In its technical sense, investment is defined as any mechanism, whether an asset or item purchased, that is expected to appreciate in value or generate future income.
Quite simple, investment means a capital outlay that grows over time; hence, it is more about working and spending smarter, not harder.
Wise millennials would listen to typical pieces of advice from financial gurus on making investments, and one is to invest while still young. Though investing is for everyone irrespective of age, career, and economic status, it is an advantage that one makes an investment at an early age, practically in the 20s.
Let me give you two main reasons. First, the younger one starts investing, the more time his investment can grow. Second, investment comes with learning. When one has long been into it, therefore, he has learned a lot from his experiences of financial failures and achievements.
In this article, let me walk you through my 10 investment options that can also be worth recommending to all young working professionals in the Philippines or anywhere else.
Again, these are my personal investment options and not the recommendations of the financial experts. Yes, they may have their own investment options or even make arguments over a few on my list.
10 Investment Options for Young Professionals
[1] Education and Professional Growth. Education is no doubt a universal investment, hence never an option. Making an investment in higher education and professional growth can lead to greater opportunities, thus more earning potential.
Finishing a bachelor’s degree may not be enough these days as competitions in the corporate world continue to reach new heights. Given this, more and more young professionals pursue graduate studies, seek skills trainings, and gain more professional certifications.
[2] Financial Literacy. Financial literacy is an education focused on managing finances and resources wisely. It covers efficient management of personal finance and informed decisions on making sound investments, saving, buying real estate properties, increasing tax awareness, and planning for financially secured retirement.
On the negative side, financial illiteracy often leads to inefficient management of finances and poor decisions on financial choices.
Investing in financial education can be started in getting aware of cash flow, acquiring skills in budgeting and tracking expenses, reading finance-related books and online articles, and attending seminars and events —– in general, understanding how money works.
[3] Professional Network. Our road to being financially literate may not be that easy as it requires us to unlearn some bad money habits and strengthen financial cognition. Expanding our personal and professional networks can be a good move and can contribute a lot.
As we meet more people and build healthy relationships, we create more outlets towards gaining novel insights such as creative business and passive income ideas, investment opportunities, and even simple saving practices.
[4] Health and Wellness. As the cliché goes, health is wealth. Savings and other funds sometimes do not suffice costly hospitalizations whenever worse health issues surface; hence, unavoidable debts aggravate financial dilemmas.
To prevent these worst cases, it is a must that we invest in our health. Securing health insurance, even just PhilHealth, can be highly recommended, but more importantly, we take effort living a healthy lifestyle. Quit those bad vices that usually ruin the budget.
[5] High-Yield Deposits and Bonds. Many argue that bank deposits are not investments as money simply sleeps with less than one percent interest, but hey, still earning an interest. After all, financial gurus insist that we save and build our emergency funds. Bank and other deposits are somehow better than keeping a stash of cash under the mattress for this purpose.
High-yield deposits, CD’s for instance, and bonds (government and corporate) may be suggested for short to medium-term investments, such as for a six-month to one-year conservative safekeeping of small business capital, building savings and emergency funds, and other balanced portfolio goals.
[6] Pooled Funds. Pooled funds such as Mutual Funds, Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs), and Crowdfunding ideas are also good investment options for young working professionals. Commonly, these investment options promise lower trading costs, portfolio diversification, and professional fund management.
Pooled funds are quite flexible as they normally depend on preferred funding intervals, risk tolerance, and redemption options of participating investors. For a long-term investment, these pooled funds hold a great potential to outperform the volatile stock market.
In another reference, mutual funds do not fall under the category of pooled funds. Search Google to find out more.
[7] Stocks. Technology has changed the way people trade stocks in the market. Tech-savvy young professionals can take this advantage to invest and share with the growth of publicly listed giant companies.
Of all the investment options, investing in stocks poses the highest risk level. What makes then this investment a good recommendation for young professionals is its complementing nature with the risk-taking taste of millennial investors.
As we experience success and failure over stock trading, we learn the right entry and exit points, and come to realize that stock investment promises greater growth potential and capital preservation in the longer term. In the Philippines, Peso Cost Averaging, for example, is a time-tested stock market investment strategy.
[8] Small Business. Nowadays, the web can be considered a vast shopping mall where virtual business establishments prosper, and those who have the creative ideas earn millions without so much sweat equity. In the same manner, it has become a resource of perfect business ideas that can be established online and offline.
Starting a business can be a good transition from being a corporate slave to being financially free, hence far better among most investment options. History proves that successful entrepreneurship does not always require a huge starting capital nor a formal academic degree. As many would agree, it also takes hard work, persistence, and an open mind to many opportunities.
[9] Real Estate. Real estate as an investment can sometimes worth an argument. Generally, buying a property such as a house, a condo unit, and a land solely for residential purposes does not qualify a good investment rather a possible liability.
On the other hand, real estate can be an investment property if it promises an income generation by renting it out or a profit through price appreciation after reselling. There are many online catalogs and websites out there, like Precondo, that offer convenient outlets for real estate investment.
Young professionals can take real estate as one of the best investment options, especially if a large sum is on hand. For instance, buying a parcel of land in the province can generate income through production of crops or renting it out for some purposes while the price appreciates.
[10] Retirement Fund. Retirement funds and other annuities can be attractive to young working professionals these days. With or without dependents, building a retirement fund has gained so much attention as many observe the plight of many elderly Filipinos.
However, Filipino millennials should bear in mind that the best retirement plan is always the personal plan. Although national social insurance such as SSS can be a good fund that even freelances are encouraged to build, still the pension amount it promises may not be enough for financial security in the latter days.
Final Thoughts
Starting early and investing regularly remains the best possible way of building wealth in the long term. Young professionals, millennials as they call, have all the intrepidity to surf over the waves of stock market volatility, and of course, the time to take advantage of compound interest and earnings.
Investment portfolios require diversification. As the common expert advice goes, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Investment options for portfolio diversification are almost everywhere awaiting investors to examine and try (But as Warren Buffet said, don’t test the depth of the river with both your feet). And I have been into a few of these investment options.
What other investment options are you considering? Let us know.
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