Last week, I was having a conversation with an acquaintance when she broached the topic of investing. Having heard from another friend that I am into it, she asked how I was doing.  I answered that my portfolio is doing quite well and couldn’t be happier with it. Impressed, she said that she’d like to start investing but only when she has a bigger capital. Being a financial advisor and faced with an ‘excuse’ like this, I had the urge to lecture about the fallacy that had since prevented people like her from investing. I resisted. There is a proper time for that. But I can’t help but be disappointed that despite all efforts to kill the myth, it is still very much alive today.

That was why when I heard about the unique story of Editha Comoda from my associate, Carmela Catapang, I immediately requested for an interview because I couldn’t pass up writing such a story and let readers be encouraged by her.

Comoda’s journey to financial independence started when she was in elementary. Her school, in partnership with a bank, introduced to them savings in a passbook. That way, students can start saving from their allowances. Hence, all the allowances she received were immediately deposited into the savings account she opened for herself.

When she reached college, she supported herself by working as a student assistant and just like when she was in high school, most of the allowances she received still went to the bank. She revealed that since she did not come from a well-to-do-family so she inculcated in her mind the idea of saving consistently.

When she started working, she still diligently set aside an amount from her monthly income first and lived on the rest. Again, she still continued saving in the bank and was elated every time she checks her balance and see her savings grow bigger. She thought that putting money in the bank “was the only way to get rich”.

It was only when she met her boss and investment advisor that she realized that her money can and deserves to earn much more than what the banks have to offer. Her boss then explained to her the benefits of investing in mutual funds. But just like most of the people, she initially had her reservations and thought investing in such financial instrument is “only for the rich”. But as her boss continued to educate her, explaining financial jargons to more understandable manner, she began to appreciate the idea. Not long after, she decided to start putting her money in mutual funds.

It was in 2005 when she met Catapang, whom she calls her ‘financial angel’, did she realize that goal. Since then, there was no stopping her. Every month for the past five years, Comoda consistently invested. If she did miss a month, she’d double the amount the following month.

Never did I hear such dedication and commitment from an investor. Because of the habit, she was able to benefit from the stock market rally several years back. Although she admitted the financial crisis two years ago also scared her, she remembered the advice of her boss: buy things when they are on sale.

She did. She took advantage of the depressed prices then and invested aggressively. As a result, her investment had risen several folds as of this writing!

While most corporate employees hope of getting out of the environment and start their own business and be their own bosses, Comoda says putting up a business is not for her and being an employee is in her heart. As a matter of fact, because of her bonuses, she was also able to invest in the stock market.

Who says there are no financial opportunities in being a corporate employee? It looks like another myth has just been busted.

What made it also convenient for Comoda was Catapang’s commitment. She did justice to her role as a financial advisor. She gives her unbiased recommendation in case her opinion is sought. Once, when Comoda contemplated on buying an education plan, Catapang gave a thorough analysis and detailed computation on how much she stands to earn from it. In turns out, it wasn’t as suitable as she initially thought. The sale did not push through. If only there would be more committed advisors, more people would be encouraged to start investing.

Truth be told, financial institutions have also made investing very accessible today. Some offer a minimum investment of only P5,000 with subsequent investments of P1,000. Financial plans have been designed to be easy on the budget for plan holders. If you doubt your discipline on paying the premiums regularly, then enroll in an auto-debit facility. The money in your bank account will automatically be deducted to pay for them once the due date arrives. Monitoring of the funds has also become very convenient. Online portfolios have been set-up so investors and clients can access them anytime and anywhere.

Comoda’s story proves that almost anyone can start investing. All it takes is a trusted advisor and a strong commitment and you are on your road to achieving financial success. The next time you thought of investing, stop thinking and just start doing. When that happens, then there will be more inspiring stories to write about.

Oftentimes, when a layperson is approached by someone who would talk about opportunities of being invested in the market, we get one of two responses: a wave of a hand, not to indicate a welcoming remark but instead means “not interested”, or a puzzled look.

