How can you grow your wealth, by investing or by entrepreneurship? Can you be both? Learn from the Wealth Coach, Mr. Chinkee Tan on how to grow and invest through entrepreneurship at the iCOn 2013: The No Nonsense Investments Conference this June 22, 2013 at the SMX.

Chinkee Tan is one of the most sought after speakers and coaches in the arena of growing your wealth. He is a best-selling author, award-winning radio show host and a true mentor to thousands of Filipinos including me.

To join the iCon 2013, please click HERE

I had the honor of hosting the first RFP Financial Fitness Forum earlier and it was such a good program that I learned and re-learned much from the best minds of the Registered Financial Planner Institute. Kudos to Henry Ong and the RFP team for enlightening over 300 participants of the forum.

Instead of doing a summary of the forum, I will re-post below all the posts I made through my twitter which highlights a lot of the learning I picked up. I used the hash tag #rfpfinancialfitness as well. Here goes!

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Efren Cruz cites dangers of all the euphoria in our investments environment, too much hot money vs. low foreign direct investments.

“Stocks cannot continue to defy gravity.” – Efren Cruz 

“Nobody is brilliant in a bull market.” – Efren Cruz

“Our stock prices are now overpriced.” – Efren Cruz

“Pag mas malaki ang discretionary income, mas better ang life.” – Efren Cruz

“Before investing your money, start financial planning first.”

Efren Cruz talks about his free personal finance app, now available at symbian and android and soon for iOs. Exciting!

“Giving a financial plan is serious business.” Efren Cruz

@pesosandsense Aya Laraya gives #rfpfinancialfitness participants an update of the investment markets.

“It will take years before we will feel the benefits of our economic growth & investment grade.” Aya Laraya

“Invest in businesses you understand.” Aya Laraya

“Before investing in a fund, you should read the prospectus.” Aya Laraya

“Long-term is a strategy, not an excuse to delay a bad decision.” Aya Laraya

“Price and earnings will ultimately meet.” – Aya Laraya

“Re BLOOM, after all the pr and hype, can they deliver?” Aya Laraya

“PLDT as a stock is still cheap.” Aya Laraya

Banking is good business, making them good stock picks.

Banking stocks are good because they benefit from strong inflows plus low interest rates as consumers may be encouraged to buy more.

The investment grade will most likely attract Foreign Direct Investments.

“If you want to enter the stock matket for short term gains, don’t.” Aya Laraya

“Aral muna bago invest.” Aya Laraya

“Only 1 out of 10 Filipinos enjoy their retirement.”

“Before investing, know your investment goals first.”

Some people spend a lot of time & energy trying to find the best investment; ignoring the more fundamental issues in finance.

We need to upgrade our financial education because we are now in a new world & a new world requires new solutions.

“People spend faster today.” – Noel Arandilla

“Everything is changing except our financial strategies.” Noel Arandilla

“We are expecting to see about 40,000 OFWs in Singapore to lose their jobs this year.” Noel Arandilla

“2 problems in life: We live too long or we die to soon.” – Noel Arandilla

“Poverty is not lack of time, it is mismanaged time. It is not lack of money, it is mismanaged money.” Noel Arandilla

“A credit card is not an emergency fund, it’s only for convenience.” – Salve Duplito

“The stock market earned 32% in 2012 & 24% in 5 months in 2013.” – Marvin Germo

“It’s never too late to invest.” – Marvin Germo

“My goals are more important than my investments.” – Marvin Germo

“Your wealth should also last in bear markets.” – Marvin Germo

“Stay in the market until you hit your goal.” – Marvin Germo

“When investing, stick to your own conviction.” – Marvin Germo

“Aanhin mo ang pera kung wala ka namang love life.” – Marvin Germo

“I always put a specific amount on regular intervals.” – Marvin Germo

“I pick stocks both for short term and long term.” – Marvin Germo

“If the stock is making money, price will always follow ultimately.” – Marvin Germo

“Don’t diversify too much, 4-7 stocks in any given time.” – Marvin Germo

“Where the money is flowing, follow it.” – Marvin Germo

“Pag umaakyat ang market dapat umaakyat din economy.” – Marvin Germo

“I’m bullish on bank stocks like BDO & EastWest Bank.” – Marvin Germo

“Will the stock market crash? My answer is no.” – Ricky So

“Why invest in the Philippines? Because it’s our country. When we invest here, our market will be less dependent on hot money.” – Marvin Germo

“Hope without analysis won’t get you anywhere.” – Marvin Germo

“The worst thing that you can do is buy something just because someone told you.” – Marvin Germo

“BSP sees a moderate & benign inflation of about 3 to 3.5% for the Philippines.” – Rienzie Biolena

“When you’re young you can invest in equities because if you lose money, you still have your parents.” Ricky So – funny guy!

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There were so much more learning but it was hard listening, taking down notes, tweeting, taking photos and hosting all at the same time so this will do for now. 

