The only way to predict the future is is to create it.

Peter Drucker

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Note: The things you will read is based on what I learned from being in school and what I heard from the speakers.

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The UP Junior Finance Association held their Investment Month 2018 celebration wherein they had the annual Philippine Financial Summit. The summit was conducted to three different places in the Philippines: Baguio, Cebu and Davao.

Last March 3, 2018, business students from Visayas region were gathered at Skyhall SM Seaside to join the celebration and earn knowledge as five known successful speakers shared their ideas to the youth.

Most participants came from Cebu but there were also students who came from Negros.

Five talks, five speakers, five topics with one goal: to teach us how to invest for the future.

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Mastering The Basics of Stock Trading

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The first speaker was Ms. Conie de Castro. She was the COL Financial Corp. Investor Center Officer. Before this activity, I had met her in our school because she was also invited to be the reaource speaker for the UCLM JPIA Stocks Knowledge Seminar last March 2017.

What is Stocks?

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Stocks are shares of ownership to a corporation. Shares served as your right to a corporation. When a person has stocks, he is called a shareholder or stockholder. Stocks can be with par value or no-par value. There are also different types of stocks but usually, what is sold is common stocks.

Stocks are sold in the stock market. In the Philippines, the Philippine Stocks Exchange monitor and supervise the stock market.

Why Do Businesses Issue Stocks?

The main reason why businesses issue stocks is to increase the market capitalization. To further increase the operation of the business and realize the projects and plans of the organization, they need money and through issuing stocks, money is entered in the business.

Why Invest in Stocks?

• To Build Personal Wealth and Reach Goals

Before investing in stocks, one should know when to need the money back or if the investment is just short-term or long-term investment. Short-term may mean that once the selling price of the stock is greater than the cost, you sell it and buy another again. Long term may mean that you aim for a longer benefit.

• Better Than Depositing Money in Bank

It is always believed that that the greater the risk, the greater the return. Though investing in stocks is a risky investment, it provides great returns.

Compare depositing your money to the bank and investing it in stocks. When a person deposited his money to the bank, the return is lesser because the interest rate is 1% annually. While in stocks, investors usually choose either selling them if the price is high or remain as a shareholder and receive dividends from the company.

What Are The Benefits of A Shareholder?

• Ownership

As a shareholder, you are called as an owner of a certain percentage. For me, aside from the financial benefits, it also feels good to be called as an owner of a big company

One situation that also change your perspective of some things is this. (Situation given by the speaker.)

If you are just a customer of a fast-food chain and you see that the line is long, you get irritated because you still need to wait longer to order and eat. But if you are a shareholder of that fast-food chain and also a customer, you would be happy because you see that the products are sale-able, hence the realizable profit.

• Right To Dividends

As a shareholder, you are to receive dividends when the company declares them. Commonly, dividends are distributed according to the number of shares an owner holds. Dividends can be cash, share, or property.

• Right to Vote and Be Elected

Shareholders have the right to vote and be elected. But not all could. Only those who holds common stocks have the right to this.

What is Bull and Bear Market?

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When you say Bull Market, that means the prices of the stocks are high. It was called bull because when a bull attacks, it uses its horns and sways it upward. When it is bull and an investor only aims for a short-term investment, this is the right time to sell the shares because the price of selling it is higher than the price when you bought it.

Bear Market is when the prices of stocks are low. It was called bear because when the bear attacks, it uses its claws and claws its opponent downward. When it is bear-ish, investors usually hold their shares and wait for the price to get high again.

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Regional Economy: Potential of Visayas & Philippine Economy: Build, Build, Build

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The second speaker who talked about the potential of Visayas is Mr. Gordon Alan Joseph. He is the Chairman of the Metro Cebu Development and Boordinating Board. While the third speaker is Mr. Efren Carreon, the Regional Director of NEDA Region VII.

What they talk about were related to each other.

What I really learned from them is that one shouldn't just make a business that he wanted. He should make a business that people need.

(Let's focus on Visayas, specifically the Region VII)

Nowadays, what are popularly established businesses are from manufacturing which holds 17% of the total business-established quantities in Visayas. Next in line is Trading - 14%, Agriculture - 13%, Service - 11%, Construction - 10% and Real Estate - 10%.

