Any extra cash could be an opportunity to invest in assets (stocks) while share prices are low. – Gemma Godfrey

It’s been years since I started to have an interest in the stock market. Some of my friends are investing and I’m observing how they do it to convince myself to join. I see myself following stock trading groups to learn while I’m not yet in. Yet, I’m not convinced. I can’t let go of my 5k for something uncertain.

When the pandemic started, the stock market got my attention. Everything went down with a stock market crash. THIS IS THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY TO BUY STOCKS! Though, things are still uncertain. But looking at the charts, the prices went down and if you will observe the 6-months or 1-year trend, there’s a lot to look forward to.

You might say, “Hey, I don’t have money to invest and I don’t know how.” I thought so, but did you know that this pandemic made a lot of business transaction to switch from a manual process to online? Did you know that you can open a Starter accounts at COL Financial with a minimum deposit of Php1,000.? This might not sound too appealing to everyone, but for those who are interested and are not yet convinced if they will jump in or not, THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME.

READ MORE: How to File for Transfer of Ownership in PCCI (This Pandemic)

Here’s how I started investing in stocks thru COL Financial:

Open an account with COL Financial

For the detailed process of how to open an account, click this link. First, check and prepare the requirements. Once ready, apply online. The application is through an online form that will require a soft copy of the requirements. Wait for the email notification for the approval/verification of your account.

Prepare your Govt issued ID, TIN, and bank account. I used my existing bank account and Gcash to pay. You might also need to lessen the file size of images. After the application, just wait until your account is ready.

My journey with stocks started with IPOs. You will need a PSE Easy account for this. Don’t worry about this as COL Fin has a comprehensive guide for everything. 😉

Explore the platform. Observe.

Once your account is ready, log in and start exploring and get to know the platform. I learned a lot thru watching how-to’s, tips and tricks, etc from Youtube and I also asked friends who are existing COL Fin users. COL Financial has its own Youtube account where you can watch about starter guides and stock insights.

Analyze and get to know the stocks.

You might be confused at first, but these are the things that you can check as a beginner to learn about each stock at COL Fin.

• Home – Summary
• Research> Fundamentals – Latest news and updates
• Research> Technicals – Learn about the stock codes, stock profiles, and trends (H-CHART).

Buy stocks and monitor.

Here’s a video to get you started on how to buy and sell stocks. There’s a lot of references on Youtube, guys. You may also opt to create an account at Investagrams (follow me:  @ipomakunouchi) and add preferred stocks to the watcher.

My Journey

As mentioned earlier, I started with IPOs because I don’t need to learn about BUY and SELL at this point. All I have to do is subscribe, fund and I’m good to go. But, not all IPOs are good to invest in. So, it is good to do your own research before you decide to buy or sell a stock.

When I started, I’m actually observing how this thing goes. A bit experimental and not really aiming to earn millions. I don’t have that much money to risk so I’m always looking at the board lot and stock price. Then, I look at the trend and fundamentals. If I find it appealing, profitable or something to look forward to, I will proceed to buy the stocks.

It depends on how you want to start your journey with stock trading. Some prefer buying blue chips as an investment, while some are excited to trade. There’s a lot to learn about stock trading/investing, it takes time, research, and guidance. I will continue to update this post for more references.

Don’t forget: Buy low, sell high. 😀

Hope you enjoyed reading this post! 🙂