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Philam Strategic Growth Fund
Philam Strategic Growth Fund is long-term investment vehicle that gives superior capital growth through a professionally-managed stock portfolio. It is an open-end, equity mutual fund invested in listed or soon to be listed issues at the Philippine Stock Exchange. Aside from locally listed securities, the fund may also invest 20% of its total assets in foreign securities. For defensive purposes, the fund may be invested in cash or fixed-income instruments including convertible instruments. The average rate of return for the last five years is about 9.75%, one of the most consistent and best-performing stock funds in the market. Recommended for: investors who want more aggressive capital appreciation for long-term investment purposes Minimum investment: P10,000 only
Philam Dollar Bond Fund
Philam Dollar Bond Fund is an open-end, fixed-income fund, denominated in U.S. dollars. The fund invests in Eurobonds and dollar-denominated government securities. The average rate of return for the last five years is about 5.33%, certainly much higher than dollar bank deposits. Recommended for: investors that an alternative and higher-earning investment vehicle for their dollars and protect against currency depreciation. Minimum investment: $2,000 only
Philam Fund
Philam Bond Fund is an open-end, balanced fund. The fund invests in both fixed-income instruments such as include treasury bills, notes, and bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness guaranteed by the Republic of the Philippines, high-grade commercial papers, and other fixed income instruments, as well as publicly-listed stocks with medium to large capitalization. The fund may also invest 20% of its total assets in foreign securities in order to take advantage of opportunities in other markets. The average rate of return for the last five years is about 10.59%, easily beating other balanced funds in the market. Recommended for: investors that want higher returns in the long-run but still maintaining a moderate level of risk compared to a pure stock fund. Minimum investment: P10,000 only
Philam Bond Fund
Philam Bond Fund is an open-end, fixed-income fund. The main investment inputs of the fund include treasury bills, notes, and bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness guaranteed by the Republic of the Philippines, high-grade commercial papers, and other fixed income instruments. The average rate of return for the last five years is about 8.97%, beating other bond funds in the market. Recommended for: investors that want capital appreciation with a high degree of safety. Minimum investment: P5,000 only
Bankers Club preferred shares
Bankers Club Preferred SharesWhy be just a bank depositor if you can be a bank shareholder? We offer preferred shares of First Country Bank, which promise guaranteed income and which are affordable, renewable, loanable, participating in the income of the bank over and above the guaranteed 12% income, and convertible to a time deposit, tax free! Guaranteed income. You will receive guaranteed income of 12% every year. Preferred as to dividends. If the board of directors declare dividends, you will receive dividends in excess of the 12% guaranteed income you have received. Preferred as to assets. As a preferred stockholder, you will have priority after creditors on the assets of the Bank in case of dissolution. Convertible. You can convert your preferred shares to a time deposit at the equivalent amount. Renewable. After 5 years, you can renew the term for another 5 years, and so on. Cumulative. Your dividends will accrue if the Bank does not issue them. Loanable. You can borrow against your preferred shares. Tax-free. Since it's a 5-year investment, it's not subject to withholding tax. Approved by BSP, PDIC, and SEC. This offering is duly approved by all government regulatory agencies. Download brochure.
Bankers Club Double Your Money in 5 Years
Bankers Club 5-Years Double Your MoneyDouble your money in just 5 years, tax-free! Imagine this - start with just a P100,000, let it roll over for 20 years, and you will be a millionaire! That's the power of compounding. And the minimum investment is only P100,000. Definitely, whether it's for your retirement or as an inheritance for your family, the Bankers' Club 5-Years Double Your Money Time Deposit gives the best return on your investment. Download brochure. Bankers Club Pensionado PlanThis is a long term special savings account equivalent to "Double Your Money in 6 Years" that lets you immediately have your interest income credited to your regular or ATM savings account every month, tax free! Live off the interest on your investment and enjoy your dream retirement. Download brochure. Bankers Club Money Back PlusIf you can pay cash for your dream car in full, consider a better alternative: our Money Back Plus Time Deposit. Pay the required downpayment, get a car loan from another bank for the balance, and deposit the loan balance with us. In turn, we pay the monthly installments for the balance of your car loan. You will have absolute ownership of the car at the end of the fourth year, and at the end of the sixth year, we return your investment 100%, plus an additional 5% of your investment.
Download brochure.
Learn more.
First Country Bank deposit products
Regular Savings AccountOur regular savings account requires only P500 to open and at least P1,000 to earn an interest rate of 3% p.a. SURE ATM Savings AccountNow, with our tie-up with Asiatrust Bank, you can now have your own ATM card - the First Country Bank SURE Card - so you can make electronic banking transactions at any of the thousands of ATMs nationwide! SURE Current AccountEnjoy the convenience of paying by check combined with a 3% interest on your balance. Earn a high 8% if you maintain at least a P100,000 balance. Fiesta Savings AccountA one- or two-year special savings account that earns interest, and depending on your deposit amount, we will give you a free cell phone, or any other item, of your choice, for free! Katuparan Savings AccountA choice of 30, 60 , 90, and 180 day special savings account with higher interest rates. The longer the term and the higher the deposit, the higher the interest you will earn.
