Where We Are

A lot has changed since I set up PHStocks last year. And quite frankly, as cliché at it may sound, so much has happened since then that I do not know where to begin.

Well, let me clarify the “so much” part first. I started PHStocks last January 2011, and I’ve started it with so much fervor and burning patriotism; at least that’s how I felt then – and how I continually feel right now actually – about what I am doing.

I initially intended for PHStocks to be a platform where I could provide investing 101s to educate Filipinos – in my own way, so to speak – about investing and to eventually start focusing more on helping the Philippine capital market by investing in local companies. Frankly, this is actually a big, ambitious aim. Why? It’s because I do not have any background – training, experience or education – in the financial or business market.

As I was saying, that was my initial intention. However, as months passed by last year, I realized I cannot do this. I am not an authority on the subject. I also do not have any formal education or training on the stock market and investing; rather, I just believe that anyone can enter the stock market provided he has done his research and he has a basic understanding of the fundamentals of the market. Roughly, an understanding like in this scenario: Company A would like to expand, so it needs capital. So it sells some share in the stock market to raise that capital, and then go ahead with his expansion and eventually become successful. In return, those who gave them capital by buying their shares will eventually be compensated either by the dividends or because of the increase in price of the share or stock they bought from the company. That is a very straight to the point description from someone with no education at all – zero – when it comes to the financials/stock market. So, who the heck will listen to you if you are just telling them that, right? Right.

So instead of going that direction, I am now focusing PHStocks solely on providing the latest business and stock market news in the Philippines’ capital markets. I would like to mention again, though, that I am not competing with the big news outlets in the Philippines. I am just complementing them, so to speak, by providing the big news, especially the little news that doesn’t get covered, coverage.

Moving on, I will just use this Blog section of PHStocks to show and discuss (or elicit comments, if possible) some of the companies I have invested in starting last year. I have mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2011 was to invest in the stock market. And I did, but not in my initial target of second quarter, but during the fourth quarter; October 5, actually, as a gift for my son on his birthday that day. And actually, I was able to start investing because I got a windfall when I was laid off from my company. Ironic, huh? But that’s another story. And my career is actually one colorful journey. I will hold on to that thought first and save it for another posting. Or a book. Who knows?

Anyway, so I jumped and applied for an account at First Metro Sec, because I could easily fund it through my Metrobank (PSE: MBT) account (which I use for my remittances). I was initially thinking of using CitisecOnline (PSE: COL), but along the way I just figured opening an account is too complicated or too inconvenient.

So anyway, here is a screenshot of my portfolio:

Well, yeah, I started with PhP13,000.00 ($307.18 at $1:PhP42.32) because as per my agreement with my wife, I will be investing only PhP26,000.00 ($614.37) for the first year, and see how it goes. So I still have 13K to pledge. (I am not into trading, mind you. I am into long-term. And these will eventually be given to my son and daughter.)

Anyway, since I am at my Control Panel, here is one screenshot regarding their performance today:

Wow. What a bloodshed we had today.

Anyway, as I’ve said, I bought the following stocks: Cebu Air Inc. (PSE: CEB), Energy Development Corporation (PSE: EDC), Jollibee Foods Corporation (PSE: JFC), PAL Holdings Inc. (PSE: PAL), San Miguel Corporation (PSE: SMC), Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (PSE: VLL), in October last year. There are a lot of reasons why they are the stocks I bought, but I will save that for my next post. I would just like to present here some of the companies in my portfolio and how, so far, they are performing compared to when I bought them.

CEB (5-Oct price: PhP72.50; 7-Feb price: PhP72.80)

EDC (5-Oct price: PhP5.40; 7-Feb price: PhP5.70)

JFC (5-Oct price: PhP85.00; 7-Feb price: PhP98.00)

PAL (5-Oct price: PhP7.11; 7-Feb price: PhP7.75)

SMC (5-Oct price: PhP113.90; 7-Feb price: PhP116.60)

VLL (5-Oct price: PhP2.90; 7-Feb price: PhP3.12)

Early last month, while going back and forth to SM Mall of Asia (MOA) to meet friends during my vacation, I happen to noticed a lot of developments being done by SM Development Corporation (PSE: SMDC). When I went to Tagaytay for our out-of-town, I again noticed some activities by SMDC.

Seeing these developments, and how the property market is having quite a nice growth in the country, I opted to buy some stocks from SMDC. Figure below is how SMDC is performing so far during the past few weeks:

SMDC (19-Jan price: PhP6.93; 7-Feb price: PhP7.20)

Before I forget, the above figures are taken from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) website, www.pse.com.ph. By the way, let me digress for a bit. I personally still like the old PSE website www2.pse.com.ph. I think some of the features of the old site is much more “investor-friendly” as compared to the new one. I don’t know. That’s me.

Moving on. As you can see, the above charts are the performances of the stocks I have acquired so far. The red circles and the green circles show, well, the then and now. Don’t worry, I am not going into a “technical analysis” here because, as I have said previously, I never want to. I am more of the, well, laid-back commonsensical type of guy focusing on the fundamental, “lay-man” view of the market. If there is such a guy. And I am not a trader actually. I am here for the long time. You know, the likes of how a grape juice becomes wine, that sort of analogy, if that’d make sense.

By the way, before I forget, I would just like to reiterate PHStocks’s Disclaimer, which has the line “should not be taken as an offer of, or giving of, advice to buy or sell securities”. So, the stocks I showed you above? It’s not promotion. Rather, I am just showing you how a guy like me was able to get into the market and pick a nice set of portfolio (well, I consider that portfolio nice, but that’s me). Again, I will discuss in detail why I selected the above companies in my next blog post.

Anyway, that’s that. This is where PHStocks is now. PHStocks is a blog, to be honest. But I am trying to make it look as professional a news blog as it could be (as you can see in some of my latest headlines).

And this is me telling you that PHStocks is here for a long time. I hope by visiting or reading PHStocks, you would get to know a little bit more about our capital market, how our country has been growing day-by-day, week-by-week and month-by-month, and eventually join us in helping our companies – and the Philippines for that matter – in our own little ways.

Thank you for reading.

– Richard

Email me at richard@phstocks.com.