This resistance from prospective investors, when asked, actually point to one prevailing reason –investing is perceived to be just too complicated to understand, especially given the highfaluting words and inconceivable figures of speech being used in the discourse.

I had the chance to prove this myself by doing a casual survey with some family and friends.

Most terms used in the financial industry seem intimidating, especially with the regular use of Greek letters, such as alpha and beta. While in the book of Revelation, alpha is used to mean “first”, nothing to that effect is implied in its investments application as a gauge of performance on a risk-adjusted basis; so does beta being “second”, even if it logically follows alpha in the Greek alphabet. Beta is a statistical measure used to ascertain the tendency of a security’s returns to respond to swings in the market.

On the other hand, the term inflation is actually a staple in market update presentations and business news, but is still seen as a big word by many. It aptly derives from the word “inflate” as it indicates an increase, although not to be confused as “a sudden increase in the value of investments.” On the contrary, inflation does otherwise. Inflation, simply put, is the increase in the overall prices of goods and services in the economy. This phenomenon of inflation is actually one compelling reason to prefer investments over your regular bank savings account. Case in point, a regular savings account earns below 1% per annum in interest, while overall increase in prices is seen by the government to average at 4.64% this year. Hence, essentially, money kept in savings accounts loses its value over inflation – the interest earned actually barely covers for the increase in consumer prices. Key learning from this would be: enhance, or at least preserve, the value of your money by looking into investment products that at least give you a return that beats inflation.

Aside from the highfaluting financial jargons, investment professionals, fondly use metaphors and interesting acronyms, particularly in technical (or charts) analysis.

MACD is not the short name or ticker, in investments parlance, for the publicly listed stock of McDonald’s in the U.S; neither does it stand “for Market Asset Company Dividends”. Chartists use the MACD (Moving Average Convergence / Divergence) as one of the indicators to predict price movements of stocks, commodities, and exchange rates, among others. It shows momentum of price increases, or alternatively, declines; thus, the call for a “buy”, or “sell”, respectively.

Dead cat bounce does not have anything to do with bounced checks, which are returned due to insufficient funds or uncollected deposit. Technical analysts use the metaphor dead cat bounce to regard a short rise in price followed by a price decline of a stock, derived from the idea that “even a dead cat will bounce if it falls from a great height”. It is specifically described as a continuation pattern that looks in the beginning like a reversal pattern, but would eventually decline further from the prior low.

Decoding the investments lingo indeed takes some effort. Unfortunately, human instincts would dictate: do not get into something you do not understand. Hence, we just lose the prospective investor, just right there; without even getting to the next level of introducing the available investment products that would actually satisfy their various needs.

This phenomenon of shying away from the perceived complex world of investments is reflected in the recent statistics: last year, total assets held in trust and those managed by investment companies in the Philippines amounted to PhP 2.46 trillion, 28% lower than the PhP 3.43 trillion maintained in bank deposits. Moreover, in 2008, the Philippine Stock Exchange reported that less than half of 1% of Filipinos make investments in the form of equities.

It’s time to break the barriers of investing.

A lot of financial institutions engaged in the business of asset management have started their financial literacy advocacies to promote awareness of the benefits of investing. Hopefully, all these efforts will bear fruit as we see continuous growth in the industry that advances financial freedom for Filipinos.

A myriad of opportunities await those who finally decide that it’s time. Put your money where it rightfully belongs. Start investing now.

Nowadays, Celine (not her real name), a relationship manager for a private bank in the Philippines, is all smiles when talking to her clients. Her smile reflects their sentiments, who just a year ago, were also hit by the prevailing market conditions. After all, no amount of wealth can shield her high net worth clients from the financial crisis. And seeing the value of their investments, reaching tens of millions, dropped substantially is extremely disheartening.

“Being a private banker is not just about meeting my target but it is also about helping my clients maximize their gains,” Celine adds. But what gains could have there been last year when even good news seem to come short?

