MANILA, Philippines — BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. (BPI ATMC), the wealth management arm of Ayala-led BPI, said investors can hitch a ride on the recovery of the stock market through its BPI Invest Philippine Equity Index Fund.
The fund allows Filipino investors to ride the growth and recovery of the 30 Philippine companies in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi), the benchmark gauge.
As of June 2021, the top 10 holdings of the fund include SM Prime, Ayala Corp., JG Summit and Aboitiz Equity Ventures.
BPI Asset Management president Sheila Marie Tan said investing in the fund is one way for Filipinos to strategize to grow one’s assets with building a college fund as the goal in mind.
“By entrusting your children’s college fund with a reliable and respected fund manager that invests in top companies with solid prospects, you can ride the growth and recovery of these companies that are poised for growth in the next decades,” Tan said.
She said investing is better than saving or setting aside money for the future.
“By growing your funds over time through professional and prudent fund management, you can support your children’s dreams, no matter how big and daunting it may be,” Tan said.
One strategy that works is to be one step ahead of inflation and one step closer to your goals. “As soon as your children are born, you can start putting up a college fund for them. Begin with your target amount in mind taking into consideration the cost of education and how this will be affected by inflation in the coming years,” she explained.
While this is not a one-size-fits-all approach to building a child’s college fund, BPI AMTC notes that parents need to factor in how much they can reasonably invest regularly, their approximate returns, and the time that they have left to grow their fund before their child reaches college.
Tan said parents can set realistic expectations, while considering investment options to increase savings.
Instead of saving P15,702 a month, parents can start allocating for investment about P5,255 a month and investing these funds in an instrument with a return rate of 11.83 percent per annum to meet the target P3.4 million in 18 years.
“With a total of P63,000 in college funds every year, parents can opt to invest in a BPI Invest fund like the BPI Invest Philippine Equity Index Fund which yielded an investment return rate of 11.83 percent as of June, Tan said.