Last September 10, Ateneo Celadon held a Finance Seminar (FinSem) at SOM105. The seminar, which was open to all Celadoneans, focused on saving and investing as a student in the current economic climate.
Mr. Filemon “Cliff” Cabungcal, a fund manager for the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) and a true blue Atenean, was the guest speaker who gave the main talk. He also involves himself in the field of strategy research and marketing in his company, analyzing financial trends in the local stock market.
Cabungcal’s talk used the hashtag (#) as a theme, a sign for acquiring information and knowing what is currently trending on Twitter. He used the hashtag to divide each part of his presentation and to indicate new information being told at each segment.
His first hashtag was #OneBigFightOnInflation, focusing on inflation, which Sir Cliff states is the greatest adversary in investment. He states that the purchase of an asset in the market must provide income and further appreciation in the market, especially with the risk of the asset being devalued by inflation.
Following that, Cabungcal focused on compounding, which is interest computed on principal amount to which interest earned to-date has been added. He told the attendees to not time the market but instead, to use cost averaging and place investments even if the market declines because, as he says, #OnlyTimeCanTell whether an investment rises or falls over time.
Later on in the talk, Sir Cliff gave advice on stocks and their values depending on the time and the company, given that he is a fund manager who has the job of helping others in placing money on stocks. He also instructed the FinSem guests to understand rather than assume how the market works when it comes to investment.
Finally, Cabungcal told the participants to #StartNow in order for them to learn and invest for a better tomorrow. Investment entails a lot of risk and maybe a lot of loss in net return which is why Sir Cliff wants the participants to begin right way in order that they may be prepared for the market ahead.
Late in the talk, Sir Cliff stated that students must ask for investing funds rather than the latest iPhone for Christmas, highlighting the fact that investment is much more significant than buying the latest, most expensive fad; a statement met with chuckles around the room.
To conclude the session, Darren Chua, AVP for Financial Affairs of Celadon, gave Mr. Cabungcal a mooncake as a token of appreciation for the talk which coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Sir Cliff presented a hashtag dubbed #YouGotItAll, which sums up his primary message to the students in the seminar. Students must not be afraid to take risks in investment since they are young and have time to mend their mistakes, have a return on investment, and eventually, earn.
Written by Rainier David.
