Paperless, one account: Investing made easy with FundsMart

MANILA, Philippines – Investor knowledge and empowerment. Seamless access. Investing with confidence.

These are some of the core tenets of First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp. (FirstMetroSec) as it continues pushing for Filipinos’ financial growth through investing in mutual funds and Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs) — with ease and convenience.

Enter FundsMart, the company’s investment funds online “supermarket” that enables users to invest in the country’s top peso- and dollar-denominated mutual funds and UITFs without additional paperwork and transaction fees — and using only one account.

According to FirstMetroSec president Gonzalo Ordoñez, Filipinos are generally afraid to invest. In fact, he said only 2% of our countryman are engaged in trading stocks. And this, he emphasized, is where the challenge lies for their group.

“Part of our goal is to educate that 98% and, through FundsMart, give power to the investor and provide seamless access to the average Filipino,” Ordonez told reporters and editors during a media briefing at the Holiday Inn & Suites Makati on December 14, 2023.

FundsMart prides itself as a “one-stop shop” for customers, who can conveniently invest in mutual funds and UITFs online. First launched in 2016, the funds “supermarket”, per its official website, now offers numerous peso- and dollar-dominated investment funds managed by leading investment companies and trust corporations, including ATR Asset Management Inc. (ATRAM), First Metro Asset Management Inc. (FAMI), BPI Wealth, Philequity Management Inc.(PEMI), Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMCI), and Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corp. (MIMTC).

FirstMetroSec senior vice president Mhelvin Abajon detailed the four main factors that make FundsMart the go-to place for online investors: ease of account opening, ease of funding, a low starting investment, and confidence-building.

“You don’t even need a Metrobank account to get started. FundsMart accepts many payment methods, including GCash, Maya and other e-wallets," Abajon said.

He also underscored the fully digital, paperless account opening process, and that one could invest for as low as P1,000, and using only one online account to consolidate their investments.

For his part, Andoy Beltran, Vice President and Business Development & Market Education Head for FirstMetroSec, emphasized FundsMart’s confidence-building nature, describing the “hand-holding” part of their services.

“We provide online investor personality assessment even before our clients start investing to make sure they correctly short-list their choices,” said Beltran, adding they are regularly conducting bespoke and gamified seminars, webinars and podcasts for those interested in investing, whether it be in stocks, bonds, ETF, REITs, UITFs or mutual funds.