Is there a Philippine Index Fund?

[JDELEON]

Just wondering if there is a Philippine Index Fund, something similar to the QQQ stock that tracks the Nasdaq?

While mutual funds are nice, you pay fees, hidden and upfront for them. Not only do you pay more in fees, you probably earn less returns. It is hard for me to believe that a professional fund manager can beat the market consistently. If there is one, I am sure that he is charging well for it.

The market is so low and I do think that 20 years from now people will be kicking themselves for not putting in P 5,000 when the market was so cheap.

Just my thought.

May Angels smile upon you,
Joe

[Hulk]

I don't think meron (pero I'm not sure). Medyo mahirap kasing to exactly mimic yung index because of the continuous rebalancing needed, medyo magiging costly siya in terms of transaction costs.

I think the best way is to have an options market where you can buy puts and calls on the Phisix.


:frank:

[Sleepless6]

Last I checked, there wasn't really a Philippine Index fund. Some mutual funds benchmark very heavily against the index, though.

However, given that less than ten firms account for a vast majority of market capitalization and given the commission structure (as a % of transaction value), it isn't too hard or expensive to synthetically index.

Good luck!

[Spyfrat]

i think si wilson sy may pinaplanong ganung fund.

investors always think na kapag long term ang investment (sa stock market) ay cguradong kita na. bakit ganun palagi? i got clients before na they follow what they read sa mga books (esp buffet & lynch). they tend to buy & hold lang palagi ala us market style, forgetting that what they bought is not IBM, MSFT or INTC stocks. Kahit may crisis na ayaw pa rin ibenta, kasi ang sabi raw sa books e buy when there is blood in the street. no offense meant lang po. Sayang kasi e.

[Hulk]

Originally posted by Spyfrat
i think si wilson sy may pinaplanong ganung fund.

investors always think na kapag long term ang investment (sa stock market) ay cguradong kita na. bakit ganun palagi? i got clients before na they follow what they read sa mga books (esp buffet & lynch). they tend to buy & hold lang palagi ala us market style, forgetting that what they bought is not IBM, MSFT or INTC stocks. Kahit may crisis na ayaw pa rin ibenta, kasi ang sabi raw sa books e buy when there is blood in the street. no offense meant lang po. Sayang kasi e.

It happens because sometimes what is written in the book is either misinterpreted or wrongly executed.

Buy when there is blood in the streets is true. The only problem is buying in too early.

Forgetting that what they bought is not IBM, MSFT or INTC stocks. In this case investors fail to differentiate a value stock from a growth stock. Value stocks over time could make you money, growth stocks on the other hand need to be monitored properly.

Kahit may crisis na ayaw pa rin ibenta. Denial lang 'yun. :lol:


:frank:

[boogerflicker]

may mga nag-invest ba dito? nag-cash out na ba kayo ngayong bull-run? masyadong mataas ngayon para pumasok. i'll wait pag bumaba ng konti.

[jerrym]

ill wait for a crash

[KuyaDanny]

The Philippine Stock Index Fund

Investment Objective:

To provide investment returns that track the performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index (PHISIX).

Fund Facts:

Launch Date: March 14, 2003
Base Currency: Philippine Peso
Net Asset Value: PHP 984.80 Million (December 31, 2005)
NAV Per Share: PHP 228.77
Par Value: PHP 100.00
Minimum Investment PHP 50,000.00
Minimum Additional: PHP 10,000.00
Minimum Holding Period: 180 days
Early Redemption Fee: 1.00%
Management Fee: 1.5% p.a.
Financial Reporting: International Accounting Standards
Fund Manager: Bank of the Philippine Islands
Receiving Bank: Bank of the Philippine Islands
Dealing: Daily up to 12 noon
Bloomberg Ticker: BPIPHID

Risk Characteristics:

Annualized Volatility: 18.10% (past 12 months)
Tracking Error: 0.28

[finadv]

Just wondering if there is a Philippine Index Fund, something similar to the QQQ stock that tracks the Nasdaq?

While mutual funds are nice, you pay fees, hidden and upfront for them. Not only do you pay more in fees, you probably earn less returns. It is hard for me to believe that a professional fund manager can beat the market consistently. If there is one, I am sure that he is charging well for it.

The market is so low and I do think that 20 years from now people will be kicking themselves for not putting in P 5,000 when the market was so cheap.

Just my thought.

May Angels smile upon you,
Joe



The Philippine Index Fund(PIF) is actually also a mutual fund that tracks the Phisix. QQQ or cubes, Spiders, Diamonds and the likes are however, exchange-traded funds(ETFs). Index Fund are priced also like mutual fund>Once a day. ETFs are traded like a stock during trading hours..just an article I saw on the internet on the PIF...


