[...] Money Smarts : Business stories you shouldn’t miss [...]

Hi Salve,

Thanks!! I’ve been reading your blog daily, as well as, the Inquirer, and thanks for remembering me. The money smart blog is really a good reading to add to the personal finance and advice columns…. and I enjoy it so much. Its interesting as well as informative to read the different inputs from all the bloggers.

Hopefully, the concerned authorities in charge of the stock market, the PSE, SEC, and the government will eventually implement strict measures so that what happened to Asian Capital Equities will never recur and thus investors will be protected.

Well, on the other hand, in my case, something good came out from my bad experience with ACE. Now, my husband got interested with investing in stocks together with me. But this time, I’ll surely convert all my stocks intended for long term investment to a physical stock certificate in my name. This scripless stock is good only if one buys and sells often. Well, there are always lessons to be learned. And with the help of your blog and others … more first time investors will be guided and armed with knowledge on their quest for financial freedom.

More power to you!
Cheryl

Hi Salve, pls extend my congratulations to your Sunday Inquirer Magazine colleagues, this week’s issue is mostly about moneysmarts topics (though more girl-focused though ) It’s a delightful read, keep it up, hope SIM could devote at least one moneysmart article every week.

[...] Money Smarts: Business stories you shouldn’t miss [...]

Hello bloggers. I didn’t follow the ACE story. What happened there? Was it as big as the BW scam?

But nothing beats Multitel. That’s the biggest investment scam of all. Did you know that Rose Baladjay pocketed P20 billion or more? Multitel had close to a million investors. The minimum investment was P10,000. That’s already P10 billion at the minimum. I personally knew people who invested P1 M up to P10 M each and one agent that held P50 M in various accounts. There was even one investor who put in P100 M!

Rose is now in jail but there’s no trace of the money. She probably hid it overseas. A bank manager friend of mine confided to me that Multitel had hundreds of millions in their bank and was withdrawn before the scandal broke out.

Btw, I was not a Multitel investor. I just knew one of Rose’s associates who lost P50 M.

Hi Pinoy Investor,

Here’s some link, re ACE:

http://money.inquirer.net/topstories/printable_topstories.php?yyyy=2003&mon=11&dd=26&file=5

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=64204.

I didn’t lose millions, though!

Ciao

hi cheryl, sorry for not spelling your name correctly at first. I didn’t even check my notes, I was so sure I had your name right silly me. thanks for your support. the simple words of encouragement really keep me going.

pinoy investor, i hope you got the links you needed. its not as big as the BW scam but also significant because of the issue of protection for small investors. Multitel really burned a lot of people. I hope you read Elena Torrijos’ 3-part series about it, you would see how that scam broke marriages and destroyed lives. Greed, greed, greed was the thing that brought most people’s downfall. That and misplaced trust — trusting your money to a friend, colleague or relative even if you dont understand the investment. sigh.

hi hachicko. forwarded your note to the Inquirer editors the newspaper edition is just now starting to realize that readers need more articles on personal finance, so its a good idea to keep bugging them about it haha.

salve, the worst part of multitel was that most investors were ordinary folks. i don’t know if the billions will ever be recovered to pay the victims. i was told that the money was already out before AMLAC’s freeze order on the bank accounts. they should plea bargain with baladjay to release her if she returns all the money.

Hi Salve, don’t worry, re the misspelled name. My friends call me che, cher, or chery… and its fine with me.

Thanks again for this blog of yours, it’s really a good place to pick useful information on financial issues. In fact, I have already set my mind to buy Philippine mutual funds when I get home soon, but I got myself thinking again because of what was discussed here. I thought Phil Equity was good already but maybe not. We have an offshore (Isle of Man) mutual fund for retirement and another for my son’s college eventually which we are paying/contributing every month for the last 8 years now. But I’ll still consider buying there, only I have to make more research and continue reading ‘money smart’ , as someone might eventually stumble on the best MP and post it here. Thanks again!!

Keep up the good work!!

pinoy investor, i would bet those who got burned by multitel were from all walks of life — including politicians. talk of a robber taking from a thief.

@salve

I love that one~~”talk of a robber taking from a thief” hahaha! How very true, I say! hahaha! Karma?