Today, one of the trending words is “Marites,” which means Mare ano ang latest? Or a name assigned to people interested in the lifestyle of others.

It has positive effects on people’s lives and has adverse effects.

Do you love to read a very long story on a Facebook post about how they reached their dreams in life? Or a story of how they earn money.

Have you ever asked yourself how to earn money without any skill/s and capital?

Have you ever been enticed by guaranteed payouts?

Or simply a feeling that you want to earn, but you do not know how.

I understand! Who doesn’t want to earn money or reach their goals in life, right? 

As you can notice, there are a lot of videos on TikTok, Facebook, Youtube of ways to earn money, but due to the number of scams happening in our country, we no longer know the legitimate and fast way to make money. 

The “Hustle” Culture

Now that we are still in the pandemic, many people post their achievements to inspire people despite the unfortunate events every day.

But some people don’t get inspired by posts like this.

Do not get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with posting achievements.

But, the feeling of frustration, being left out, etc., with such posts are also valid.

In Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends & Influence People, one of the best statements is, “Do you know someone you would like to change and improve? Good! That is fine. I am all in favor of it. But why not start with yourself? That is a lot more profitable than improving others.”

True right? Try to measure your time on social media watching inspirational posts and videos.

Rather than spending hours watching or reading inspirational posts about what you want to be, most of the time, it’s taking action that will get you where you want to go. Burning desire and action are the keys. 

It is also necessary to understand that we have our phase in our career, and we should not rush it to say that we have done it at a certain period. 

Nevertheless, we need to give ourselves time and effort to build and sustain the foundation of our abilities.

It is also frustrating nowadays that most people on social media have progress to share. Some have their first job at the age of 18-21, being a Dean’s lister and a part of a highly known organization, and even owning a successful business. 

It is frustrating that all people want progress, some may look like they had it instantly, and some have thoughts within themselves that they do not feel any improvement.

The “Real” Gen Z hustle

Have you ever watched videos that give a general background on earning money and that say “Follow for more content videos?” However, after a few or several videos about it, it seems like you are still lacking in its teachings, and the concrete step appears to be lacking how it will be fulfilled.

Watching such videos is a good practice because not everyone is eager to learn about a particular subject, and you should be proud of yourself because it is an achievement.

But suppose you already feel that it lacks lessons and concrete steps in fulfilling your dreams. In that case, you should upgrade your commitment to study by looking for books, YouTubers, and courses such as InvestaUniversity that can give you enough or better knowledge in stock market, global market, investing in general, business, e-commerce, and more.

In an inspirational quote posted on Instagram by @wealthytools, it says, “Reading can seriously damage your ignorance.” This quote may not be appreciated by those who are not into reading but to describe the feeling of a “reader’s” world. It would be like a world full of hope and possibilities. 

One of JC Bisnar’s Youtube videos is the book he recommends. Consider reading the list of books below. 

Recommended books by JC Bisnar:

1. How To Make Money in Stocks by William J. O’Neil
2. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin LeFevre
3. Stock Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
4. Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas
5. Technical Analysis by Charles D. Kirkpatrick
6. The Universal Principles of Successful Trading by Brent Penfold
7. Alpha Teach Yourself Investing in 24 Hours by Ken Little

The Power of Mentoring/Coaching

Having a personal coach is essential; you need it, whether young or elderly.

They make it easier for you to achieve your goals, but it does not indicate that the coaches will do the hustle-and-bustle for you. Your commitment, time, and dedication will all be required.

So, how exactly do they help?

Since they are professionals, they have previously gone through what you will go through in the near future and will make your path smoother by teaching you how to accomplish it faster, clearer, and more effectively.

Suppose you want to be a business owner, for example. In that case, you’ll be coached by the coaches on creating a business plan and developing a clear vision of making your business operations more effective while still meeting your personal objectives. 

Also, if you are into business, they can guide your business decisions.

But most Gen Z do not have a source of income yet to hire their personal or financial coach. It’s a bit difficult, isn’t it?

