealth, more and more young families are finding that they have limited options to make good use of their money. With overseas investment options closed off by complex regulatory barriers, banks offering measly interest-rate returns on deposits and the stock markets on a never ending losing streak, there aren’t many attractive investment choices.

Some choose to invest in gold and other precious metals. Indeed, when gold prices fell sharply last week, shops in mainland China and Hong Kong quickly reported stock shortages and empty shelves. But China’s savvy purchasers have long had an affinity for putting their money into bricks and mortar, not least because property prices in most cities have soared over the past decade and continue to rise sharply.

With a seemingly endless supply of money flowing into the country’s property sector, and prices on a constant upward trajectory, regulators have long been worried about the frothy market giving rise to major property bubbles, especially in the most populous cities like Beijing and Shanghai. But it seems that canny investors are quick to spot ways around the cooling measures, hence the new vogue for divorce.

It’s not only profiteers who are choosing the divorce route. Many couples who simply want to trade up from their current home have realized that they can save tens of thousands of dollars by splitting up before making their next purchase. According to media reports, one couple in the southern city of Guangzhou, who already owned two apartments, saved $32,000 by getting divorced and selling one of their houses before buying another.

The divorce solution is extreme but it’s the kind of solution to which China’s put-upon middle classes have become accustomed. Civil-servant couples, for example, are subject to a particularly strict version of the one-child policy that would require them to give up their jobs if they had a second child. Some have decided to circumvent those rules by getting divorced and having a second child out of wedlock, registered under either parent’s name as a “first” child.

Of course, the country’s regulators have also taken notice of the long queues outside divorce registries and have acted to put a stop to the practice. In recent weeks, the government revised its regulations to increase the taxes payable by unmarried individuals selling a secondhand property, effectively cutting the most speculative investors out of the market.

Others, though, are still happy to break the knot, if only because they need not stay divorced for long. Realtor Jin advises his clients who are considering the process that they can be back in happy matrimonial bliss within as little as three weeks. “If you pay the full price in cash up front, the whole transaction can be completed in as little as 10 days — and even if you’re taking out a mortgage, it only takes about six weeks,” Jin says. “Once that’s done, you can go and get remarried right away.”


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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Financial IQ: Love over politics?

Heart Evangelista
Heart Evangelista (Photo credit: Neil Nanquil Photography)

Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

Can their love conquer all?  It has been said that spouse plays a major role in determining if the family will get to enjoy a better financial life in the future.


This video is produced in partnership with Esquire Magazine Philippines, whose cover for this month's election issue features re-electionist Chiz Escudero's controversial girlfriend Heart Evangelista.

Are you happy?

Yes. It's a liberating kind of happiness. I have a lot of fears, a lot of things I don't know, I anticipate a lot of things. But it's liberating because I'm happy, I feel like I'm free to decide on my own now, and that's a big step.

Were you unhappy before?

I was content, I guess. I didn't want myself to want anything else, let's just say I was a bit bored with my life at that time.

Is it only love that’s making you happy or is it everything else?

A lot of people think that I was born in February, my name is Heart, it's a curse 'cause it seems like I'm always in love. People say that I have a “You and I against the world” syndrome. But no. Unfortunately, love is not the only thing that makes my world go round.

There's just so much that I'd like to do. I'd like to travel. I'd like to see a clear schedule on my calendar. I'd like to wake up at 12 noon. I wanna eat pasta, yeah, I wanna walk around a different country, maybe Paris wearing sneakers. Not usually in your Louboutins. So, yeah, I was just a bit bored then.

Was it Chiz Escudero who made it exciting?

No. A big part though, but it was when I turned 28 that I realized that what I do today will make my life 10 years from now, my biological clock is ticking. That's not good, and I just started to like other things.

I don't wanna go out partying. I wanna have my own home. I wanna paint my walls the colors I want, I want to decide which plates I can eat with today. Those things. Or if I don't wanna have a maid anymore. If I wanna do things on my own, or if 'today I can use this car.' I didn't have those decisions before, or choices. So, yeah. (Chiz, Heart: Against all odds?)

But Chiz, he makes my life all cheesy and lovely and fun, I laugh a lot when I'm with him, I learn so much. I think it was timely that he entered my life 'cause he introduced me to a lot of different things. He makes me feel guilty when I buy something expensive. I think I can save my money more now.

What makes him worth fighting for?

The people I've been with that I loved at that time, not everybody could understand what I was going through, not everyone could stand by my side and not have a moment of, "Wait, let me think of myself first."

This guy that I'm with, he's brave, he stands for what's right, he knows he loves me, and he doesn't even doubt that we wouldn't make it out of this situation and he stood by my side. I think that's why it's worth fighting for.

Do you see a future with him?

Yes I do.

Do you think he would make a good senator?

I think he's amazing, I think he's a brilliant guy, and I think he's a really good dad, a good son, and a good friend. Someone that's a full of love kind of guy—partner. I think he could be somebody really great, and since he is a senator, I think he's done a lot to our country and I'm really proud of him and I think there is so much more that he could do.

Do you think he would make a good president?

Yeah, no doubt about that. He has all these ideas, he's so fair with everything, even when people are hitting him left and right and beating him black and blue, he accepts it but yet he doesn't plan anything evil against them he plans a solution to the problem, he never turns his back on anything. He just goes forward and fights for what is right, so I think he would be a great president.