Heading into the last quarter of 2008, the scenario couldn’t have been gloomier. The sub-prime crisis that erupted the year before ended with the Lehman Brothers filing for Chapter 11 and AIG being bailed out by the United States government. Albeit frightening, it is not surprising to see the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points on certain nights. Investors have even surrendered to the fate of an ominous depression. The global financial markets were on the brink of a meltdown prompting people to believe that 2009 would not be any better if not worse. Economist would go on to predict an L-shaped economy, meaning no recovery in sight.

Come 2009, it would seem that the forecast would hold true when Chrysler and General Motors, two of the BIG three U.S. automobile companies filed for bankruptcy. Several months into the year, things were just turning from bad to worse.

But just when the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere to be seen, the monetary and fiscal policies of different central banks such as rate cuts, capital infusions and guaranteeing bank deposits started taking effect en route to an economic recovery.

According to a report from the Hang Seng Investment Services -  “In the recent G20 Summit, leaders agreed to further enhance cooperation in boosting global economy and would not step out of any stimulus plans before a sustainable recovery is warranted.” Clearly, all the stimulus packages that were implemented last year, had a positive note on the global economy and everything that was broken is currently being fixed.

Leading the pack of the recovery is China. The report adds, “China plays a critical role in reshaping the global economic outlook with its strong and efficient stimulus measures launched this year. The 4 trillion package as well as the 8.2 trillion new bank loans have successfully restored market confidence on China’s economic development.”

China’s GDP jumped to 8.9% in the third quarter validating the monetary policies that the Chinese government has been implementing since last year and is well on track to reach the full year target of 8.0%

During the past couple of months, the Shanghai Composite index rallied 104%to a high of 3,462 from 1,700 established in November of last year before correcting 20% to just slightly above 3000. Despite investors saying it was just a bear market rally, analyst believed that the correction was healthy and much needed.

Not to be outdone, the S&P 500 staged its own rally by surging 14% year-to-date and 41% for the past six months after hitting the trough. This phenomenon is brought about by the better-than-expected earnings performance for the second quarter of 2009 reflecting improved macroeconomic indicators.

Naturally, the rest of the world followed suit with Japan, the largest economy next to the United States rallied 14% year-to-date. The rest of the regional markets were not left behind:  Hang Seng Index (+43%), Taiwan Stock Exchange (+61%), Straight Times Index (+45%) and Australian Stock Exchange (+27%).

Not to be outdone, our own Philippine Composite Index also boasted its own rally hitting an 18-month high just after the second quarter. This happened after the cash peaked last March, a sign that the market is ready to make a turnaround.

True enough, the rally brought the index to the 2,900-level and seemed poised to breached the psychological resistance of 3,000. This level marked an impressive 56% year-to-date performance and a 29% year-on-year return. Trough to peak marked an unprecedented 74% gain. Daily volume and value turnover also increased by 98% and 133% to 2.2 million shares and Php4.5 billion respectively, according to the BSP’s second quarter report.

True to the forecast of the analysts, the Philippines did not enter a recession (technically as recession is defined as two quarters of negative growth) allaying all fears and even posted a growth of 1.5% for the second quarter of 2009. Inflation also slowed this year to just 0.7% in September compared to the 11% a year ago. Gross International Reserves (GIR) has once again established a record high of $41 billion dollars.

With the indicators ending on positive notes, it seems that the Philippines has indeed proven resilient to the financial crisis.

Onwards and Upwards to 2010?

Now begs the question: Can these rallies be sustainable until 2010? Somewhere along, investors believe that markets will and should correct. That is healthy. But after witnessing what transpired last 2008, with corrections turning into crashes, investors are not sure if they do want to see one. At least not before the index reach its highs again and they recoup all their losses.

