Tales of two small investors Win some, lose some

AYEN INFANTE, a businesswoman, said investing in the stock market was a nightmare. Infante joined the IPO bandwagon in the 1990s. Infante made a gamble by putting large amount of her savings in one speculative stock and lost. “There was this one particular stock, it’s an oil exploration company, and the prediction toward that company was so bullish that many people invested in that company, including me. Until one day, the optimism towards the company was slowly dying down,” recalled Infante, who was once a business journalist.

“Slowly, I’m losing the hard-earned savings that I put in. It was a nightmare,” she confessed.

Infante said that if there’s one thing she learned from the experience it is to “never invest your savings” in stock market.

“When you are investing in stocks, especially if you are small time, invest your extra money, never your savings,” Infante said.

“Don’t invest if you don’t have extra money. Once you invest your savings, that’s suicide. If you want to invest, never use your savings because stock market is a gamble itself. Choose the right broker and track the background of companies,” she added. But Infante has not given up her hopes to one day recoup what she had lost at the stock market. She’s “seriously considering to go back” into stock market investing, but this time, she’s only looking at blue chip firms with track records such as Manila Electric Co (Meralco). She’s also teaching her three kids now to invest in the stock market. Experience has taught her prudence in her investment decisions, whether it is in the stock or in any other businesses that one will venture into.

Infante is now a budding entrepreneur engaged in mobile theater production focusing on youth education and issues related to child protection. At one time, she served as project manager of Philippine Educational Theater Association and Cultural Center of the Philippines for northern Luzon.

CARLO MONTEROLA, sales manager and branch head for a major motorcycle company in the country, said he was already able to grow his stock market portfolio to at least R2 million. It took him only seven years to grow his portfolio from his meager investments. Monterola would like to call it simple luck.

“Sometimes I can be lucky, sometimes I lose, and sometimes, I’m doing just fine,” Monterola, 34, said.

His thoughts of retiring early, among other work issues, prompted him to start investing in the stock market.

For those who are interested to pursue stock market investing, Monterola advised them to look at the long term horizon.

“Take it easy and invest only the money that you won’t need in the next five to ten years then diversify your investment portfolio, meaning do not put all your money in one issue only,” he added.

“Never ever be greedy, and study when to cut losses,” he further said. (MBM)