The next event you should not miss is iCon 2013: The No Nonsense Investments Conference on June 22 at the SMX! Click HERE.

There is every reason why we should be celebrating Fitch’s recent credit upgrade of the Philippines. With the upgrade, we are now officially “investment-grade” which really means many things. An investment-grade status is a confirmation that the Philippines is a sound nation financially and that it has the capacity to pay off its debts.

President Aquino is obviously ecstatic with the upgrade; he said “this is an institutional affirmation of our sound good governance agenda” in a statement.

In a nutshell, the new status will effectively reduce the cost of our borrowings which when managed properly, can be used for key investments and infrastructure that will further spur economic growth. The upgrade will also usher the inflow of more institutional investments such as investment funds of other countries that usually require investment destinations to be ‘investment grade’. This move will even grow the local investment market which has been bullish in the last 3 years. The Philippine Stock Market already reflected a positive sentiment upon the news of the upgrade. It is more likely that the stock market will continue to ride on this upgrade, as well as other investment instruments like bonds.

It is important to note that while Fitch is a very reputable rating organization, the other two rating organizations namely Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s must also upgrade the status of Philippines to confirm our being truly ‘investment-grade’.

I believe that the upgrades merely affirmed what the market has already known as showed by how the Philippine investments have been faring, particularly our sovereign debt. For some time now, the Philippine sovereign issues (ROPs) have been trading with yields much lower than other nations with the same credit rating; in fact, the Yield-to-Maturity (YTM) of our ROPs are even lower than the debts of other nations who are rated as ‘investment-grade.’ Returns are always an indication of the risks involved so when the market makes our debts trade with lower yields, it also means that the market views us as low risk as well.

I asked some of my friends about what the benefits of the upgrade means to them and to the nation as a whole. I’m also proud to say that these friends of mine are experts in their own fields as well – I am blessed with awesome friends right? This is what they say:

“We deserve the upgrade, but remember that a credit rating is just a confirmation of what is already present in a debt issue, the debt security issuer and the economy as a whole. In other words, we and not the rating agency made ourselves investment grade. So upgrade or not, the country is indeed on its way to becoming an economic force in the world arena. We just need to learn how to spread wealth better.”

— Efren Ll. Cruz, RFP- President of Personal Finance Advisers Corp., best-selling finance author, columnist, investments expert

“This is definitely the seal and proof that Philippines is a good country to invest in and supports my bullishness in the Philippines. This will open up our markets to more investors who were not allowed to participate before. Increased Investments will surely open up better opportunities for the ordinary Filipino. I definitely recommend that Filipinos participate in this growth opportunity by investing as well.”

— Marvin Fausto – Chief Investment Officer of Banco de Oro Universal Bank

“The investment upgrade will propel our stock market even further as it will allow more foreign funds to invest in the Philippines. It will also help our economy as it will allow our government to borrow cheap, build more infrastructures, and allow businessmen to expand their businesses further. To the common Filipino, it would give them an opportunity to take housing and car loans cheaper. This upgrade has triggered a signal to the world that – ‘Hey! The Philippines exists and is now a safe haven for your money!’ This is such a great time to be a Filipino.

— Marvin Germo, RFP – Stock Market expert and investments speaker

“Investment Grade is not an end objective. It is a recognition that a country has graduated from a condition of doubt to a reasonable level of investment risk. The Philippines graduating to that is an expectation this year – the only thing uncertain was when. Fitch’s ratings upgrade to the Philippines is a validation of the core improvement in the country’s international credit and investment status. This upgrade means that the Philippines has to do its homework. It has leveled up in the eyes of the investment community globally. The upgrade actually does not necessarily translate to immediate economic betterment as being investment grade simply means that one can borrow at cheaper rates in the international market. Borrowing is something we do not need to do now as the country is very liquid – both the government and the private sector. Local interest rates are in their historic lows already. What the investment grade is telling us is that ‘we believe in your country to be able to institute the needed structural reforms to translate our trust into productive pursuits.’ Finally, it is important that the two other larger ratings agencies – S&P and Moody’s should affirm the same soon to consolidate and cement this trust.”

— Dr. Alvin P. Ang – Economist and President of the Philippine Economic Society

“Companies that would not otherwise invest in the Philippines as they require investment grade status would now do so. Our borrowing costs would also go down. This means more jobs and a stronger economy as money goes towards industries, infrastructure, etc. In the near term the peso is likely to appreciate though, which could pose problems for OFW families.”

— Rizalina Mantaring – President & CEO, Sun Life Philippines

The above views are from the experts; I will post another blog about the views of ordinary Filipinos (who are experts in their own rights) which I solicited through social media.

We are very excited with the nation as a whole and while there is much work to be done, I believe we are in the right path. We must also never forget where all these blessings are coming from and knowing our responsibilities for such blessings, lest all these gains will be for nothing.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. – Psalm 33:12, NIV