4 Things to Look for in an Investment to Grow Your Wealth Safely and Surely

Everyone wants their money to grow, but not everyone wants to wait for it, and that’s how people fall victim to false investment schemes. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, in 2015, 1 million Filipinos (one in every 100) became the victim of fake investment schemes and lost a total of more than P25 billion.

While it’s always tempting to choose investment products that will give you high returns in the shortest possible time, the old saying will always ring true: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. What exactly are the characteristics of a safe and reliable investment, especially now that you're preparing for retirement?

1. Long-term viability. If a company promises to return your investment in a short period of time, you should already be wary. Organizations that promise huge returns fast are, most likely, false get-rich schemes. For most investments, money is made from owning stocks of a company or participating in a fund and letting it mature over a long time. The longer it remains untouched, the more you stand to gain positive returns.
   
   BPI AIA’s Dollar Protect Plus, for instance, offers the benefits of life insurance together with the opportunity to grow your money in the long-run through access to expertly-managed funds investing in the US Dollar. Because the US Dollar is the most accepted currency worldwide, it not only gives you the opportunity to grow your money over time in foreign currency, but also offers a secure and established method recognized all over the world.
   
   It also offers useful benefits such as guaranteed death benefits for your family, plus a whole suite of protection coverage through optional benefits for accident and health, medical reimbursement, critical illness, disability, and more.
   
   
2. Safety and liquidity. As an investor, you need to make sure that your investment is safe, which means getting back your principal at the end of the maturity period of the investment. While no investment is totally risk-free, it still must keep your principal safe while under their care.
   
   At the same time, the investment also has to be liquid. That means that the amount you’ve managed to grow and accumulate can be converted into cash immediately if you do come to that decision.
   
   
3. Multiple benefits. Choose an investment product that will, of course, give you more for your principal. For instance, you can get a life insurance plan which invests a portion of your premium in expertly-managed global funds gives you the opportunity to grow your money, while also protecting your loved ones from the financial burden of critical illness, disability, and even death.
   
   
4. Clarity and simplicity. If an investment has to rope you in through elaborate presentations and complicated procedures, be wary of the things it's probably trying to hide. The process for you as an investor has to be simple—from learning about the fund, to investing actual capital, topping up, and liquidating your assets for you to use.

Do your own research on the company's reputation, its history, how long it's been doing business, and its claims. When an investment model is clear and simple, there is greater transparency and less things that can go wrong.

As you plan for retirement, it becomes increasingly important to grow your wealth surely and safely. Get your retirement plans off the ground with a life insurance plan like Dollar Protect Plus, which can provide you the best of both worlds: the benefits of preparing for the future with life insurance, and the returns of a wise investment.

For more information, visit the nearest BPI branch and talk to a Bancassurance Sales Executive.