Certification for Visa Requirements

I know I said I'm not going to travel this year. It's a year supposedly to rest. And yet, after attending the travel expo, I suddenly want to go out and visit my friends in different countries. That's why I want to go to US, Canada, and New Zealand. Then there's the family Japan trip next March. So, as early as now, I want to start my visa applications. I hope to go to Canada or US this year, maybe October or November and see falling leaves :)

Anyway, I applied for US interview, then plan to submit my documents online for Canadian visa. I don't know what to do with the hard copies of my requirements though. If I am going to apply for a Japan or New Zealand visa, as early as now, or maybe just use them for my reference hehe

So... there is the usual requirements like the application forms, certificate of employment, and ITR. What I want to disclose is the information I've gained with regards to certifications for investments and bank deposits.

Bank Products:

1. BPI Savings account - request it at your branch of choice, claim it on the same afternoon. Fee PhP 100.
2. BPI Direct Savings account - call BPI direct at 89-100, claim it at your branch of choice after one week. Fee PhP 100.
3. BDO Savings account - request it at your branch, claim at the next day (or get yesterday's balance if you want to claim on the same day). Fee PhP 100. Includes current available balance as of a certain date.
4. BDO IUTF - request it at branch where you opened it, claim it the next day. Fee PhP 100.

Investments

1. COL Financial - fill up form, and email to stockcerts@colfinancial.com. 2-3 days (you can choose by email, pick up or mail). Fee PhP 100. Includes date when we opened the account, Cash Position, Stock positions, and Total Equity Value as of date requested.
2. Metrosec - fill up form, email to metrosec. 2-3 days. Fee PhP 50.
3. ALFM - call ALFM, claim it at BPI branch of convenience after 2-3 days. (My ALFM account is tied up with my BPI RSP.)  Free. 
4. FAMI - email/call FAMI, mail to you within 2-3 days. Free. Includes number of shares and balance of account as of requested date.
5. Philequity - I emailed them, but no reply. (Anyway, service here is really slow for the last couple of weeks while I was doing my regular transactions, so I didn't even expect much.)
6. Sunlife Maxilink Prime - requested in via email, still don't know when it will arrive in the mail. (Apparently) Free.

So... because of these things, I am thinking if I should just really maintain most of my money in Mutual Funds. At least, I can request certification from them for free. Most convenient is ALFM, but I guess FAMI should be convenient if the mail gets to me in 2-3 days time.

I have also used BPI's ABF Bond fund, and transferring money from my Bond Fund to my Savings Account, while I was abroad was also easy. Though it took 2-3 working days, I think. Definitely needs some time allowance.

It's rather hard looking at several portfolios and investments. I am thinking after 5 years' time, I should just take my money out, and transfer it to my other stocks... But then, what would happen to my compound interests, right?

How I Got into Investment

I have been working for 5 years, and yes I am a millionaire by the time I reached 30! Yey! (Though this is in paper assets, regardless, I am happy hehe)

I am lucky that I have been exposed to finance and wealth while I was starting out. When I got my first job, I was already looking into investments on where to put my money. (Initially, I was going to put my savings there, give time for it to grow while I go into residency, so by the time I graduated, it would increase!) I subscribed to Truly Rich Club initially, opened an account with Citisec (currently renamed COL Financial), and took me 6 months before I really had the nerve to start investing.

At first I started small, 1,000 to 2,000 per company per month until I realized that I am losing more money by not investing because my money in the stock market was already growing faster than the one in my back. So then, I invested regularly in bigger amounts, invested in one to two stocks per month for 6 months, then just watch it grow. I would invest in other stocks, until I have a variety of stocks. (Now, I just want to focus on a few, but I don't want to let go of my stocks, so I just let them grow.)

Since I also had a Metrobank account, I tried another stock broker, FirstMetrosec. For me, COL Financial is still better for beginners because they have monthly and more easy-to-read reports than Metrosec. But in Metrosec, I get my stock certificates by mail. Also, in Metrosec, my money is easily transfers from my Metrobank online account which is great. (In Citisec, if you want to get your money out, you have to pass by PSE bldg to get your check.)

Then I started looking for other investment options, like mutual funds. There are three kinds of mutual funds: bond, balance, and equity. I chose equity fund, which is mostly invested in stocks, chosen by a fund manager who watches the stocks for me. I invested here regularly during my 2nd year. (Well, I was able to invest in FAMI regularly because I had a Metrobank account then. Philequity actually had a bigger return, but it's harder for me because their process is more tedious and I didn't have a BDO account then.)

So, FAMI VS Philequity, which one is better? In terms of return, Philequity is better. Though investing in FAMI is more convenient especially when you have a Metrobank Account, and they also sent quarterly SOA. (I think my sister receives monthly SOA accounts from them.) Philequity also has monthly SOA, though they send it by email. (It doesn't look very official when I need to show it to the embassy for visa purposes.) If you have a BDO account, you can also do electronic fund transfer to Philequity, but you also have to fill out this form every time you make an investment (so it is definitely less convenient).

So there I was, growing my money for 2-3 years, regularly investing in Mutual Funds when I became too busy to watch the stocks. And investing in MF for me is better because I don't have to watch the market, scared of it crashing down due to my choices. At least in MF, there is a fund manager whom I have more faith on than my financial analytical skills (I don't have time to study the charts so I just regularly invest). It doesn't guarantee returns also, but I think that there is less votality in MF.

On my 4th year, I chose to work with IUTF which is similar to mutual funds, but these are more affiliated with banks, they don't charge an opening fee, but they do have an annual maintainance fee. Anyway, since I had BPI and BDO, I invested in both using automatic debit to regularly make my investment. So, which is better?

In terms of returns, they are not far from each other, about 1-2% change only in difference. In terms of convenience, they are both convenient as they are debited directly from your deposit accounts. But if you want to make an additional investment, BPI is definitely better because I haven't found a way to do electronic fund transfer to fund by BDO Equity account, except through my EIP (easy investment plan). In terms of statement of account, I think BDO is better because it shows the date, the amount invested, even the profits already gained from that first investment. BPI just clumps them all together in average. BDO also has Certificate of Participation, which unfortunately you have to pick-up from a BDO branch because you have to sign it. BPI on the other hand, mails you the receipt and transaction.

Currently, I'm on my 5th year of investing. Concentrating on BDO IUTF and Philequity mutual fund instead of worrying about the stock market myself. I am not currently, thinking on going into properties... But I think I still don't have enough budget for that kind of investment. Not if I want to get my other investments out hehe And I promised myself to hold these investments for atleast 5 years! Hehe