Learn more.
Loans
What they are These are financial obligations you owe to finance a purchase or expense. The common types of products are: - Credit Cards: These are unsecured credit lines that you use to purchase goods and services and are supposed to pay after a certain period of time.
- Car Loans: You finance the purchase of a vehicle with these loans, with the obligation to pay every month with interest for a set number of years.
- Housing Loans: Also called home mortgage, you borrow money to buy a lot, house, apartment, or condominium, or to construct a house or remodel a home. Usually long-term, 10 to 20 years, you pay regular (usually monthly) amortizations.
- Home Equity Loans: These are loans using your existing home as collateral.
- Personal Loans: These are usually unsecured loans that you take to pay for miscellaneous expenses.
What you get You receive a certain amount to fund a purchase in exchange for a promise to return the amount plus interest. What they cost - You pay interest over a certain period of time, and it's not unlikely that the total amount of interest you will pay is actually more than the cost of your purchase.
- If you don't pay on time or in full, as with credit cards, you get charged with late payment fees and exorbitant interest. In the case of a housing or car loan, if you default on your payments, you will lose everything - the house or loan, and the payments you've already made.
- You get charged also for a myriad of fees, such as application fees, annual fees, processing fees, and the like.
What's good - You get instant gratification. You don't have to wait for years to get that dream car or go to that dream vacation.
- You use leverage. You don't need to have loads of cash to start owning your own home. You use other people's money to finance your purchase. And you can use leverage to earn a much higher return if you decide to turn your purchase, particularly appreciating assets like a house, into an investment.
What's bad - Instant gratification is a double-edge sword. You get what you want now, but it may end up fooling you into believing you can afford anything. And it may prevent you from developing a habit of saving and the discipline of delayed gratification.
- If not managed well, debt can consume your life. You'll end up working practically for your creditors. And you risk getting blacklisted. That's not even counting the cost to your health, marriage, and happiness.
Where to get them Banks and financing companies. Car and real estate companies also have in-house financing. Related articles
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Pre-need
What they are These are savings vehicles that you fund in advance before the actual need arises. The common types of products are: - Pension: You can a guaranteed amount of money to help fund your retirement.
- Educational: A savings plan to pay for the education of your child.
- Memorial: A contract that pays a fixed amount after a period of time, which you can then use to pay for the expenses related to burying a loved one.
What you earn - You receive a certain fixed amount at a fixed date.
- Usually, you also get life insurance coverage for the same period, which will pay benefits to your beneficiary in case you die before the contract ends.
What they cost - You pay premiums once or a certain period of time.
- You get taxed on your premiums.
- The premium includes of course the cost of the pre-need company, to cover its operating expenses and the commission it pays the agent who sold the policy to you, and earn money at the same time.
What's good - They really are just savings plans, but somehow like endowment policies since they're also contracts that guarantee a fixed amount of money. You know exactly what you'll get, unlike other investments, which go up and down.
- It's forced savings in a way, because you have an obligation to keep paying your premiums. The disincentive not to pay is huge - you get nothing.
What's bad - They can be expensive.
- They don't earn as much if you otherwise just invested on your own. After all, if they’re guaranteeing the amount they'll pay you, they have to be more conservative in the rate of return they promise.
- They'll pay a fixed amount, which is not a guarantee they will beat inflation. Some people think they can relax and take it easy after five years of paying for a pre-need plan. Fixed plans will not necessarily pay for your child's entire education or for all your burial-related expenses.
- If your policy lapses because you fail to pay all your premiums, you get nothing.
Where to get them Pre-need companies, of course.
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Insurance
What they are These are products that protect you and your property against financial disasters. The common types of products are: - Life: This provides a benefit to your beneficiaries after your death.
- Personal Accident: These provide you with protection if you get incapacitated because of an accident. More commonly called disability insurance, you get paid when you lose a part of your body.
- Health: If you get sick and are hospitalized, this pays for the bill.
- Auto: This covers the cost of damaging your or someone's car, someone's property, or injuring someone in a car accident. It also pays when stuff in your car or your car itself is stolen or damaged.
- Homeowners: Typically, an insurance against fire or an earthquake destroying your house. But it can also cover for things stolen or damaged inside you house.
- Liability: If you get sued for whatever reason, you get protection as this policy pays for the damages.
- Travel: Covers you for losses like lost luggage, cancelled flights, and personal accidents.
