Are UITFs right for you?

You've learned what UITFs are and how they are different from mutual funds. You've decided to invest in UITFs. But are they really right for you?

By now you should have known that UITFs are not risk-free instruments and are not considered deposit products either. As such, UITF investors are not covered by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC). Loss of capital is possible, although ideally losses are turned into gains in the long run. If your foremost concern is the protection of your principal, UITFs are not for you.

UITFs are also not generally structured for those looking to make a quick gain. As seen in the UITF crash this year, taking out funds as soon as you invested it can cause drastic losses on your part. If you're looking to invest in UITFs, you should have the patience and resources to ride out its day-to-day volatilities.

In short, UITFs are suitable for investors who can part with their funds for the mid- to long-term, are not bothered by the day-to-day fluctuations of the unit price, and have the financial capability to absorb losses.

So asses yourself prior to jumping on the UITF investing bandwagon. And always remember the golden rule of investing: do not invest what you can't afford to lose!

Discuss this in the UITF Philippines thread in the PMT Forum.

[tags]UITF, UITFs, Unit Investment Trust Funds, UITF philippines, UITF primer, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, PDIC, NAVP, NAVPS, NAVPu, UITF NAVPu, Net Asset Value per unit[/tags]

UITFs vs. Mutual Funds

Both are pooled funds. Both offer higher returns compared to banks but also are not risk free. Both are measured in terms of the net asset value per unit (NAVPu) or share (NAVPS). So what’s the difference between UITFs and mutual funds?

A unit investment trust fund or UITF is a banking product that replaced common trust funds (CTFs). It is managed by the offering bank’s treasury department or group. A mutual fund, on the other hand, is offered by an investment company and managed independently by an appointed fund manager, which may or may not be related to the investment company.

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Introduction to UITFs

UITF stands for Unit Investment Trust Fund. The product is fairly simple on paper: the funds of several people are combined by an administrator and collectively invested into particular assets. As the assets gain or lose in market value, the individuals who pooled their funds either accrue the gains or absorb the loss. In exchange for structuring the fund, fees are charged to the individuals by the administrator. 

UITF is literally a collective fund. The nature of this instrument is that of a “trust” product. This means that the entity offering the UITF (i.e., the trustee) administers the fund in behalf of the individuals (i.e., trustors) whose resources have been combined into the fund. There is no guaranteed return for this product because the underlying investments of the fund can make or lose money.

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Start early so you can retire early

The most exciting thing for young people who have just graduated from college is earning their own money. After applying and going through interviews and tests, the prospect of receiving their first pay is something they all look forward to.

Whether you’re a fresh graduate or someone who has been working for a few years, there is something you should aim for: building your personal wealth. Don’t live from paycheck to paycheck for the rest of your life. With wise money management, you’ll be able to live well and prepare for your future adequately.

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HYIP News: Offshore Club (OSC) closes

The red flags were there — banned egold accounts, DDoS attacks, delayed payments. We were just waiting for it to happen. And today it happened. OffShoreClub.biz (OSC) is closing.

Following is the (unedited) mail sent to all OSC members by the OSC admin.

Dear Offshore Club Members,

I writing this sad news to share you some facts that affected our business and put Offshore Club in a situation where we can’t move any step to any direction.

To sum up the story, we will tell you exactly what happened with Offshore Club
from the beginning of 2006.

First of all, let’s remind you with what happened with our e-gold account before 2006 which was our first financial disaster. E-gold start blocking all our accounts without any reason or previous notification. We have supplied required Due Diligence documents 3(1) times to them, but they refused it accordingly to item 4.6 of their Terms of Use:

Quoting:
4.6. Right of Association
Issuer reserves the right to refuse service to particular individuals or entities, at its sole discretion, with or without cause.

In the middle of 2006, the impact was harder which was made by another payment processor which was Uniclear Express. As you already know Uniclear stopped withdrawals from their system and significant amount of Club assets was frozen there. I strongly believe that Uniclear would be in business later, but we can’t get our funds back still.

The same big drama kept going on.. and this time it was our wire transfer processing system. During short DDOS attack on our hosting provider some of our customers ordered charge back of wires sent to the Club. Banks of this customers began investigation and had put our bank account in “black list”. This situation draw unwanted attention of authorities and we faced with many other problems both online and offline.

