MONEY MATTERS : A CHOICE BETWEEN BPI TRADE OR COL FINANCIAL (ONLINE STOCK INVESTING)

Hello Kristine!

I'm a student in Cebu who's very interested in investing in the stock market, but I am torn between COL Financial and BPI Trade. COL is more popular (and better, they say), but they do not have an office in Cebu where I can talk to them in person, while BPI has a lot of branches. Which do you think is the best choice for me considering the service, platform, fees, etc?

Thank you! Also, I just came across your blog tonight and it's really eye-opening and inspiring. Keep up the amazing work.

Best regards,
Trisha

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I get excited whenever I receive emails from young investors. The potential of growing your money is amazing with longer time horizon. That's the reason why you should start young regardless of how big or small your income is.

Thanks for your question Trisha! I know it's been a while since you've sent me this email and I hope I'm not too late. One of the challenges I have is that I receive emails during wee hours UK time. Now that Manila and London has an 8-hour difference, I rarely find time to answer the question asap. But anyways, here we go :)
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This is weird but Trisha, I would be biased to answer your question on point. Mainly because I've used COL Financial from the get-go and I've never experienced BPI Trade in any shape or form. That said - allow me to answer your question by giving you some guide questions:

• Is meeting someone from the online brokerage a deal breaker for you?
• Does the firm have social media (or even email or phone) facilities to walk you through process (esp. when you're doing things for the first time)? Tip: You can test the waters by sending a tweet or email to both of them. See who's more prompt to answer back.
• How easy is it to deposit or withdraw your investment from them?

 I'd say there's no massive difference between the two. That said, it all boils down to your preference. Again, I can only speak for COL Financial, being their regular since 2013. If you want a personal take on this, here are the things I like about them:

• It's convenient to invest or withdraw money from them.
• They have a guide called COL Fundamentals whereby they'll tell you which stocks to buy and their buy below price.
• The interface is very easy to navigate!

God bless you on your stock market investment journey! Hope this helps. -CMK