- Credit Life: This is life insurance required of you when you get a loan like a housing or car loan. If you die, the policy pays for the remaining balance of your loan.
What you earn - Primarily, you or your beneficiary receives a certain fixed amount when whatever is covered in your policy takes effect, such as if you have a car accident, if your house burns, or if you die.
- Life insurance is also packaged frequently with a savings component, such that you earn a certain amount after a certain number of years.
What they cost - You pay premiums once or a certain period of time.
- You get taxed on your premiums but insurance benefits are exempt from tax.
- The premium includes of course the cost of the insurance company, to cover its operating expenses and the commission it pays the agent who sold the policy to you, and earn money at the same time.
What's good - They protect you from substantial financial loss because of a disaster. If you just rely on your savings and investments, they may not be enough. Insurance is really about investing against possible disaster.
- It saves you some of the hassle, inconvenience, and anxiety that you otherwise would go through if you paid for all the trouble yourself. In many cases, your insurance company will just deal directly with the other party's insurance company. And your insurance company will take care with a lot of the paper work.
What's bad - They can be very expensive especially if you easily give in to pressure and don't do your homework.
- Of course, if the disaster you’re insuring against doesn't happen, your premium is money down the drain. But then again, which would you rather happen?
- Insurance policies have a lot of restrictions, exclusions, and confusing gobbledygook. You may think you're covered when you're actually not.
- If your policy lapses because you fail to pay all your premiums, you get nothing.
Where to get them Insurance companies, of course, and banks that have bancassurance departments, plus HMOs.
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Investments
What they are These are products or instruments that allow you earn a return over what you have placed, which you can use later to fund your retirement, pay for big purchases, and spend for other long-term plans. The common types of products are: - Government Securities: These are loans of the government, and as such are considered risk-free. You earn interest every quarter or semi-annually if you keep them for a fixed period of time, or you can sell them for a profit. The most common are Treasury bills (or T-bills), which are from 90 days to a year. Long-term government securities are called Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) or Treasury Notes (T-notes). Alternately, you can invest in Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs), which require much smaller minimum investment amounts.
- Bonds: Sometimes called commercial papers (CPs) if issued by private companies. These are loans of big companies that need to raise money for projects and such. You also earn interest on them or sell them for a profit. Of course bonds can be issued by the national and local government as well.
- Stocks: These are shares of ownership in a publicly-listed company (although you can also buy into companies not listed in the stock exchange). You earn two ways: through dividends issued by the company or through capital gains, that is if the market price of the stock goes higher than the price you paid for it.
- Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs): Replacing Common Trust Funds (CTFs), UITFs are an improved version, as market prices are updated daily. These are pools of money from various investors, which are then invested by a fund manager (usually a trust department of a bank) into government securities, bonds, and stocks). You buy units of participation. You earn money when the fund's net asset value increases.
- Mutual Funds: Similar to UITFs but more regulated and transparent, mutual funds pool money from thousands of investors. You are basically a co-owner of the fund or investment company, so you buy shares. There are different types depending on your investment objectives, including money market funds, bond funds, stock funds, balanced funds, etc. You make money when the fund's net asset value increases.
- Foreign Currency: You can exchange your local currency into U.S. dollars or other foreign currency, hoping that foreign currency's value increases or appreciates relative to the local currency.
- Insurance Plans: Whole life insurance plans have a savings component. A variation is the variable (also called unit-linked) insurance plan, which gives you greater control on how your premiums are invested. You earn through what's called a cash-surrender value, which grows over the years, and which you can redeem if you terminate the policy before the end of the term. You can also earn cash benefits and dividends at certain points during the coverage.
- Endowment Plans: These are insurance products but don't provide lifetime coverage. They are often positioned as investment products because the emphasis is on the savings component and the amount of money you'll earn. You get a guaranteed amount of money after a fixed number of years.
- Annuities: These are contracts with insurance companies that promise you either a fixed or variable return after a certain number of years.
- Pension Plans: These really are just savings plans offered by pre-need companies that guarantee an amount of money after a set number of years.
- Retirement Plans: These are pension plans funded by your employer and given to you when you retire from the company. Typically, these are defined-benefit plans, i.e. it's already pre-determined how much you’ll be given when you retire, such as a full month's salary for every year of service. In the U.S., the more popular type is the defined-contribution plan, usually the 401(k) and also employee ownership and profit-sharing plans, where the benefits you get depend on the amount of contribution you give and how these are invested.
- Derivatives: These investments derive their value from other investments, hence the word. The more common ones are options and futures contracts.
- Real Estate: These are property such as lots, houses, condominiums, etc. that increase in value over the years. You make money by selling for a profit or by renting them out to tenants.
What you earn - If it's a fixed-income investment, like government securities and bonds, you earn a fixed interest, although you can sell the instrument itself for a profit.
