What hinders you from investing money? I must admit that one of the reasons why it took me so long before finally investing in a mutual fund is the hassle of meeting with a financial advisor and the paper works. I do almost everything online and when it comes to investing my money, I want it done at my most convenient time.
Investing made easy
Millennials are usually saving up for travel, business, and education. Sun Life has been advocating on financial literacy. Aside from educating the Filipinos on the importance of financial education, the company is also making it easy to invest in the Sun Life Prosperity Funds.
Through the My Sun Life Client Portal nad Sun Life PH Mobile App, you can invest and manage your account anytime, anywhere. You just need to fill out the registration form and take a selfie. And to make it affordable, you can invest in money market for as low as P100.
I believe that you don't need a lot of money to start your journey to financial freedom. I started with P5,000 and add P1,000 every month. P100 is definitely something you can afford. You also don't have to deprive yourself of the things you love to do like travel and shopping. It's a matter of knowing how much to spend and how much to save for the future.
Philippine Economy in 2020
Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc. (SLAMCI) sees a brighter 2020 for the Philippine economy. According to Sun Life Chief Investments Officer Michael Enriquez, the economy is set to significantly improve and the challenges that will come our way are tolerable and may be balanced out by the positive developments.
The factors that are expected to boost the country's economy are lower prices and accelerated government spending. In October 2019, inflation fell to a low of 0.80% but we expect prices to slowly rise as we foresee an inflation rate of 2.40% in 2020. This rate is significantly lower compared to 5.21% in 2018.
In terms of Gross Domestic Product, a higher GDP is to be expected. Enriquez shared that Sun Life looks forward to a 5.80% GDP for 2019 and a stronger 7% in 2020. This is due to a combination of base-effects, the recovery of consumer spending, and a stronger government spending. Sun Life expects the government to go all out on capital outlays considering that the present administration has only two years left in its mandate.
For the currency, a peso-dollar exchange rate of PhP50.70 to PhP52.50 is possible. The 2019 USD-PhP forecast is at PhP51.00 and a slightly higher PhP52.50 for 2020.
Sun Life expects the Philippine Stock Exchange Index to end at 8,600 on a best case scenario. While the 2019 remains to be volatile for the stock market, the PSEi target for 2020 is at 9,460 with a price-earnings multiple of 18.2 times.
Taking into consideration the external factors beyond our control, the United States is set to experience recession especially towards the later months of 2020 due to the upcoming presidential election. The US-China Trade War has also created an impact in global growth. The Federal Reserve is also on a passive quantitative easing mode. The US Dollar 10-year bond may re-test the recent low of 1.5%-1.7%.
With these scenarios, SLAMCI highly encourages investors to stay the course. "It is only with a long term vision and a solid commitment to their investing journey that they can benefit from a better and faster Philippine economy in 2020.
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