Riding It High With Philippine Index Fund
By Vernadette Joven

Looking for a hassle-free, low-cost, flexible and diverse range investment? Philippine Index Fund (PIF) is just the answer for you. The country's first and only index tracker fund that aims to provide an alternative for investors who believe in the potential of the stock market while enjoying a risk diversity and low entry cost.

According to Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index (PHISIX) officials, PIF sends a strong signal to the investing public that the stock market is really a worthy investment.

As a flexible, multipurpose investment, PIF creates a broader awareness on equity investing among small individual investors. These investors will be a large retail market of long-term equity investors that will help increase the savings rate of the country, if proper strategies are pursued and implemented.

With a minimum investment of only P50,000 during the initial offer period, investors are effectively investing in a diversified portfolio of 33 stocks comprising PHISIX. Aside from the minimum initial investment amount, investors also get to enjoy trading in the market without the hassle of daily individual stock monitoring.

Investment experts say that the general outlook on the stock market remains positive as long as the following indicators are followed: strong evidence of improved fiscal deficit management, stability in the local currency, stable interest rate environment, strong corporate earnings growth, resurgence of foreign funds inflow in the local bourse and the passage of revenue generating tax laws, which is expected to improve the government's fiscal position.

[magtataho]

KuyaDanny, where can I buy those Index Funds?
Can I just go to a BPI branch and buy them?

[KuyaDanny]

Yes, if you are already an existing BPI accountholder/customer. Otherwise they might ask you to also open a deposit account.

[malfoy2k]

I think PhilEquity has one also..not sure though

[SILENTMAX]

http://www.philequity.net/

why not visit it to verify if what your saying is true?

[tidus1203]

certainly if you have an index fund right now it hurts, pero you had your fair share of ride na din if you bought such an index fund since 2002.

[Fortune2]

nag stockholders meeting ito kahapon

[ahock]

The Philippine Stock Index Fund

Investment Objective:

To provide investment returns that track the performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index (PHISIX).

Fund Facts:

Launch Date: March 14, 2003
Base Currency: Philippine Peso
Net Asset Value: PHP 984.80 Million (December 31, 2005)
NAV Per Share: PHP 228.77
Par Value: PHP 100.00
Minimum Investment PHP 50,000.00
Minimum Additional: PHP 10,000.00
Minimum Holding Period: 180 days
Early Redemption Fee: 1.00%
Management Fee: 1.5% p.a.
Financial Reporting: International Accounting Standards
Fund Manager: Bank of the Philippine Islands
Receiving Bank: Bank of the Philippine Islands
Dealing: Daily up to 12 noon
Bloomberg Ticker: BPIPHID

Risk Characteristics:

Annualized Volatility: 18.10% (past 12 months)
Tracking Error: 0.28

Kuya Danny where can I find or do you have info similar to this sa mga ibang mutual fund? like info about Risk Characteristics annualized Volatility and tracking Error? Likewise, can you give me, in you own opinion what are the top 5 performing mutual fund for equity, balance, and bond Thanks.

[KuyaDanny]

I only have data for funds sold by BPI. Since I own some units in one of the funds, they send me info for everything.

[ahock]

bakit hindi transparent itong mga data na ito.... I think dapat since we investors need guidance sa decision natin...

[KuyaDanny]

What do you mean by "hindi transparent"?

[ahock]

yung mga ganito data.... yung risk factor etc etc...

[KuyaDanny]

I think I get what you mean. The fund facts I posted were taken from the quarterly update sent to investors. That's not all there is, though. I'm sure there's more information available from BPI.

[Fortune2]

those fund facts are the standard ie minimum info that you can disclose
for more details, since this is a mutual fund
get the audited annual report

[nailbiter]

Can't find info re: Philippine Stock Index Fund on the BPI website. Di po ba naka-publish don? How much is the sales load?

[Quadrado]

Can't find info re: Philippine Stock Index Fund on the BPI website. Di po ba naka-publish don? How much is the sales load?

No sales load....

[tekton12]

Can't find info re: Philippine Stock Index Fund on the BPI website. Di po ba naka-publish don? How much is the sales load?

I can't find info on it either from the BPI site...although the newspapers report its performance every day. If this index fund has been properly constructed to track the PHISIX, then it should have done very well over the last several years. In 2006 alone, the PHISIX gained 42.26%, so the index fund should have closely matched this performance. Over the long term, the PHISIX has been a solid money-maker - despite all the coup attempts, EDSA revolts, corruption scandals that chronically rock the Philippines. Efren Cruz (PDI business columnist) once sent me a graph of the PHISIX performance since the 1970s which showed annualized returns of 20+%. A buy and hold investor who put his money in a PHISIX index fund since the 1970s would have doubled his money every 3.6 years. This is hedge-fund like returns. The caveat is that you should be willing to tolerate the roller coaster ride.

