Legit investment channels to shield public from cons

CEBU, Philippines – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urges the public to consider fixed income investments, or any other safer and legitimate instruments in order to avoid falling into scams.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson Fe B. Barin said unless the public understand the benefits offered by legitimate investments channels, like fixed income investments, they will always remain as vulnerable target for “easy money” financial activities.

“That’s why there is a need to promote the fixed income investments in the country. The public is still naïve, and they can easily fall into scams,” Barin said.

The Philippine Dealing System (PDS) Group recently introduced the FI-BIOS facility, which is a medium of access critical to bring the nationwide community fixed income securities investors into central marketplace.

People who invest in fixed-income securities are typically looking for a constant and secure return on their investment. For example, a retired person might like to receive a regular dependable payment to live on, but not consume principal. This person can buy a bond with their money, and use the coupon payment (the interest) as that regular dependable payment. When the bond matures or is refinanced, the person will have their money returned to them.

According to Barin, lack of education on investing into fixed income instruments, would bring people to engage into illegal investments offers, which ultimately will leave them as “victims.”

From P5 thousand to P500 million or P1 billion, one can invest to the FI-BIOS, working closely with dealers or banks and licensed brokers.

Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corporation (PDEx) president Vicente B. Castillo said that opening the array of fixed income securities directly to the marketplace in real time prices could strengthen the development of fixed income investors’ interest especially in Cebu and other regions.

“There is so much liquidity in the market today. People are looking at safe investments. Cebu is one of the most developed and very educated market when it comes to securities’ investments,” Castillo said.

Aside from conventional time-deposit in the banks, the public has now wider choices on where to invest their money even as low as P5,000, putting them into a much safer investments channels, rather than in a “bogus” investments.

Government securities are now available directly to the market including the treasury bills, fixed rate treasury notes, retail treasury bonds, among others.

According to Castillo, PDS will be developing more brokers in Cebu in the next few months, in order to educate the investing public to engage in safer and legitimate investment instruments, saving them from being victimized by scams, including pyramiding schemes and the likes.

An ordinary investor, who has money for investments as low as P5000 can participate into the fixed market, through coordinating with a licensed broker, or PDEx member banks.