Mutual Fund by Sun Life

One of the things that I am looking forward to experience is investing. I have been reading quite a few number of books and online articles/blogs related to money management and all of it says something about investing. However, before you step into investments, it requires knowledge and patience as it doesn't offer a huge profit for a short period of time unless you have studied stocks and trading in great heights.

Anyway, when I saw a promo posted on TipidMommy's facebook page regarding Sun Life's Mutual Fund, I have contacted her agent and inquired about it. I have then met Ms. Che Gernandizo who answered all my questions. Believe me, I had a LOT of questions and have been communicating with her almost everyday. Hahah! I am just so thankful that she's so patient with me until I am contented with all her answers and fully understood mutual fund.

Although I have some basic knowledge prior to this, I still would want to confirm everything that I know specially the ins and outs of the company where I will put my hard-earned money. Sun Life has a great track record and has been in business for a very long time so I didn't hesitate. Besides, having a dedicated financial advisor helped me trust the company more.

When I had finally set a goal as to why I am investing in Mutual Fund, fully decided, we set an appointment near our office so I could submit the forms she sent thru my email ahead of time. I filled it out, deposited the required minimum amount, signed the papers and submitted it to her personally. I just waited for roughly 2 weeks since the company received a lot of application and had backlogs due to their ongoing promo.

The offered promotion of Sun life was for money market fund which is an investment vehicle for conservative type of investors and has a track record of up to 2% per annum. Instead of Php5,000 initial amount required to invest, it was lowered to only Php500.

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Since my goal is long term investment, I was hoping to transfer my fund to Equity or Index Fund which is for aggressive type of investor as soon as possible. I know that time is on my side so I have to maximize this investment. Remember, the higher the risk, the higher the returns.

Everyday has been so exciting watching my first passive income. Although it was a very, very, very small gains, I feel happy because you cannot get Php5 pesos just parking your money on your wallets nor putting it on a savings account in a bank. I mean, you can get 5 pesos in a bank after 6 months probably depending on the amount of money kept. Every payouts, I did some top ups until I got a go signal to switch my portfolio to Index Fund which has a track record of up 21% per annum.

SWITCHING MY FUND

Since I am a very agitated and excited type of person, I downloaded the Sunlife App on my phone so I could watch it closely. Although it is recommended to let it do its magic for a long period of time, there's something about checking it everyday regardless if the NAVPS (net asset value per share) is up or down. It motivates and reminds me of my goals. 

When I reached Php5,000 on my money market portfolio, I transferred my fund to Index immediately. Why Index? Well, the amount per share is quite low at the time so I will be able to buy a lot of shares. How did I transferred my fund? I did all my transactions thru their app in a breeze. It was a user friendly app plus an attentive financial advisor made me so happy I made the right decision. 

HOW TO ADD FUNDS ON YOUR PORTFOLIO

What I initially did is to go to the nearest BPI and deposit the money on SLAMCI's account. Take picture of my deposit slip then fill out the order form thru the Sunlife App. After some time, I asked my advisor if I could skip going to the banks and just transfer the fund thru BPI mobile app. I am so glad it worked fine. All I have to do was to transfer the fund to SLAMCI's bank account just like a normal fund transfer, take a screenshot of the confirmation, fill out the form on Sunlife's app and wait for the confirmation of additional shares bought the next day. 

Here's a step by step guide on how you could submit an order ticket form thru SunLife App.

1.) Download the SunLife Portal on your phone. 

Sunlife Portal Landing Page

2.) Upon sign up, it will ask you to nominate your PIN for you additional security. 

3.) This page will show up after you key in your PIN. It contains your account number, number of shares you have, the NAVPS from the previous day and the total fund value. To submit an order ticket form, tap on the fund name to bring you to the next screen.

4.)To be able to submit an order form, tap on the + button which will offer you to either REDEEM FUND, SWITCH FUND or ADD FUND. Select Add fund to see the form. This is where I also switched my fund from Money Market to Index Fund.

5.) The form should look like below. Fill out the form according to which bank and how much top up you did. Upload the screen shot of the bank confirmation for transfer fund or take a photo of your deposit slip for over the counter payment.

 After submitting the form, an order ticket number will be given to you. You may take note of it if you wish. A separate email will be sent to you to confirm the transaction has been received and once processed (which could take 24hours), another email will be sent to confirm the total number of shares bought and the amount per share according to the NAVPS. They also send text messages and a letter to confirm subscription in the mail.

Should you wish, you can also arrange an auto debit from your payroll or savings account to automatically fund your portfolio. To do so, please contact your financial advisor. Cut off for top ups is at 12noon. Additional funds processed before cut off time will buy the closing NAVPS from previous day (5pm) while anything after cut off will buy today's closing NAVPS. For any questions, please contact your financial advisor.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN MUTUAL FUND

I have waited two years before I finally had the chance to try Mutual Fund. Reading a lot of blogs/books/articles and joining facebook groups about money management somehow prepared me to this date. There was a time when I switched to Index Fund where I had paper loss. As I check it everyday, all I could say was, "down pa rin ang market" then shake it off. I kept reminding myself of my long term goal and there's nothing to worry about. True enough, the market bounced back, returned my paper loss and even added more. Since I am on Index Fund, means it mirrors PSEi, I could check the market's performance and expect the same gain or loss on my portfolio. 

It's been a month since the last time I added fund to my account. This is because I could see that the market is on green and is consistently going up for the last couple of days. I intend to add funds when the market goes down. Besides, I have other goals that I have to prioritize at this time. This portfolio is intended for our Retirement fund and thinking about it gives me fuel to continue working hard everyday. 

All I can say is, before you get yourself into investing, make sure that you prepared yourself to any changes as NAVPU could go up and down everyday. Being emotional in investing is never a good thing along with trading as it can cost you a lot of money if you're not fully knowledgeable. It will be best to set your goal for long term (5years and up) to maximize your gains. You can also do PESO-COST AVERAGING meaning putting the same amount (or more) money consistently (every salary or monthly). There are days where market is up which could buy you lesser number of shares and vice versa and can buy you more when market is down. Read a lot or ask questions until you fully understand the risks.

While every Mom's wish was to give out the best to our kids, we also have to make sure that all our hard work are not put to waste. Make your money work for you, not the other way around. We will not be young or strong forever, so while you can spare some amount for your future self, please do it now.

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If you are born poor, it's not your mistake, but if you die poor, it's your mistake. - Bill Gates