At one point or another, we’ve all wondered “What is the minimum investment needed in the stock market?” or “How much should I save before investing in stocks?”
Ever since online stock brokers became popular, it seems like the minimum required investment keeps getting lower and lower. That’s good, right? Well, not always.
If you’ve tried stock trading or know someone who has, then you also know that it’s hard to make money in stocks.
There are over 200 listed stocks in the PSE, and literally thousands of factors that could affect their prices. It’s hard enough just keeping track of everything, let alone understanding each stock well enough to make money!
We don’t need to make life harder for ourselves—but that’s exactly what happens when you invest less than 8,000 pesos in the stock market.
A TYPICAL SCENARIO
Nowadays, some brokers won’t require a minimum investment. Others have been also lowering the minimum amount required so that more people can start investing.
While it’s great that this lets more Filipinos invest in the stock market, there’s a scenario that often gets first-time investors off guard.
The typical scenario goes like this:
- Person A is interested in investing in the stock market. He finds out that the minimum investment is only 5,000 pesos.“Sulit na!Kikitanaman ako dito,”he thinks to himself.
- Person A invests the minimum amount and picks two stocks “para mas mababa ‘yung risk.”That’s around 2,500 pesos in each stock.
- After successfully buying the stocks, Person A checks his portfolio and “HUH?? Bakit loss na kaagad? Di pa gumagalaw ang presyo ah!”
That’s what happens when people don’t realize that there arefees every time you buy or sell a stock.
BEWARE OF FEES
Below is a breakdown of all the fees and charges included in every transaction:
Most of the fees are based on the Gross Trade Amount (number of shares x price), so the cost is always proportionate to your investment. For example, the PSE Trans Fee will always be .005% and the SCCP Fee will always be .01%. However, notice that thebroker’s commissionis 0.25% or 20 pesos—whichever is higher.
NUMBERS DON’T LIE
So what does this mean for retail traders? It means you need to avoid buying or selling anything with a Gross Trade Amount less than 8,000 pesos. Otherwise, you will be wasting money on higher commission fees and incurring unnecessary losses.
In the example earlier, Person A bought two stocks, each with a Gross Trade Amount of only 2,500 pesos. This means that Person A’s total commission fees would have been 20 pesos for each transaction, or 40 pesos total. That’s an automatic 0.8% loss on commission fees alone!
But what if Person A invested 8,000 pesos in just one stock? His total commission fee would only be 20 pesos (or 0.25% of 8,000). That means he was able to cut the commission fee in half and invest 3,000 pesos more!
CONCLUSION
We know that saving money can be very hard—especially if you have a family to support.8,000 pesos is a lot of money after all!
But remember that investing less than 8,000 pesos, means you are losing more money even before there’s any price movement. You can definitely still make a profit, but it’s like stepping on the gas and break pedals at the same time. It will be harder to break even or make a profit.
Weigh the risks carefully before making your decision, and ask yourself: How confident am I that the (potential) profits will offset my (definite) losses?
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FAQs
Investment trap: An investment trap occurs when an investment appears to be undervalued but is actually overpriced or has fundamental flaws that limit its potential for growth. It can lure investors with promises of high returns, but ultimately leads to losses or stagnation.
What is the 10 5 3 rule of investment? ›
Understanding the 10-5-3 Rule
The 10-5-3 rule is a simple rule of thumb in the world of investment that suggests average annual returns on different asset classes: stocks, bonds, and cash. According to this rule, stocks can potentially return 10% annually, bonds 5%, and cash 3%.
Is it a good idea to invest if you don t have enough money to pay your bills? ›
Investing and paying down debt are both good uses for any spare cash you might have. Investing makes sense if you can earn more on your investments than your debts are costing you in terms of interest. Paying off high-interest debt is likely to provide a better return on your money than almost any investment.
What is the 5 rule of investing? ›
This sort of five percent rule is a yardstick to help investors with diversification and risk management. Using this strategy, no more than 1/20th of an investor's portfolio would be tied to any single security. This protects against material losses should that single company perform poorly or become insolvent.
What is an example of a value trap? ›
Here are some examples of possible value traps: An industrial company whose stock has been trading at 10x earnings for the past six months, compared to its trailing five-year average of 15x.
Why are investors greedy? ›
Investors want to make profits quickly and bull markets provide a great opportunity to make profits in a short period of time. When price keeps rising, more and more people invest more and more money in stocks.
What is the 70 20 10 rule for investing? ›
The 70-20-10 budget formula divides your after-tax income into three buckets: 70% for living expenses, 20% for savings and debt, and 10% for additional savings and donations. By allocating your available income into these three distinct categories, you can better manage your money on a daily basis.
What is the 30 30 30 rule in investing? ›
According to the 30:30:30:10 rule, you must devote 30% of your income to housing (EMI'S, rent, maintenance, etc.), the next 30% to needs (grocery, utility, etc.), another 30% to your future goals, and spend rest 10% on your “wants.”
What is the 80% rule investing? ›
In investing, the 80-20 rule generally holds that 20% of the holdings in a portfolio are responsible for 80% of the portfolio's growth. On the flip side, 20% of a portfolio's holdings could be responsible for 80% of its losses.
What if I invested $100 a month in S&P 500? ›
It's extremely unlikely you'll earn 10% returns every single year, but the annual highs and lows have historically averaged out to roughly 10% per year over several decades. Over a lifetime, it's possible to earn over half a million dollars with just $100 per month.
Reinvest Your Payments
The truth is that most investors won't have the money to generate $1,000 per month in dividends; not at first, anyway. Even if you find a market-beating series of investments that average 3% annual yield, you would still need $400,000 in up-front capital to hit your targets. And that's okay.
Do millionaires pay off debt or invest? ›
Millionaires typically balance both paying off debt and investing, but with a strategic approach.
What is the Buffett rule of investing? ›
Warren Buffett once said, “The first rule of an investment is don't lose [money]. And the second rule of an investment is don't forget the first rule.
What are the 4 golden rules investing? ›
They are: (1) Use specialist products; (2) Diversify manager research risk; (3) Diversify investment styles; and, (4) Rebalance to asset mix policy. All boringly straightforward and logical.
What is the 90% rule in stocks? ›
The Rule of 90 is a grim statistic that serves as a sobering reminder of the difficulty of trading. According to this rule, 90% of novice traders will experience significant losses within their first 90 days of trading, ultimately wiping out 90% of their initial capital.
How do you identify a trap in the stock market? ›
A trap is confirmed when the trend reserves within five candlesticks, forming above the support line and the trend rapidly crosses the resistance level. The second thing that you need to confirm is that the stock has a decent price range. Trading opportunities increase when the asset has a wide price range.
What is trapping in trading? ›
A bull trap is a false signal, referring to a declining trend in a stock, index, or other security that reverses after a convincing rally and breaks a prior support level. The move "traps" traders or investors that acted on the buy signal and generates losses on resulting long positions.
Is Pfizer a dividend trap? ›
Key Points. Pfizer's stock is paying a dividend that yields more than four times the S&P 500 average. It had a tough 2023, but if not for asset impairment charges, results would have looked far better. Management has a plan to grow its top line and offset revenue declines as key drugs lose patent protection.
Is PayPal a value trap? ›
Therefore, PayPal may not be a bargain after all. It may be a value trap that lures investors with a low valuation but fails to deliver growth or profitability. Investors should be wary of falling into this trap and look for more compelling opportunities elsewhere.