- If it's an equity investment, like stocks or mutual funds, where you own a share in the company, you earn through capital gains for selling when the price is higher than your cost (you can earn without selling, but that's just profit on paper, not profit in your hands). Of course, stocks sometimes pay dividends as well, which in a way is like interest.
- Savings plans, in the form of insurance plans, endowment plans, and pension plans, promises a fixed and guaranteed amount of money after a certain number of years.
- In the end, except for savings plans, investments are bought and sold in their own markets (bond, stock, foreign currency, or real estate market, and as such, you can make money when you buy low and sell high.
What they cost - You get taxed when you earn money after selling stocks and real estate. You get taxed when you interest. You get taxed when you pay insurance premiums. But mutual funds and retirement plans are exempt from tax.
- You buy many of these products through a broker, dealer, or agent, whether it's a real estate broker, stock broker, foreign currency dealer, government securities dealer, mutual fund agent, or insurance agent. And naturally, they charge fees, get a commission, or both.
- Investments that are actively managed like mutual funds charge a management fee every year.
What's good - They earn more than traditional bank products. In the case of stocks, mutual funds, and real estate, they can be the foundation for long-term wealth.
- They appeal to all sorts of investors in terms of investment objectives and risk appetite. So if you want to earn as much as possible and are willing to take more risk, stocks and real estate are your choices. If you're a bit more conservative, you may want to stick to government securities. If you want to know exactly what you’ll get, there are bonds and pension plans. If you enjoy a roller-coaster ride, stocks are the way to go.
What's bad - They're not insured against loss. So it's possible you can lose everything.
- They are riskier in general. However, they do have varying levels of risk, from practically risk-free (T-bills) to risky (derivatives).
- Like bank products, watch out for fees, sometimes hidden or imputed, and check the fine print.
- Some of them can be very complicated to understand. But that shouldn't stop you from learning.
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Banking
What they are These are bank products that allow you to place your money for safekeeping, pay for goods and services, and earn interest. The common types of products are: - Savings Account: This is where you place your money (or if you're employed, usually where your payroll is deposited) for temporary use. It's very liquid but it also usually pays low interest. You get a passbook or a statement of account, plus an ATM card.
- Special Savings Account: Also referred to as premium savings account. There is a tiered structure such that you get higher interest the higher your balance. But there are withdrawal restrictions.
- Current Account: Better known as a checking account. You get a checkbook which you used to write checks to pay for transactions. Usually you don't earn interest.
- Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW): A checking account that earns interest, but there are restrictions to the number of checks you issue per month.
- Time Deposit: You get a certificate as proof of ownership. It's like a savings account except you can only withdraw the money when it matures, usually from 30 days to up to five years.
- Certificate of Deposit (CD): It's like a time deposit, but negotiable, meaning you can sell it in the open market.
What you earn You earn a fixed interest on bank products, except for some checking accounts. What they cost - Usually, there's a minimum maintaining balance (called average daily balance or ADB), except for some savings accounts, below which the bank charges a fee.
- You also pay if there's no movement in the savings or checking account for a long time (which is labeled dormant).
- You pay if you close the account within one month of opening it.
- If you use the ATM, you'll get slapped with fees for using another bank's machine or another ATM network.
- If you have an ATM card, but you withdraw over the counter even if the network is not down or you withdraw less than the daily maximum limit, you pay a fee.
- And if you issue a check and there's not enough money in your account, you'll be charged for insufficient funds, whether or not you were able to subsequently fund it.
- If you issue a check, then issue a stop payment order (SPO), you pay.
- If the account has restrictions on the number of withdrawals you can make, and you exceed them, there's a surcharge.
- You also pay for new checkbooks and getting a print out of your statement of account.
- Banks have devised a lot of other fees and charges other than those listed here. So check with your bank.
- There's a 20% withholding tax on the interest you earn, except for deposit products that have a maturity of more than five years.
What's good - They're insured by the government through the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation up to P250,000 per person.
- They're typically liquid, particularly for savings and current accounts, so if you need access to your money, this is one of the quickest ways to get it.
- They're useful for everyday transactions like paying for goods or for bills, without having to carry a wad of paper bills in your wallet. That's why they're referred to as settlement accounts. You can use a check, your ATM card (which in some banks double up as debit cards, plus you can do transactions on the machine itself), or through Internet, phone, or mobile banking.
What's bad
- They don't pay well, except for some long-term special savings products and CDs (which, on the other hand, are not as liquid anymore since you have to hold them till maturity). So you can't beat inflation. In the case of checking accounts, they don't pay anything at all.
- The fees and surcharges can really hurt. If you don't balance your checkbook regularly or if you strike ATMs randomly, you're apt to ramp up charges.
Where to get them Banks, of course. There are universal banks, commercial banks, savings or thrift banks, and rural banks.
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