Listen to a lot of Planet Money and they keep recommending and doing features on index funds. Was excited as it seemed perfect for a lazy person like me but then I found out that index funds here aren’t like the index funds in US. They track very few companies unlike the American ones that track the S&P 500. Should I still invest in Philippine index funds? Or are there better alternatives?
You can check out the global index… (i have the Vanguard one)
And I agree… index funds are perfect for someone like me who only has a rudimentary knowledge of the stock market. Wala din akong matatawag na business sense. I’m the buy it and forget about it type of investor.
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Have you seen the BPI US Equity Index Feeder Fund?
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@itachi An index fund is just like any other fund, in the sense that that each fund has an investment objective. An index fund’s objective is to track the movement of where it is indexed (or better, pero di sobrang layo). In essence you’re betting on that market, for me yun ang purpose ng index fund. That being said, iba talaga ang index fund sa US vs sa Pinas, kasi magkaibang markets sila naka index (malabo ba?)
@BeachPatrol hmm… di ko pa natitingnan yang fund na yan pero for me kasi, di ako masyadong impressed sa performance ng BPI funds in general. Yung mga dollar funds, same concern pa rin for me, which is, ma e erode ba ng foreign exchange impact yung gains ng fund (kasi usually baliktad ang movements nila). Pero since you live abroad (tama ba?) might not be a concern.
@itachi I don’t invest much in an index fund, I’d rather do a straight fund like Philequity or ATR Kim Eng.
Tip: sa Citiseconline puwede na bumili ng mga funds, ok rin kasi marami available data to compare 
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Thank you! I live in Pinas
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Not yet. Haven’t checked them kasi parang ang conservative ng BPI? Haha. Though will check. Nag-invest ka dun?
@abbymaria Got it. Will check. Pero diba US ang Vanguard? Accessible ba siya sa mga nasa Pinas? (sorry, investing noob 
rushes to Google)
@arwen I was looking for something na invest and forget kasi. Like yung napag-usapan sa Investing talk thread.
Got it. Nagtataka lang din ako bakit ang konti ng tinatrack na companies dito sa atin. Is it because less developed ang stock market natin?
@itachi google Philequity fund. Current NAV is 24, nasa 42 yan nung peak ng market. Fund is managed by an ex PSE President, Wilson Sy. (He has a book and a column). You’ll find a lot of materials sa website nila, including returns etc.
Ang gusto ko sa Philequity disciplined yung trades, meaning fina follow stop loss. Important yun for me na hindi in love yung portfolio manager sa portfolio nya (in love language, kayang mag let go 
). One key risk lang with Philequity is its secret weapon rin-if something happens to Wilson Sy, then I’d look more closely sa fune than I usually do. But hindi naman unique rin lang sa kanila itong ganitong issue.
My suggestion to those new, as in anything, start with the basics. Then build up. So kung fund, start with the more “traditional” funds. When you understand the mechanics na, then be more adventurous. Crawl. Walk. Run.
Btw, Philequity has a high entry fee lang (3% I think) which is also a measure of their good rep.
Disclosure: madami ako Philequity. Not employed by them though. I work in a different industry. 
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I have Philequity but personally, I prefer buying individual stocks myself. I feel more in control.
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Will check 
Salamat! Really should’ve started earlier. My parents are nagging me now. 
Ako naman, I don’t want that responsibility. haha. Kaya sobrang attractive ng concept ng index funds for me.
If you have a lump sum, maybe you should buy a US index fund na lang? “Bargain” kasi sya ngayon. You just have to do the math, magkano forex fee, if you’re using a custodian magkano yung fee, may annual fee ba for the custodian account? Ano yung minimum charge for each trade. You’ll be taxed for dividends.
I started off with Phils funds din. Then the singapore index fund, then I realized US index funds pa rin eh - feeling ko lang ito, I haven’t actually done backtesting on a bloomberg terminal or anything like that, pero feeling ko mas reliable ang US funds, less risk, better gains over the long term.
I work for an American company, the stock was at around 100usd per stock in 2016. Now, after the crash, it’s at 266 per stock. Before the crash it hit 344 usd per stock. Even if I sell now at 266, I’ll still make a very decent profit after just 4yrs.
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