While the consensus among analysts and fund managers is that this crisis is not yet over, is there any reason then to be hopeful and be bullish at all? Alijeffty Gonzales, a Registered Financial Planner and business development consultant for Insular Life Assurance Company thinks so. “Let’s go back to some fundamentals. Interest rates are still historically very low. When you talk about the correlation of fixed-income and equities, a low interest environment is always good for the equities.”

Currently, the interest rate stands at 4.0% as opposed to the 0.25% Fed Fund rate and with inflation still below one percent, it is unlikely that the Central Bank will hike the rate in the near future. “There is bias towards equities because interest rates will not go up anytime soon,” he confirms. Fund managers report that it will only be in the first or second quarter of 2010 that the Central Bank will start hiking interest rate by only 25bps.

The local stock market is once again under the radar of foreign fund managers. Foreign buying is up Php 15.7 billion the end of June. Although the equities are not considered “cheap” anymore, it still presents a good valuation with 14-15x price-to-earnings ratio.

With 2010 being an election year, Gonzales feels that the growth will be broad base but singles out consumer stocks next year that can benefit a lot from the event. This is because of the added liquidity in the market that happens during election year. “Fast turnaround consumer goods will benefit from the liquidity,” he further adds.

But for those who are still afraid of volatility or not familiar with investing in the stock market, corporate bonds present a great alternative for bank deposits. The demand for these fixed-income instruments is very evident from the oversubscriptions of the past offerings. Currently the Php3.2 trillion pesos earn only a mere 2-3% per annum, a far cry from the 7-9% these bonds offer.

With much expansion going on because of the low cost of doing business, expect more offerings next year and expect them to be oversubscribed as well.

Other assets as alternatives

Real estate should be another viable investment come 2010. According to Richard Laneda, a research analyst, residential properties will see a better turnaround next year. “The drop in sales in properties is just a result of drop in confidence; people did not actually lose so much money. So as the world economy seeks stabilization, confidence will gradually return.”

With the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) law expected to be pass this year, the property sector should indeed excite the real estate and even the stock market investors. A Real Estate Investment Trust is a corporation comprising of only income generating assets, like malls and office buildings. REITs have to payout at least 90% of distributable income.

“Investors buying a REIT should look at the yield which is the amount of income you get for every peso you pay,” explains Laneda. “REIT is basically income generating asset, you buy it for the yield and not for growth. It is good as it may be an alternative investment for bonds,” he further adds.

Another asset class to watch keenly is the commodities. “The bias towards commodities has something to do with the inflationary fear brought about by low interest rate,” explains Gonzales.

Commodities have long been traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation. By hedging, it lessens or mitigates the loss of purchasing power brought about by inflation because commodity prices also rise along with inflation thereby increasing in value when other asset classes are depreciating.

The most popular of it is gold. Gold has headlined once again into the financial environment when it breached the $1,000.00 dollar per ounce. Although debates have not been scarce on whether the value is the ceiling or a new floor, fundamentals will show that allocating a portion to gold may not be such a bad investment decision.

When interest rates are high, gold prices go down. But when interest rates are low, gold prices go up just like now. Dollar deposits are earning negative return after subtracting inflation. And with the Federal Reserve likely maintaining interest rates at their current level, gold may find itself breaching resistance after resistance.

To put things in better perspective, in 1970s, the gold is valued at $35 dollars an ounce. Both cash and gold can buy the same amount of goods and services. But because of inflation from then until now, the $35 dollars certainly is not what it used to be. Gold price on the other hand, has increased by 2,700%!

Bullish on emerging markets

With global economy recovering from one of the world’s worst financial crises in history, investing opportunities are not limited to just the Philippines.

“As most major economies are still in the recessionary stage, it would be good to focus some of our attention on prospects in emerging countries such as Hong Kong, China, India, Brazil, Russia and Eastern Europe”, explains Jacque Dinglasan-Atilano, marketing director for Global Investor’s Center, Philippines.

The Bombay Sensex, Brazil Bovespa Stock Index and Russian RTS Index have so far gained 74%, 64%, 127% respectively.

