MY NEW SITE FOR STOCK MARKET TRADING

I decided to segregate or created new site intended for Online Stock Market Trading at http://online-stocktrading.yolasite.com/   a complete and easy to understand step-by-step procedures on trading and investing stocks. This site focus principally to our newbie investors, to guide and enhance skills. I'm also posting my stock picks and advice every week, tips and tricks on trading, and market watch on where we are heading.


I could say that I'm not a stock guru, but I could assure that an elementary newbie level could learned and beat manager on the long run of practice. See you then and more power.

http://online-stocktrading.yolasite.com/ 
http://online-stocktrading.yolasite.com/  
http://online-stocktrading.yolasite.com/ 

MUTUAL FUNDS: 2010 FIRST QUARTER PERFORMANCE

Our mutual funds performs well as a good start this year, with most funds registering a positive results. As we had anticipated, our economy did not go into as bad effect of recession last year, and now show strong recovery despite the financial meltdown in the abroad and in this coming election on May. PSEI also got recovery after a bubble burst last January.





YEAR-TO-DATE PERFORMANCE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN THE PHILIPPINES
As of the 1st Quarter of 2010 (January to March 2010)

Definitely, 2010 will be a better year for us in to our economy and business. Services sector still seen a continue to provide the major growth, with agriculture and mining that shows strong support. While manufacturing sector  continued to decline as we and most countries cannot compete with China.

Link : [HOW TO COMPUTE YOUR EARNING]

Good luck and more power to all our investors.

BONDS : PAG-IBIG HOUSING BOND

, Ge( 5.0% government guaranteed and tax-free)

If you’re looking for an investment that make you sleep soundly and no time to study and monitor, then this is it! Invest with our government.

The Bonds have a term of 5 years and 1 day. You can invest with a minimum of Php10,000 only with  other denominations are Php100,000, Php500,000, Php1,000,000 and Php10,000,000.

It pays fixed interest rate of 5.0% per year and the interest payments are exempt from the 20% withholding tax. Your earnings are automatically credited every 6 months to the savings account of the bondholder with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) or Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

Sample computation:
•    Investment Amount: Php10,000
•    Coupon rate: 5% fixed per annum
•    Gross Semiannual Interest: Php250.00 (Php10,000 x 5.00% x 1/2)
•    Tax: None
•    Net Interest to be Received: Php250.00 every 6 months

Or for Php100,000 you can gain interest of Php5,000 per year. 5.0% is not so impressive profit but the safety of your fund and less hassles is guaranteed by our government. Other than that, for every Php10,000 Bond held, an eligible bondholder is entitled to one raffle number. Every year, a minimum of two (2) units of House and Lot packages or Lots worth Php1 Million each will be raffled off.

To invest, you must have:
•    Accomplished Application to Purchase Pag-IBIG Housing Bond
•    TIN and 2 valid IDs ( bearing photo and signature)
•    Savings account with either DBP or LBP
•    Manager’s check

Visit the Treasury Department of Pag-IBIG to make your investment.
•    Pag-IBIG Fund Corporate Headquarters
•    Treasury Department
•    4/F Atrium Building, Makati Avenue, Makati City
•    Tel.: (632) 811-4340 / 811-4260 / 811-4380

The proof of ownership is the Bond certificate issued by the DBP Trust Services to you. As of now, I have no investment yet on Bonds. But sooner I really will, I’m not after for the 5.0% interest exactly but to the semi-annual raffles of “house and lot” worth Php1M. And even I won’t lucky won this raffle, still no big deal since our fund got earnings every year and not to mention the assistance we contribute to our government to construct low cost housing for our fellow Filipinos.


In fact, I'm living in a townhouse under Pag-IBIG loan.

MUTUAL FUNDS : TOP THINGS TO KNOW

1. What exactly is a mutual fund?
A mutual fund pools money from hundreds and thousands of investors to construct a portfolio of stocks, bonds, real estate, or other securities, according to its charter. Each investor in the fund gets a slice of the total pie.

2. Mutual funds make it easy to diversify.
Most funds require only moderate minimum investments, from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, enabling investors to construct a diversified portfolio much more cheaply than they could on their own.

3. There are many kinds of stock funds.
The number of categories is dizzying. Some examples: growth funds, which buy shares of burgeoning companies; sector funds, which buy shares of companies in a particular sector, such as technology or health care; and index funds, which buy shares of every stock in a particular index, such as the Philippine Stock Exchange.

4. Bond funds come in many different flavors too.
There are bond funds for every taste. If you want safe investments, consider government bond funds; if you're willing to gamble on high-risk investments, try high-yield bond funds, also known as junk bond funds; and if you want to keep down your tax bill, try municipal bond funds.

5. Returns aren't everything - also consider the risk taken to achieve those returns.
Before buying a fund, look at how risky its investments are. Can you tolerate big market swings for a shot at higher returns? If not, stick with low-risk funds. To assess risk level, check these three factors: the fund's biggest quarterly loss, which will help you brace for the worst; its beta, which measures a fund's volatility against the PSE; and the standard deviation, which shows how much a fund bounces around its average returns.

6. Low expenses are crucial.
In order to cover their expenses - and to make a profit - funds charge a percentage of total assets. At no more than a few percentage points a year, expenses may not sound substantial, but they create a serious drag on performance over time.

7. Taxes take a big bite out of performance.
Even if you don't sell your fund shares, you could still end up stuck with a big tax bite. If a fund owns dividend-paying stocks, or if a fund manager sells some big winners, shareholders will owe their share. Investors are often surprised to learn they owe taxes - both for dividends and for capital gains - even for funds that have declined in value. Tax-efficient funds avoid rapid trading (and high short-term capital gains taxes) and match winning trades with losing trades.

8. Don't chase winners.
Funds that rank very highly over one period rarely finish on top in later ones. When choosing a fund, look for consistent long-term results.

9. Index funds should be a core component of your portfolio.
Index funds track the performance of market benchmarks. Such "passive" funds offer a number of advantages over "active" funds: Index funds tend to charge lower expenses and be more tax efficient, and there's no risk the fund manager will make sudden changes that throw off your portfolio's allocation.

10. Don't be too quick to dump a fund.

Any fund can - and probably will - have an off year. Though you may be tempted to sell a losing fund, first check to see whether it has trailed comparable funds for more than two years. If it hasn't, sit tight. But if earnings have been consistently below par, it may be time to move on.

MUTUAL FUNDS : 2009 PERFORMANCE REPORT

Mutual funds in the Philippines ended the year 2009 on a high note, with all but one fund registering a positive return.

The funds reversed the losses incurred in 2008 as markets turned optimistic. Two funds, one equity (Philequity Fund) and one balanced (ALFM Growth Fund) even managed to beat the 63% return of the Philippine Stock Exchange index in 2009.

For the entire year, equity funds earned an average of 46.7%. This means an investment placed at the start of the year earned almost half of the total money invested.

Balanced funds trail closely, ending the year with an average return of 35.6%.
Peso bond funds produced an average return of 5.38%, while money market funds increased value on average by 1.36%.

Summarized below is the full-year performance of Philippine mutual funds, side by side with their return and rank during the preceding year.

PERFORMANCE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN THE PHILIPPINES
For the Years Ended 2009 and 2008

Other Sources or References
•    www.icap.com.ph – official website of the Investment Company Association of the Philippines (ICAP), the organization of mutual fund companies in the country.
•    www.sec.gov.ph – official website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulatory body for Philippine mutual fund companies.