As you have noticed, Agriculture is placed third when in fact, Philippines has its means to produce our own needs like rice. According to Mr. Joseph, it is cheaper to import rice than produce it. Sad but it's actually the truth.

Also, he said that Region VII has growth of 51% which we actually observed because of the increasing population in Cebu since it is where commerce is concentrated.

Accoring to Mr. Carreon, the current administration has been focusing on infrastructure thus building many bridges, airports and sea ports to connect islands. This, if being realized, will greatly help the economy. Because of the easy access, places hard to reach will now be reachable and increasing the probability of disovering new tourist spots.

These may lead to establishment of new businesses like restaurants, hotels and training facilities for employees.

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Social Entrepreneurship

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The fourth speaker, Mr. Vince Rapisura, talked about the Social Entrepreneurship. He defined it as business with a heart.

Goal of Business: Social or Financial

Even when I am on my first year college, I always read that businesses were established with a main purpose to gain profit.

But Mr. Vince emphasized that it is the social aspect that is the greatest end of every business. The financial aspect is just a means to achieve the social one.

When we say, financial, it has something to do with the money benefits, raising wealth. But when we talk about social, it has something to do with the community. How can a business help the community?

Social mission as priority. Financial sustainability as tool.

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The purpose of Social Entrepreneurship is to find solutions to the community's problems through establishing a business. One should identify the social problems first. After identifying, here comes the brain-storming of possible solutions. Choose the best and realizable one then create a product out from it.

(Situation given by the speaker.)

One of the social problems that the community is facing today is the teenage pregnancy. Pregnant women become younger and younger. That is the problem. So now, there are many ways to at least solve or lessen this problem: sex education and contraceptive pills. One chose the contraceptive pills. Out of these solutions, you can make a business like selling these pills.

(Did you get the idea?)

According to Mr. Rapisura, there are two activities to attain the goal of the business: profit-earning activities and nonprofit-earning activities.

When we say profit-earning activities, it has something to do with the money you are going to earn. nonprofit-earning activities mean other ways to earn the profit like advertisements and promotions. Int he example above, selling the contraceptive pills could give you profit while providing sex education, though you seldom earn from it, is your way of advertisement to promote your product.

The First Step to Entrepreneurship

Before you go establishing a new business on your own, you need to invest in yourself first. How? When you want to make a business that is in line with your skills and talents, you need to at least study how to operate your business: how to create the product, how to run the business. You need to have the knowledge on everything related to the business.

To minimize losses, get employed first to the same industry. Learn how to do it first.

What Does It Take To Be An Entrepreneur?

• Knowledge

Knowledge is important. Like what I said above, one should have a knowledge on how to do it first. One should at least have the knowledge how to run and manage the business. Aside from that.

• Skills

You need to have skills. Running a business is not easy so one should have the skills to sustain it.

• Network

Connections. It is not easy to start a business especially if you are not familiar with the business world and how it runs. People you may meet and have met may give you the suggestions on how to run the business. Also, having the network make it easy because sometimes, they are the one who help you to promote your products.

• Luck

Business is a big world of gamble. So find luck. (I don't know how to explain this. Maybe because I don't have lots. Or even one.)

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Investing For A Brighter Future

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The fifth speaker, Mr. Michael Gustilo, Regional Sales Manager of Sun Life Financial, talked about the importance of INSURANCE.

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Having clear dreams and life goals give you a compelling reason to SAVE and INVEST rather than SPEND needlessly.

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Life Stages and Financial Planning

• Getting Started

It is building your independence and confidence. This is where you start building your career.

• Moving Up

It is when you prioritize your family above all.

• Preparing Ahead

Nurturing you health and wealth for the future.

• Leaving Legacy

Ensuring lasting golden years ahead of you and for your family.

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When people heard the word INSURANCE, they would automatically think about DEATH. Some would say that insurance is for the dead but it isn't. Insurance is for the people that the deceased may leave behind. Insurance is being offered and availed because people somehow think of their future. Of course, insurance isn't just about estate. Insurance has many types and many things to insure.

What I really learned from the speaker is that: Don't invest on something you don't understand.

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Sources:

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Pictures of speakers taken from
UP JFA Investment Month

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Thanks for reading. I do hope that this helps you.

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