Amongst these markets, Atilano emphasized on China because of its fast growing economy and Brazil due to the rising commodity prices given that its economy is heavily linked with commodities like coffee, soybeans and iron ore. On the other hand, regions like Russia and Eastern Europe are receiving positive growth due to the increasing prices of oil which stands at $79 dollars per barrel as of October 2009

While individual can do the investing on their own through international brokers, it may be wise to invest in managed funds instead. It will make investing easier since you are leaving the job of managing your money to the experts. Through managed funds, investors can participate in the growth of the emerging markets. A 10-15% of the investible fund spread in regular intervals is the most ideal strategy to utilize in exposure to international markets.

The not-so-rosy side of the coin

While 2010 presents lucrative investment opportunities, there is still a caveat to all of these. Just like any other year, there are also risks to consider.

First and foremost is the tightening of monetary policies. The third largest economy may already be signifying such intention after it rallied the global economy out of recession. Too much liquidity and easy credit can create an asset bubble which can result to a hard landing.

Although still premature, analysts are already forecasting a rate hike by China in the first quarter of 2010 and increasing reserve requirements to sap excess liquidity off the market.

Other central banks are also hinting at implementing such strategies next year. What the world wants to avoid now is a “double-dip” with the global economy dipping lower in 2010 or 2011.

The 2010 bull-run may be also be dampen by political risks. Former President Joseph Estrada has already announced his presidential candidacy with Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay as his running-mate. Although the Supreme Court hasn’t ruled anything in favor or against Estrada, expect the controversies to be hotter as election comes nearer.

Poll automation presents a quick and effective method but its reliability will be fully tested next year. As early as now, some lawmakers are already hinting of a possible transition government in case there is a failure of election due to system glitches and malfunctions.

The recent deluge of typhoons that has wrecked havoc in Metro Manila and Northern Luzon is also a risk worth considering. Analysts have already downgraded the country’s fourth quarter GDP to 1.2% and a full year target of 1.4% from a high of 1.9%.

The cumulative damages of the big three: Ondoy, Pepeng and Ramil can go as high as 38 billion pesos in infrastructures and farmlands.

With tax breaks being given for those affected by floods and the government spending left and right to assist in the rehabilitation of the typhoon, the country’s fiscal deficit can only go lower. Currently at 237.5 billion pesos, the figure is significantly higher than the 53.4 billion pesos deficit incurred in the same period last year. Analysts are estimating the deficit to reach 300 billion pesos by the end of the year.

Prudent planning is still the key

Despite more situations favoring a continuing rally, investment planning still calls for prudence in the wake of all the opportunities and risks. So how should the investors play 2010?

1.) Establishing your goals

Time and again, investors neglect the most important step in investing and that is what gets most burned. Not establishing a goal prior to investing is akin to driving without any destination in mind. Two things can happen in situation like this: Get lost and waste a lot of resources. And both are luxuries you can’t afford.

2.) Analyzing risk appetite

With several asset classes that are lucrative for investors, it doesn’t mean that everything is well suited for you. Investors who are still afraid of volatility should shun away from equities and commodities and may well be better off sticking to government securities, corporate bonds and its alternative-real estate investment trust.

3.) Keeping enough funds for emergency purposes

As a rule of thumb, one should keep cash worth three to six months of living expenses placed in a very liquid financial instrument as an emergency fund. This fund sole purpose is to address emergency concerns that are unplanned and unexpected. It must readily be accessible without the need to dip into the other invested funds. The last thing you’d want is cutting your losses to pay for your car repairs after it got flooded.

4.) Speculating only a small portion of the investible funds

Investors often interchange investing and speculating. When you are speculating, you are in essence gambling – this is not investing. Speculating only a small portion of the portfolio is acceptable. After all, it is difficult to resist a hunch or a tip when it is dropped onto your lap especially if it promises immense profit for the investor.

