How Do You See Rich People?

Feb 14, 2008

How do I see rich people?

In terms of the amount of wealth – FORTUNATE
They get to buy the materials things perceivable

In terms of the way they were able to procure such a fortune:
If it’s inherited – PRIVILEGED
If it’s out of hardwork – ADMIRABLE
If it’s out of sinful acts, say for example, drug pushing and corruption – INHUMAN


In terms of the way they use their wealth:
If they use if for charitable purposes – COMMENDABLE
If they use it for power and manipulation – CRUEL


So how do I see rich people? My perception of them obviously varies considerably, but definitely the amount is not the only measure.

Re: Investing in Mutual Funds

Oct 19, 2007

First, I envy you for your age. Having to start investing at such a young age will take you to great distance. Ironically, it's only now, (when I reached this age), that I realized what the adage "Time is gold" really means. Akala sinasabi lang yun ng mga walang maisip na motto (lol). You are lucky to be in the right company at this early point of your life.

Now, I'm not a professional investor (yet) nor a successful one (yet). But I know some things about it (at least theoretically) that may help you in your dilemma. I always compare investing to a card game. Part luck, part diskarte. But again, you are fortunate as you have one of the aces of the game-which is TIME.

You are young, and because of that you can attempt to make risks. Because even if you lose money-which is unavoidable (but as much as possible must be prevented)-you can still earn it through your job, other ventures or still through investments-because any investment, in time, will profit.

Again we know that in investment, no pain no gain, and that the riskier the investment, the higher the return. Now, stocks, stock mutual funds (aka, equities), balanced fund (mixed equitiy and bond), bond and money market differ in risk and yield, the first one carrying the greatest risk and profit, and the last one, much like putting your money into time deposit.

For a young investor like you, financial growth is the name of the game. Because again, you can gamble to be aggressive, most financial gurus would agree that stocks and stock mutual fund (aka equity) are the ones more appropriate. However between buying individual stocks or stock mutual fund, the latter is better as playing stocks requires experience. Stock mutual fund, on the other hand, is handled by a fund manager, who pools money from different individuals , then use that into buying different stocks. In effect, this is much safer because it is handled by an experienced person.

Compared to bonds and money market, stock mutual fund will give you a higher yield as this is stock investment. In fact, in terms of revenue and capital preservation, it can even be better than buying individual stocks. Because in a stock mutual fund, there is already diversification (the money is into a variety of stock products that give different yields)-one which you may not be able to do with just your money to invest. The risk of losing money is lesser as lost of one stock may be offset by the gain of another.

So, take your pick.