Many people, particularly members of Generation Z, desire to enhance their financial or career status; however, they need someone to guide their personal journey most of the time.

But do not feel discouraged because there are coaches that give free services with minimal guidance only. With that, do understand that we pay coaches so that we don’t go through multiple mistakes and wrong paths because they already know what instances we may encounter. 

Choosing a mentor is very important because it should match the support, guidance, communication, and inspiration you need.

Conclusion

If you’ve been watching or reading long-form content and not getting the kind of result that you want, I believe the experiences and learnings mentioned will understand and help you a lot.

Sometimes, long-form content full of theories and definitions does not work. 

Working on your purpose should not be a headache. It should burn your determination more until you get your desired result.

Keep in mind that the learnings from this content may work or may not work for you. You really have to determine what steps or routine works for you at the end of the day. 

Working on your purpose is a long-term journey. Do not be discouraged because challenges mean making progress, and little progress is still progress.

Never expect super quick wins, quick ways, or even easy money with your purpose. You must be willing to make multiple mistakes, a lot of calculated risks, and the ups and downs throughout your journey.

What experience have you had that made the most learning and inspiration?

When it comes to funds management, diversity is an excellent feature to look for to stimulate growth. Diversification, in this regard, is highlighted not only through the customizability of what you invest in but also, how you invest them. Mutual Funds and Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs) thrive through diversity and are staple options to start investing. How do they differ though? Find out further and let Investagrams aid on which one is the best for you!

Mutual Funds Vs. UITFs: Similarities

For starters, let’s look at their similarities. Mutual Funds and UITFs provide the opportunity for anyone to invest without requiring themselves to actively monitor the growth of their investments. For investors with little to no knowledge in investing and especially those who have consistently busy schedules, both funds are conveniently managed by professional fund managers and are optimized by holding a selection of assets through pooled investments. Here, multiple contributors participate by purchasing shares (for Mutual Funds) or units (for UITFs), then the fund is used to build a portfolio. The asset portfolio of both funds can include stocks, bonds, government securities, or their combinations – the arrangement of which depends on asset profitability, investor preference, risk tolerance, among others. The following are the four main types of funds under Mutual Funds and UITFs:

1. Equity Funds

These funds offer investments for equities of publicly-listed Philippine corporations.

2. Bond Funds

These funds offer investment towards fixed-income securities such as corporate bonds, government treasury notes, and treasury bills. 

3. Balanced Funds

These funds combine equity and fixed-income investments to maximize income and decrease the risk through a diversified profile.

4. Money Market Funds

These funds offer investments for short-term securities with maturities of mostly less than a year.

Under supervision, fund managers update investors with earnings or losses by providing contributors with data trends, capital gains, and dividends at an agreed upon timeframe. So, investors do lose control over asset management, but the investments are trusted to professional fund managers. This helps to adequately optimize investment performance and minimize risk by applying seasoned experience and market research. Of course, all of these are done with costs for management fees and administration expenses. This can reduce the profits of each individual involved. Certain funds also shelter additional fees upon entry or when funds are withdrawn before a specified time.

Mutual Funds Vs. UITFs: Difference

Mutual Funds and UITFs differ mainly in their setups particularly in how they are managed and how investor earnings return. When UITFs are created, there already exists an agreed upon portfolio of assets that remain intact as mandated by the Participating Trust Agreement and the Declaration of Trust. Assets in this portfolio will not be traded until the termination date of the fund. Upon initial viewing of UITFs, basis for revenue and trends are keenly researched through existing market prices, the economic climate during which the funds are made, and the forecasts of the assets’ movement at the given timeframe. This makes UITFs more term-based than Mutual Funds whose creation do not include termination dates. For the most part, portfolios of Mutual Funds are reactive to the conditions of the market as these can be traded and exchanged actively to maximize returns. Mutual fund shares are more available to as many people as possible who are willing to take part in the pooling unlike, UITFs whose units are fixed and can only be exchanged between their current investors.