The other nice thing about index funds is that they don't need expensive managers to pick stocks. There's no human input involved (other than to see that the companies in the index still meet capitalization criteria for inclusion), no research needed, no need for fundamental or technical analysis. It's a "no-brainer" strategy of investing, as opposed to the "greater fool" strategy of investing which involves market timing and performance chasing. Index funds will never be at risk of lagging the market because they are the market. They will never be at risk of losing skilled managers (like when Peter Lynch left Fidelity Magellan) because they don't need managers in the first place. They will never be at risk of picking the wrong stocks because the index is agnostic of "right" and "wrong", so to speak. They will never be at risk of disappearing unless the PHISIX itself will disappear - in which case Filipino investors will have bigger problems on their hands than just losing money in the stock market.

[-Eijay-]

theres the bpi index fund. get info from your bpi wealth manager

and then theres the incoming gsis index fund

really worth the wait.... if only it was tax sheltered

[business_guy]

Make a call on any BPI Branch. To check any investment funds of bpi, just visit www.bpi.com.ph and go to 'Rates', then click 'Investment Fund Daily Prices.' Detailed information about BPI Trust Funds can be seen there, even the Monthy Performance Review of each trust funds. About BPI Index Fund, just make a call on any BPI Branch to assist you. Di naman confidential ang detailed info about Index Fund....

[rclionheart]

^So if i have 100k in savings now and a stable job/career, single and below 30 and a high tolerance for risk, it is wiser to invest such an amount to the Index Funds rather than in various Equity and Balanced Mutual Funds?

[ducksoup]

Hi,

Since we are on the subject of Index Funds, I'd like to know more about Index Funds.

I saw an ad in the Philippine Daily Inquirer last week for the Philippine Dollar Bond Index Fund. The ad also talked about the different kinds of Index Funds offered by BPI in the Philippines.

I would like to know if Index Funds are good investments in the sense that they offer high yields and are relatively stable?

[tekton12]

^So if i have 100k in savings now and a stable job/career, single and below 30 and a high tolerance for risk, it is wiser to invest such an amount to the Index Funds rather than in various Equity and Balanced Mutual Funds?

First off, some definitions are in order. A stock index fund is an EQUITY fund that doesn't require an active manager (i.e. it is a passive investment). All stock index funds are equity funds but not all equity funds are stock index funds. Many equity funds do have active managers who decide what stocks to buy and sell (eg Philequity) whereas the defining characteristic of an index fund is that it doesn't require an active manager to decide which investments to buy or sell. It simply tracks an index. Whatever securities are found in the index it is tracking, the fund will buy them. Example, PLDT is in the PHISIX, so the index fund has to own PLDT. If PLDT gets delisted from the PHISIX, then the index fund will sell it.

There are many indices to follow. There is the stock (or equity) index (eg PHISIX, Wilshire 5000, MSCI/EAFE), bond index (eg Lehman Aggregate Bond Index for US bonds), precious metals (eg Dow Jones precious metals index), REITs (eg MSCI reit index) etc. I assume you want to invest in the index fund that tracks the PHISIX. In that case, you will be investing 100% of your money in a Philippine stock index fund. If you are comfortable with this, then it's your call. However, even for young investors it is wise not to put 100% in stocks (and especially not in one country only) because the risks of this portfolio outweigh the benefits. You need to find a way to invest in non-Philippine stocks, and you need to add bonds to the mix. Studies have shown that adding some bonds to the portfolio (eg 80% stocks and 20% bonds) provide stability without necessarily reducing returns.

A balanced fund contains both stocks (or equities) and bonds. 50% may go to stocks and 50% to bonds (the allocation depends on the strategy stated in the fund prospectus). A balanced fund may be passive or actively managed. The stock component may simply track the Wilshire 5000 index, and the bond component may simply track the Lehman Aggregate index. This balanced fund can be considered to be an index fund too. But many balanced funds are actively managed, i.e, the manager decides which stocks and bonds to own, and in what proportions.

To learn more on index funds, check this out: http://www.indexfunds.com/

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, although I have been the target of many financial advisors and stock brokers on account of my supposedly high earning profession. As a result, I am quite familiar with matters related to finance/investing. Everything I've stated here is based on my own research and personal experience. My views are to be taken as opinions rather than as investment recommendations. You still have to do your own homework. Good luck.

[baboyako]

i'm looking at bpi index funds too...
i think there is a philippine index fund. i got their prospectus a couple of years ago. not sure where i placed it...

[Semperfidelis]

how much do is the minimum to invest in the PSIF?