In the last period of about two weeks ago, we were working very hard and thinking on how to solve our financial problems. Unfortunately, after long investigation we decided stop risking with our member’s funds. We do not want to happen that situation when all our payment accounts would be frozen by authorities. As I already mentioned our investigation shows that situation is critical.

In light of this facts we decided to close Offshore Club as online investment opportunity. As we stated we guarantee our investors principals and we would start refunding process in next few days. You will find more information about refunding process on our forum. Please do not trust any other information sources and trust only official information from the Club. I suggest our members do not panic and calm down: We will refund your principals.

Sincerely yours,

Offshore Club Administrator.

Optimization Tip 4: Know your audience and find out who’s clicking on your ads (and who’s not) — and why

You've optimized your ads, advertised to drive traffic to your site, and still no one's clicking. What's wrong?

If you find yourself asking that question, it's time you analyze your audience and understand why and how they come to your site and what they do there. You should start searching for keywords that lead to your site, pages visitors usually go to, amount of time they spend on the site, and other information that will help you understand who's clicking on the ads in your site and who's not and why.

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Buying and Owning Property in the Philippines

Compared to other countries, the Philippines still has a highly-regulated real estate industry. There are strict rules with regard to purchasing, owning, and investing in real estate and, by default, foreigners are not allowed to own property. Here's a primer to help you understand how to buy, own, and invest in real estate property in the Philippines.

Question 1: I am a former natural-born Philippine citizen but have become a naturalized American citizen. Am I still allowed to own land in the Philippines?

Answer 1: Yes. Any natural-born Philippine citizen who has lost his Philippine citizenship may still own private land in the Philippines up to a maximum area of 5,000 square meters in the case of rural land. In the case of married couples, the total area that both couples are allowed to purchase should not exceed the maximum area mentioned above.

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The Four Stages of Financial Life

Just as a child’s needs change over time as he gets older, your needs change too. That includes financial goals and needs. But by anticipating your needs, you’ll be better prepared financially to meet them.

Most people go through the following four stages of financial life:

Let’s look at each one.

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Google Adsense launches new ad format

Google Adsense recently announced that Adsense publishers now have an additional ad format to use in their sites: the 200×200 Small Square ad.

The new format is smaller compared to the original Square (250×250) format, hence, the name "Small Square." Like the Square format, the Small Square also supports text, image, and video ads.

You can see the Small Square ad in action here in PMT on the top-right side of all full-page articles.

Square (250×250) vs. Small Square (200×200) ad formats:

 

[tags]Google Adsense, adsense, ad formats, new adsense ad format, square, small square, 250×250, 200×200[/tags]

PIPS Update: Marsdens face more charges (pics inside)

Here's an update to the continuing saga of Bryan Marsden and the failed People in Profit Systems (PIPS) program.

Marsdens face more charges

A couple who claimed trial to at least 41 counts of money laundering have been slapped with more similar charges

British national Bryan John Marsden, 58, and his Malaysian wife Phan Sew Ken, 50, were accused of a further seven counts of money laundering at the Session Court here yesterday.

They allegedly received money that were proceeds of unlawful activities between Jan 4 and June 14 last year. 

The transactions, amounting to US$3,100,799.33 (RM11.45mil), were said to have been done through their company Pic Pay Dot Com Sdn Bhd's account with EON Bank Group in Nilai, Negri Sembilan. 

Marsden was charged with committing two more counts of the offence involving RM106,000 through his personal account with the same bank on Jan 28 and Feb 20, 2004. 

The couple were charged separately under the Anti-Money Laundering Act before Sessions Court judge Allaudeen Ismail. 

The couple claimed trial to all charges. 

To date, Marsden has claimed trial to a total 57 charges involving nearly RM46mil while Phan has 48 charges against her involving more than RM38mil. 

This is the country’s first online money laundering case investigated by Bank Negara. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi proposed that bail be set at RM500,000 with two Malaysian sureties for each of them. 

However, their lawyers appealed for a lower amount. 

Justice Allaudeen Ismail demanded for a written application to be submitted to the court and fixed Oct 10 for mention. 

On Aug 30, the couple were charged with 41 counts of money laundering, involving more than RM26mil, at a Sessions Court here. 

Later that day, Marsden was slapped with an additional seven charges involving RM7.5mil at a Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

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