DISCLAIMER: This article is not intended to promote FAMI or any other financial institutions but to share my own experience about the mutual fund as a newbie investor.
As part of my dream to be financially free by the age of 40, I have decided to open a mutual fund account as part of my investment portfolio. However, prior to doing this, I suggest that you must already have a savings fund and insurance. The reason behind this is so you can’t touch the money you intend to invest when there are emergencies in your life and if for some unfortunate event, you die young, your assets including this fund will be protected. Please remember that your money put in this fund will not gain right away for a week or months. You will enjoy its benefit when it’s set for a longer time.
Why I chose FAMI?
I chose FAMI because of its stability and consistency to be on the top 10 Mutual Funds in the Philippines. I haven’t attended any of their seminars but based on my research and some of my friends’ recommendation, I am confident about it. Anyways, when things will be better in the future for me, I plan to invest in other mutual funds to diversify my money.
For more information about FAMI, visit their website. This is also where I was able to download the application forms.
Here’s how I did mine:
1. Study about mutual funds
I would 100% recommend that you study the mutual fund as your first step. You have to be smart and sure about investing your money because it is your OWN money. By then you will understand that mutual fund is a risky investment and it’s not guaranteed that your money will earn right away.
In my case, I was introduced to mutual funds when I was in my early twenties. I remember that I watched videos on youtube and even bought books about it before but I didn’t act on it. I had the knowledge and encouragement from my friend but I remained skeptical about it.
Now, I have continued reading and learning about investing and FINALLY, I am proud to say that I have opened my own mutual fund account.
Set your goal
After learning about mutual funds, you must set up your goal. Ask yourself the question, “What do I want to do with this fund after years of investing?”. It’s very important to have a goal because this will act as the DRIVING force that will push you into putting your money into it. It can be anything from buying a car, building your home, education of your children or for early retirement.
My goal for my FAMI mutual fund is for a Euro trip where I want to visit countries and cities in Europe. I know it will be expensive and I am estimating may be about 200,000 – 300,000 for this trip.
Open a Mutual Fund account.
This is now the step where you have to fill out the application forms and photocopy 2 of your valid ID with 3 specimen signatures. Bring them to the nearest FAMI Business office if you have one but if not, like me, you can send it through the mail.
I really got lucky because I had my aunt, who visited us here in Bangkok, sent it for me to FAMI’s office in Davao instead of sending it from here which I’m sure will cost more Baht. My aunt said she paid 125php to mail it from our town to Davao.
It was sent on a Friday and I got an email on the next Tuesday. It was pretty quick and the funniest thing is the person who emailed me was my classmate in college in Cebu. We remained friends in facebook so she sent me a chat message saying she found my application. Pretty small world huh?! So, of course, it was approved.
This is the email I received confirming my account with FAMI.
Fund your Account
Once you have your account number, you will be asked to then fund your account. The minimum amount is 5,000php only but if you have more, you can put more. There are options to fund your FAMI mutual fund and all information will be on their website.
Payment Method found on the FAMI website.
For my first investment, I deposited 10,000php because I want to start strong. In order to do this, I had to send money to the Philippines and asked a trusted person to deposit the amount through Metrobank.
Add additional amount regularly.
In order for your fund to earn more, you have to deposit an additional amount regularly. Allocate a certain amount from your monthly salary that you can add to your fund. As little as 1,000php or 2,000php can make a difference in the long run.
A sample payment slip for additional investment
I am serious about this that I plan on putting 10,000 PHP monthly on my account so I can make my Euro trip happen as early as possible.
Do you have a mutual fund?
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