5.) Doing thorough research

Prudence calls for thorough research before investing in any particular asset. Whether it is equities, corporate bonds or even real estate properties, due diligence is imminent in determining whether it is profitable and if it is worth the risk involve.

The investment scenario has made a drastic turnaround from last year. The opportunities just outlined above clearly gives investors an upbeat and exciting outlook heading into 2010.  But this doesn’t mean you should jump into the water without careful thought. Prudent investment management is still recommended not only next year, but in any given year.

Several financial vehicles are actually available to the discerning investor. The wide spectrum of savings and investment instruments reflects their risk and return relationship. On one end, we have the low risk or guaranteed return instruments offering small returns on our investments. Sometimes so small, it barely copes with inflation. On the opposite extreme, we have high risk instruments like stock market equities that are quite risky but that can potentially give high returns.

Between these two polar extremes can be found a variety of mutual funds.

What are Mutual Funds?
Mutual Funds are professionally managed instruments that pool investors’ resources together in order to buy into instruments at lower costs. As such, they give more affordable access to otherwise expensive instruments. They are diversified as they combine low risk-low return and high risk-high return instruments to suit different investor needs. Furthermore, they are liquid and may be increased or withdrawn at any time in order to allow more flexibility in investing.

Beat Inflation with Mutual Funds
If you don’t have the time to jump into the high risk-high return stock market, or the resources to invest in government securities, you can start off by exploring mutual fund options such as the Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund or the Bond Fund. While the Bond Fund is designed to preserve capital and generate regular income, the Balanced Fund combines the stability of the low risk instruments with some equities to provide a boost on capital appreciation.

Assuming an investment of P1 Million, the table below (Fig. 1) shows how typical deposit accounts and these two Sun Life Prosperity Funds fare against inflation over the last 5 years.

There are mutual funds that cater to varying risk-and-return preferences and investment objectives. Feel free to choose from any of them. In doing so, always remember to consider inflation and the instruments’ ability to beat it.

If you want more information on these investment options, speak to a mutual fund representative.Sun Life Mutual Fund representatives can be reached at 849-9888 / 1-800-10-sunlife or visit www.sunlife.com.ph.

The technical ring to the word “inflation” shouldn’t make it fearsome, especially since its meaning is pretty straightforward. Inflation, simply put, is the decrease in the value of money, brought about by the rise in price of everyday goods.

Why We Should Mind Inflation?

The average inflation rate over the last 10 years was 5.5%*. This means that the cost of goods rose at an average rate of 5.5% per year, over 10 years. Simultaneously, the value of money dropped by the same average of 5.5% per year, over the same 10 yr. period.

a. Inflation and Income

The first impact of inflation is on income.

If the cost of goods increase by 5.5% this year and our income remains the same, then we won’t be able to buy all that we did last year because our money will fall short of the value of the goods by 5.5%

To illustrate, given the following:

Last year, for my Ps. 100 income, I bought a book. This year, for my Ps. 100 income, I will no longer be able to buy the book because its cost or price would have increased due to inflation by 5.5% to Ps. 105.5.

The lesson is simple: whether employed or engaged in business, our salary or business income should increase by at least the same rate as inflation. And that’s just to break even!

b. Inflation, Savings and Investments

A second impact of inflation is on savings and other investment instruments.

Most published interest rates and returns on investments do not account for inflation. If we have money in a traditional deposit account promising to pay a guaranteed return of 4%p.a., we’re really not getting 4% more out of our money.

Assuming the inflation trend above continues, then we can expect 5.5% of our money’s value to be eroded. And because we were only guaranteed a 4% return p.a. on our deposits, then in real terms we would end up losing 1.5% of our money’s original value. That is, 5.5% inflation less 4% return = 1.5% inflation or erosion value.

Given this, if we have money invested in the stock market, mutual funds or any other investment instruments, we should always account for inflation and its impact on our financial goals.

Stay tuned for the part two, Learning How to Beat Inflation.

