This post kicks off a MoneySmarts series on mutual funds. As I promised in a previous post, I will help investors pound on the doors of mutual fund companies and get answers on issues we all need to understand to make informed decisions about our investments.

So I interviewed PhilEquity Management Inc. president Edmundo Marco P. Bunyi. I asked some of you to be a part of the interview by soliciting your questions. Take a look at how the interview went, and, as usual, you are welcome to share your views and comments.

Bunyi: I read your blog and the comments about PhilEquity and I am pleased that more people are interested in investing and investing wisely. Let me just share with you candidly what PhilEquity is all about. The story of PhilEquity is all about its fund manager, Wilson Sy. You know Wilson Sy – he was former chairman of the Philippine Stock Exchange, a totally low-profile guy, a very good listener, and exceptionally talented. Are you familiar with the mosaic theory? He has a way of putting things together — information that are public, non-public and non-material — in a way that can make money in the market. He was a phenomenal market player and soon colleagues, friends and associates asked him to invest for them too. Eventually, he decided to set up a fund and personally managed it – that was in 1994. That was how PhilEquity began.

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Life is good for thirty-something couple Diego and Bianca: she just passed the bar, he has promising business plans, they both have stable jobs, good health, and a few modest properties in their names. They are what you call “upwardly mobile young professionals.”

The couple, who have one child and are planning to have another soon, didn’t really feel like they were on shaky ground financially. Diego, 35, a graphic designer and professor in one of the top universities in the country, is nurturing a small business that has allowed him to earn an additional P15,000 a month. Bianca, 33, is expecting a raise in her income after she is promoted on passing the bar. Together, they made P78,000 gross in March.

Diego and Bianca lived in the US for four years to be closer to Bianca’s family who has migrated for good. When they came home in 2004, they had P1 million in savings, which they used to buy their own home with the help of another P1.4 million they received from their parents. They also bought two cars and now send their daughter to a school very near their home.

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Being a mommy is tough and there are times I thought I would lose my sanity because of it. But call me idealistic because from personal experience, motherhood has allowed me to soar and grow beyond my crusty shell.

Just the other week, I was watching a businessman mentally dismiss me because I had stepped back from the exhilarating world of journalism for a while to become a stay-at-home mom. The image of my favorite author Lu Hanessian came to mind, when, caught in the same situation she muttered to herself, “Hey, I know the stock market is up and your fly is down!” I just barely caught myself telling the guy the same thing.

Mothers have specific needs and specific strengths. Let’s dissect some of those with the help of the NSCB’s Statistically Speaking column written this time by Jessamyn O. Encarnacion.

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Finance people rarely agree on a single point, but this topic causes them to scamper to all points of the spectrum. Some believe that cash-value plans are better, others believe buying term and investing the difference is a superior strategy, others think the best way is somewhere in between.

You will have to help me prove or bust this theory based on your experiences, but let me first define this issue further.

Insurance may seem like a maze to most people and the way it’s sold here in the Philippines does not help at all. I know quite a number of insurance agents who take the time to listen first to their clients’ needs and only then draw up a recommendation that would be best for their clients. But in my experience, it is still the norm for agents to recommend the product they like best.
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Power plays and empty promises leave my stomach churning, that’s why I never attend political gatherings. Last week, however, I joined the signing of the manifesto of support for embattled Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City.

The guy’s one of the best mayors in the country – and I have seen and watched quite a few in action. His predicament was a testament of how power can be used unjustly and brazenly in this country against the dwindling number of good men. But this blog post is not about him and no, I’m not going to ask anyone here to vote for him.

As I surveyed the crowd, I wondered what it took to gather them. Cory Aquino was there, still speaking with some of the magic that is her trademark. (Her simple remark to Noynoy who was in attendance: “If you don’t serve the country well as a senator, lagot ka sa nanay mo,” brought warm chuckles to the audience.) Most of the Hyatt 10 was there, also cabinet members of the Ramos administration, noted journalists like Vergel de Dios – the guest list was a virtual who’s who in business and political beats.

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The small group of people huddled together at the huge lobby of the 5th floor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas stuck out like a sore thumb. Some were retirees, others were businessmen, homemakers, young couples – there really was no single word to describe most of them except they were all desperate…desperate to get their deposits back.

A big part of a financial journalist’s life is interviewing all sorts of people. Normally that gives me such a high because I’m endlessly curious about everything, anything and anyone. But somehow, talking to victims of banking closures always left me depressed.

I still remember that day very well. The 1997 financial crisis caused quite a few banks to go belly up and this bank was one of them. Desperate depositors came together to plead to the central bank to do something.
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A finance professional last week told me he had a great tip for MoneySmarts. He said the 0% interest rate promotions are a sham. Yep — a clever cover up, a daring deception, a trap for the millions of unsuspecting shoppers in this great big mall of a country.

Unfortunately, he declined to be identified, but he was willing to explain all the details. So MoneySmarts went money myth busting to find out if his claims were for real.

Hot glue gun stuck to the end of my nose! I was surprised how easy it is to make money in this country. Here is what I found.
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Sibling squabbles are a reality of life in the Philippines – and not just in rich families. The property in question could be a small residential lot in a province somewhere, some farmland or a business even. The size and value often doesn’t matter.

Ariel Martinez, a taxation and estate lawyer of more than 15 years, calls money a “blood thinner.” He said it could cause siblings to forget they grew up together. Martinez has the admirable trait of going straight for the jugular and it’s not difficult to imagine that he does as he claims: devote some time scolding clients during their first few meetings.

“I couldn’t help it,” he said. “I would tell them ‘Di ba kayo nahihiya, di matatahimik sa puntod ang nanay ninyo. Even if you go to the judge now to plead your case, sasabunin din kayo nun!”
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The story about Texas Instruments’ $1-billion investment in the Philippines wins hands down as the biggest business news this week, putting no less than Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in paroxysms of delight and the business community twittering with joy. It was as if everyone could hold the dollars in their hands last Wednesday when the announcement was made.

The big deal is the name as well as the amount. Texas Instruments is the world’s biggest maker of mobile phone chips, and China was competing hard for this contract. The benefits are clear as day — more jobs created, image as investment destination is hoped to spur more investments, technology transfer and all that.

However, what usually makes my eyebrows go up in this matter is how the government will trip all over itself to give all kinds of tax incentives. I hope that what we gain in terms of the actual investment itself we don’t lose from foregone revenues.
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Warren Buffett, the world’s second-richest person (just a tad shy of Bill Gates’ net worth), is probably at this moment preparing for Berkshire Hathaway’s 3-day annual stockholders meeting which he calls the Woodstock for Capitalists.

I have collected information that Filipino personal finance enthusiasts should know about America’s most well revered billionaire. (Source: Reuters, BusinessWeek, Wikipedia).

Warren Buffett at a glance

• Buffett, 76, bought Berkshire, a textile maker, in 1965. As of Wednesday, Berkshire’s market value was about $167 billion. Berkshire owns more than 50 companies, including auto insurer Geico, reinsurer General Re, ice cream maker Dairy Queen, and utility MidAmerican Energy. It also owns more than $60 billion of stock in many large companies, such as American Express Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Procter & Gamble Co.

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