Do you think you would make a great first lady?

I never really thought of that, to be honest. I think it's ridiculous that people tease me na "o, First Lady,” ganyan-ganyan. I already have a problem with being an artista sometimes, and you have to smile when you're really devastated about something, and you're in public and you always have to have this smile on your face. I'm already struggling with that, but any kind of situation that—or anything that you're destined.

Kunwari, you're destined to be this person, I wouldn't turn it down if you were made to help people. But I don't think you have to be a politician to help anyone.

Do you think, as a girlfriend, would you have been attracted to the senator if he weren't a senator?

Yeah, I think he's my dream guy.

It's funny, I have this book I read when I was young, Memoirs of a Geisha, and when she was young she had a crush on somebody much older. I do remember a couple of years ago I saw Chiz and I was taken aback by his presence. He was wearing a shirt and shorts and tsinelas and it was in Serendra. He had no bodyguards. So it was actually the opposite, that he was actually such a normal person.

I think he is full of character, he's brilliant, he's smart, the way he talks he's dignified, the way he stands, without the title, I think I'd still be attracted to him, definitely.

Physically, what attracts you to the senator?

He has nice eyes. He has puppy eyes. They're tricky. They always seem like they're serious or sad or something but that's what makes it so cute. I melt all the time he looks at me, I get kilig up to this day when he picks me up, just the way he stands, the way he puts his hands in his pockets, or you know, the way he laughs. I get so kilig up to this day.

If you found out that you were politically dangerous to the senator, that you were not good for his survey ratings, would you give him up?

I'll tell you I question that. When this whole thing came out and my parents had a presscon I was devastated, which even makes me want to cry at this point, because I really did question that I wasn't good for him. I thought I was a curse to anybody to be with, because I had other people that just loved me so much that didn't believe that anybody could love me the way they did, and I questioned myself and I told him that, that maybe I'm not good for you, and I know a lot of people say I'm not good for him. But he just told me one thing, he said, "If this is what it takes to keep you and to have you in my life, then I'd go for it."


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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Financial IQ: SDA down to 1.5%

Philippine 100 peso bill
Philippine 100 peso bill (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Financial IQ Philippines Quick Hit(s):

SDA rate down to 1.5%... too low.  If you are still invested on SDA... you are losing money to inflation.  Start considering other investment products such as preferred shares if you prefer fixed interest.


After cutting the rate on special deposit accounts (SDAs) by a total of 150 basis points, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is not likely done with the current monetary easing cycle, a Bank of the Philippine Islands economic research said.

Contrary to recent speculations on the phaseout of the SDA—the mechanism by which the central bank borrows from a broader market—this facility will likely remain in operation until the BSP “can find a suitable replacement to mop up liquidity to effectively carry out its primary mandate to ensure price stability,” said the research note written by Nicholas Antonio Mapa.

However, the BPI research expected further reductions in the SDA rate, possibly down to 1.5 percent by year’s end, noting that “inflation will be well-anchored and remain at the low-end of the inflation target.”

The research was issued after the BSP slashed further the SDA rare by 50 basis points to 2 percent during the monetary setting last Thursday.

Keeping the SDA facility was seen in line with the BSP’s objective to institutionalize an interest rate corridor, the BPI research said. Under the interest rate corridor system, the central bank will set minimum and maximum rates on long- and short-term funds and adjust the rates in response to how much liquidity is required by the economy. Such a system helps the central bank maintain rates at levels consistent with its desired monetary policy stance while curbing short-term interest rate volatility. The SDA rate is seen providing the minimum rate to this corridor and the overnight borrowing indicating the maximum rate.

The BSP introduced the SDA facility in late 2008 to expand its mopping-up capability as the overnight borrowing rate alone was not enough to siphon off excess liquidity in the local financial system. This facility, which is accessible even to retail investors through the trust departments of banks, now locks up close to P2 trillion in excess funds.

Last week’s SDA rate cut marked the third reduction in the rate on this facility and the total 150-point cumulative cut was bigger than the 100-point reduction in the overnight borrowing rates. The BSP has kept its overnight borrowing rate unchanged at 3.5 percent.

“Given the benign inflation environment and falling oil prices, monetary authorities were afforded more scope to cut interest rates further and channel more funds to productive lending,” the BPI research said.

The BSP has tempered its inflation forecast for this year to 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent. In March, the inflation rate stood at 3.2 percent.

“Previous cuts to the SDA rate have had limited effect in the past as the amount of funds parked in the facility have yet to decrease despite lower interest rates,” the research said. “Despite efforts for the BSP to channel funds to productive sectors, investments have yet to pick up substantially and the most recent cut may entice some funds to finally shift out of the facility.”

The BSP research said the BSP might choose to unveil more innovative measures to induce funds to shift away from the SDA facility, perhaps through further amendments of rules regarding participation in the fund.

On the likely market impact, the BPI research said the latest SDA rate cut might have limited immediate effect on the local government securities market as most market players have priced in the most recent move at least a week ahead of the actual monetary setting.

http://business.inquirer.net/119153/rate-on-sdas-seen-declining-to-1-5

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