But before you click "buy" on that stock, make sure you know what you're getting into.
Leonardo Arguelles, president of online securities brokerage UTrade, advises would-be stock investors to take the time to learn about the stock market first.
"What is important for newbies to know is that they have to study what they're doing first. That's the main message we always tell them, you have to know what you're going into in the first place... We don't encourage people to put money without knowing what to do," he told ABS-CBNnews.com.
Arguelles said you shouldn't just buy a stock just because your friend told you to or you read a blog about a particular "hot stock pick."
"Mga chismis, that's the fastest way to losing your money, that's gambling," he said.
Arguelles said UTrade believes in the value of educating Filipinos about investing in the stock market, which is why it offers free weekly seminars on the basics of investing in the stock market.
Michelle Ungco, UTrade consultant, noted that many of those who attend their seminars say they don't have the know-how and time to invest in stocks.
"You have to make them understand that this is an alternative investment vehicle... People always tell us, number one, wala akong alam diyan, and number 2, wala ako oras. Time and knowledge -- we offer this through weekly seminars," she said.
How to attract investors
UTrade, the online stock trading platform of Unicapital Securities Inc., is targeting the middle-class to encourage them to invest in the Philippine stock market.
"We have been focused a lot on IPOs for the middle market. We're focusing on the emergent growth sectors of the Philippine economy, those who are not being assisted by the 'big boys'... We believe the middle market is the neglected sector of the economy... We would also like to add value to those who have not yet invested in the stock market, that's about 90 percent of the population," Arguelles said.
Many Filipinos are still averse to the idea of investing in stocks, owing to various misconceptions.
"We're trying to communicate with our customer base that even if you have P1,000 in your pocket every month, as long as you are able to set aside enough like P1,000 or P500, over time that could grow into hundreds of thousands," he said.
The UTrade platform allows clients to trade, view and modify orders.
To make it easier for those who are new at stock investing, UTrade also offers Stock Investment Program (SIP), which is based on the peso-cost averaging strategy of investing.
Starting with a minimum investment of P5,000, clients can then invest a fixed amount on a particular stock (from a basket of recommended stocks) in regular intervals, over a long period of time. In the long run, the current price of the stock will eventually exceed the average price, resulting in a profit.
"For example, you invested in URC (Universal Robina Corp) in 2009 at P5,000 every month... You're averaging your cost over time, since the stock market over time always beats inflation, for sure it will go up... In the case of URC, total investment as of September 2014, you would have saved P345,000, but market value of that is P2.2 million... You can't get that in bank deposit kasi you lose out on inflation," Arguelles said.
UTrade also offers personalized service for its clients. Clients can email, call, tweet or even use Viber to contact UTrade regarding any questions or concerns they may have.
Another benefit of online trading as opposed to having a broker is that commissions are lower.
"It's cheaper, in terms of commission it's just .25 percent lang. Brokers, it is easily up to 1 percent, depending on volume," Arguelles said.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