Everyone wants to make money – but few people are willing to work and then as they do, fail to invest enough of their earnings to make a difference in their financial future.

They’re still in the savings bank mentality. Put your money in the bank; it’s safe there. Is it? But you can’t tell them that. And why not?

There is this story about an old dog that lay stretched out on the porch of a country general store, moaning and growling as he lay half asleep in the sun.

“Why is your dog making all those noises?” a customer asked the store owner.

“Oh,” answered the owner, “he’s lying on a nail.”

“Well then,” said the customer, “why doesn’t he move?”

“Because,” said the owner, “it’s not hurting him bad enough.”

Author Daniel Johnston, calls this condition “comfortable misery.” It means you’re miserable, but you’re used to it and can tolerate it. We have a saying in the vernacular which, loosely translated, says: “JUST BEAR WITH IT. YOU’LL GET USED TO IT AFTER A WHILE”.

That’s the condition many investors find themselves in today. They are hurting but they are not hurting enough to make them want to change.

If you want meaningful change in your life, you must educate yourself and then leave your comfort zone and begin to change things.

An anonymous poet once wrote:

Mr. Meant-to has a comrade,

And his name is Didn’t-do

Have you ever chanced to meet him?

Did he ever call on you?

These two fellows live together

in the house of Never-win,

And I’m told that it is haunted

by the ghost of Might-have-been.

Or, put another way; “I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO PROCRASTINATE BUT JUST NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT”.

Have you seen the ads of Bam Aquino? He puts it nicely. Investing isn’t about a one-time hit. It’s a habit. A little at a time – EVERYTIME.

My most successful investors have always been those who habitually put in a certain amount of money all the time; EVERYTIME. This way, you never have to “time” the market. The important thing is to chose your investment vehicle well. Go for conservative track records; The guys who stick to the rules; who never but NEVER put more than a prescribed percentage of

your money into more than a prescribed percentage of risks. These guys will not rack up spectacular gains but neither will they splatter on the rocks below when the market tanks – and it will.

For example, Sun Life wasn’t spared the meltdown. We lost more than 300 million Dollars on Lehman-Bros. but because this was just a small part of the portfolio (about 1%) we just wrote it off. That easy. Now if we ever get back anything from this, and that’s a possibility, it’s all icing

on the cake.

A friend of ours did this. He put in the same amount of money every month. He was well into a very decent nest egg when something bad happened and he had to access his savings. This happened at a bad time – when the market was terribly down. Even then, he still made money. Not as much, of course, but higher than bank rates. He didn’t lose anything and the money was available when he needed it.

But there is one other thing you MUST ABSOLUTELY PLAN ON; and that’s dying.

You see, if you have not made any plans on how you are to die, then your family will do everything to keep you alive. Unfortunately, by today’s standard care, this means bringing you to a doctor and his hospital. And, when this happens, everything you have managed to set aside and invest for your future and the future of your family will insure the future and retirement of your doctors. Don’t take my word for this. Look around.

In the United States, the number one cause of bankruptcies is the cost of medical care.

DECIDE! DON’T FORCE YOUR FAMILY TO DECIDE FOR YOU! There is only ONE decision they can make and you know this. Make a LIVING WILL. I have mine.

I am never to be brought to a hospital. My family is not to call a doctor; they are to call a priest. This is one guy the MD’s and their hospitals will not get. If you think like me, I can help you with your will, your natural, nutritional health care and your investment programs.

And don’t forget LIFE INSURANCE. This is the backbone of any meaningful retirement-savings plan. Take the words of Pia Magalona to heart. Death was the farthest thing from Francis Magalona’s mind and yet … one never knows. So get adequately covered. It is the only way to make uncertain things certain. Francis saw to that. He was adequately covered with life insurance and, when death came like a thief in the night, all it could steal was Francis’ body. It could not steal his dreams and aspirations or his wife and family. It could not destroy his love and caring.

Verily, death activated it and proved it.