Mutual Funds in the Philippines

In the Philippines, management of Mutual Funds are offered by investment companies and are regulated by the SEC. On the other hand, UITFs are made available through banks with BSP regulating their issuance. In terms of procurement, both funds require low starting investments. Comparably, UITFs start at around 10,000 php. With Mutual Funds, you can start investing today for as low as 50 php through https://www.investa.ph.

Whether it be Mutual Funds or UITFs you are interested in, your investment should depend on your financial capabilities and goals. These are also dictated further by your target yield and risk appetite. Some investments can provide higher yield at comparably higher risks for the risk-tolerant but, that can also be said for lower yield at far more conservative risks for the risk-averse.  Mutual Funds and UITFs offer suitable and accessible options for investment even if you are just starting out on your journey. Moreso, these financial opportunities let you engage with professionals and trusted investment companies regardless of knowledge, experience, or background in investing.

Nevertheless, what matters most is the start of your investment and there’s no better time to start than now.

Investa is partnered with the top mutual funds’ companies in the country among which are, PhilEquity Management, Inc., Sun Life Asset Management, and BPI Investment Management Inc. to bring the most convenient investment application to facilitate a virtually-empowered way to track your capital online. Download the app now via the App Store, Google Play, or AppGallery. See your wealth and investments grow in real time!

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Let’s give a round of applause to Joselito for being this week’s Featured Trader! 

Joselito only joined Investagrams last August 2021. Even though he’s just new to the community, that hasn’t stopped him from being an active member. Regularly posting his own views, he has been a consistent contributor of insights. 

Just last week, one of Joselito’s picks broke out and gave traders a quick profit. PSE:APX is a mining company focused on the precious metal gold.

Joselito was eyeing PSE:APX while it was still in a consolidation. One big factor to this breakout was the strong move in Gold. Prior to PSE:APX’s strong move in the local market, there were a lot of buyers in $XAUUSD causing a strong impulse candle to form. That signaled traders to buy into PSE:APX as it is the most prominent mining company of gold in the Philippine local stock market.

TECHNICAL STANDPOINT

In terms of price action, PSE:APX was showing some signs of strength. After breaking out of a long downtrend, prices consolidated for a while. A signal that a breakout might be imminent was when prices started consolidating higher near the long-term resistance. Once the breakout started, the trade was pretty straightforward for traders as the stock price reached the next long-term resistance before coming back down again due to bad market sentiment. 

MACRO VIEW

Talking about the trade in PSE:APX wouldn’t be complete without talking about the strong move in $XAUUSD as well. Since mining companies have a correlation with the commodities they are mining, it would make a lot of sense that a strong move in gold would lead to a strong move in PSE:APX.

Technical-wise, $XAUUSD just hit a big resistance level a week before. However, just as Joselito noted in his post, a new all-time high was being expected. Nearly everyone was bullish on gold due to the chaos happening in the global markets, with fears of high inflation looming coupled with the Ukraine-Russia war along with oil prices aggressively rising. The confirmation of a bigger picture move in gold came when prices broke out of the 1950 area and had strong follow through. 

Buy the dip? What should I do now?

With the recent bad sentiment in equity markets, it wouldn’t really be recommended for people to catch the dip, especially if you aren’t a veteran trader familiar with bounce plays/catching falling knives. One thing that we can recommend is to wait and see how the general market moves in the following days. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to look into the bigger picture of PSE:APX.

Since prices are still trading above the recent multi-month downtrend, we can possibly look for signs of a continuation for the stock before we make a move. There is an inverse head and shoulders pattern forming, but of course we need to wait for confirmation. 

Once again, KUDOS to Joselito for being this week’s Featured Trader! Enjoy your 14-day InvestaPrime Access and continue to be an inspiration to the trading community.

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Let’s give a round of applause to Masigasig IH for being this week’s Featured Trader! 

Masigasig IH joined Investagrams in 2017, making this his fifth year within the community. He has been very active and is consistently providing value to the Investagrams community through consistently sharing his own stock picks and chart analysis.

