DEL CASTILLO recommends keeping 30 percent of one’s savings in a time deposit, for easier access in case of emergencies, 20 percent in equities, and 50 percent in a balanced fund. Garcia prefers to offer two investment options for the regular investor: The first option is to put 30 percent of one’s investments in an equity fund, and 70 percent in a fixed-income investment like a bond fund. The second option is to put everything in a balanced fund, and allow the fund manager to appropriately apportion the funds between fixed income and stock investments.

To ensure savings for the future, Garcia suggests setting aside a portion of one’s income each month for savings and at the same time investing at a regular and consistent frequency. He also says one should invest for the medium to long term to be able to ride out the short-term volatilities. But he stresses the importance of keeping one’s retirement fund intact as much as possible. “You will thank yourself later in life,” he says.

Yet while investments like mutual funds and the stock market give higher returns, experts say it is still advisable to avail of pre-need and pension plans, to ensure that there is money set aside for specific purposes. Many Filipinos have become wary of such plans after a few pre-need companies encountered financial debacles, but fund managers say that today’s pre-need products have “evolved.” They explain that the previous education plans failed become these had offered “open-end liability,” guaranteeing tuition in selected colleges regardless of inflation and investment yields. These failed to anticipate that tuition would rise as fast and as high as they did, and so these companies’ trust funds were eventually unable to earn the expenses required by their clients.

Garcia says, “These new products will now help you save and maximize returns, but they will not promise to pay for the full costs of your child’s future education expense or your pension requirements.” He does caution investors to put their money only in fixed-value plans, or those whose benefit amount is already set and known, the moment the plan is issued.

An investor can also learn more by or to make an effort to learn more by reading investment guide books, and getting referrals from people who may already have mutual fund investments. One can also ask banks about the new investment instruments available.

SEC’s Guevarra himself says that education is the best defense against investment scammers — even as he rues the fact that his institution lacks the budget to improve its information campaign. “One thing that has struck me is that regulators sill have to disseminate information to the public,” he says. “This requires resources we don’t have.”

The most important thing for an investor to remember, though, is not to be greedy, as this has been the downfall of many. This also explains why people are easily enticed by “get-rich-quick” schemes that leave them weeping in the end. As one fund manager puts it, “While everyone wants to get rich, we must understand that building wealth is generally not an overnight program unless you have the extreme good fortune of winning the lottery. Think of building wealth like planting a tree. It takes time and sufficient care to make it bear fruit.”