Just last week, one of Masigasig IH’s picks broke out and gained a lot of momentum. PSE:DITO, or DITO telecommunity, is the Philippines’ third telecommunications service provider after it won the bid last 2018.

Masigasig IH was eyeing PSE:DITO while it was forming a new higher high and higher low. Using technical analysis, one can see that the area around 6-6.5 was a big supply area. The stock was previously in a downtrend and was continually making lower lows. The moment it breached the pattern of continuous lower highs and lower lows, a lot of traders paid attention to this stock as it could be a sign of a reversal. 

TECHNICAL STANDPOINT

Right after the first higher low, PSE:DITO gained a lot of traction as volume shot up along with a strong impulse candle to break out of the immediate short-term resistance. This was only halted recently as it hit into the next resistance point near the psychological level 7. Although there wouldn’t have been a big upside for momentum and breakout traders, swing saw the most benefit from this play as a swing trade here would have provided a swift trade with around an 18% to 20% gain.

Not giving in to FOMO – what to do next?xx`

With how PSE:DITO is currently moving, it seems that swing trades are the ideal types of trades for now as the stock is just forming higher highs and higher lows below major resistance levels. Trend followers and momentum traders on the other hand would more likely be in a wait and see mode as there is no clear indication of a strong and long uptrend coming. Whatever the case, managing risk should always be the main priority by any kind of trader looking to buy into this stock.

To learn more about Risk Management, visit here 

FUNDAMENTAL STANDPOINT

Being the third telco provider in the Philippines, DITO was hyped up to be the competitor that would go against Smart and Globe. Although it has gotten to a slow start, DITO has already rolled out its mobile and 5g wireless broadband services across more than a hundred cities. In order to further expand their reach, they have already started building new cellular towers around the country. It might take a while for the financial numbers to show good growth, but it seems investors are anticipating that DITO will be able to make use of its position in order to benefit from the rising demand in 5g mobile data and broadband services.

Once again, KUDOS to Masigasig IH for being this week’s Featured Trader! Enjoy your 14-day InvestaPrime Access and continue to be an inspiration to the trading community.

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Which one sounds more like you?

“I want substantial returns in xx DAYS / WEEKS / MONTHS”
OR
“It’s okay for me to get substantial returns in xx YEARS.”

A lot of investors, maybe including yourself, always wonder which investment is best for them. Most of the time, investors are left to choose between Mutual Funds or the Stock Market. The truth is, there is no need to choose between these two investment vehicles. Neither is better than the other as both have their own advantages and disadvantages. 

So, it all boils down to your persona and your own financial goals. Here are the pros and cons when it comes to investing in the stock market and in mutual funds

Stock Market

Pros	Cons
1. Your own research on stocks 2. Investments are managed by you; Create your own decisions 3. Low fees 4. Withdraw or deposit anytime 5. Short-Medium term trading 6. Invest in specific stocks	1. More time consuming compared to Mutual Funds

Mutual Funds

Pros	Cons
1. Professionals will do the research for you 2. Investments are managed by Fund Managers; convenient for long term investors 3. Withdraw or deposit anytime 4. Diversified portfolio; Less Risk 5. Not limited to stocks; includes other securities such as bonds, money market, etc.	1. Higher fees compared to personal investments in the stock market

Given the pros and cons provided above, it all comes down to which is more suitable to your lifestyle. You can assess yourself by answering the following questions:

1. How much time can I allocate on my investments per day?
2. How often do I plan to check on my portfolio?
3. What is my time-frame in the market? Months? A Year? 5 Years? 10 Years?

It can get complicated to decide which one you want to be invested in. However, it is highly recommended to invest in both the Stock Market and Mutual Funds to diversify your overall portfolios and to meet short-term and long-term goals.

It is advisable to allocate a budget to mutual funds for your long-term retirement portfolio capitalizing on value assets with little to no risk, and also have your own active stock market portfolio to capture capital gains on growth-value stocks in the short to medium term.

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