sa ngayon, pati ang pacific plans ay hindi na raw magre-release ng pera for tuition.. last na raw ang para sa first semester ng susunod na schoolyear.

alam ko marami sa atin ang maaapektuhan dito (o naaapektuhan na).

ano ang masasabi niyo rito? (hindi lang tungkol sa pacific plans, ngunit sa educational plans in general)

the idea of a pre-need education plan is as simple as "pay now, use later." this means you pay for your child's college tuition today while she's still in grade school.

what really screwed up the entire enterprise are two things: inflation and, as a result, the spiraling cost of higher education. basically what the pre need companies do is match your child's current tuition fees based on the amortized amount from 10 years back or so depending on your plan. that's the deal basically.

now, in order for those pre need companies to ably meet the tuition fees of its policy holder base, the accumulated principal they have is sunk into an investment portfolio. meron diyang nasa stock market, forex trade, futures, t-bills, time deposits, real estate at iba pa. portfolio managers select an array of investments ranging from low-risk, low-return to high-risk but high-return concerns.

however, because of the desperate need to meet financial pressures brought about by inflation in the last eight years, these pre-need companies are forced to pour their funds in increasingly high-risk but high-return ventures. many of them went into real estate--and the real estate market continues to be a buyers' market. in other words, patuloy na bagsak ang real estate, kaya nagkaroon sila ng liquidity problems.

maybe it's high time for the pre need sector to be regulated.

biktima ako nitong lecheng pacific na ito. ang hindi ko lang maintindihan ay kung bakit walang nakapag-isip sa mga gokongwei na 'yan [uy galit] na ipamigay na lamang ang iilan nilang pera sa mga bumili ng plan sa kanila. magkano lang ba naman ang ibibigay nila compared sa sobrang daming perang nakakamal nila sa kanilang businesses... kaunting sacrifice lang naman siguro 'yun para sa kanila- baka nga hindi lang sila makabisita sa europe ng mga tatlong summer.

ala na, bangag na ko

isaw,

just to be sure you're not barking up the wrong tree, it's the yuchengcos, not the gokongweis, who put up pacific plans. sila ang dapat ninyong habulin.

having said that, i also agree with you that they ought to part with their money. after all, by selling these products to planholders, they in effect guaranteed that the planholders would have the money when they need it. yun ang selling point, di ba? since they reneged on that point, the least they can do is make amends to ensure that they live up to that promise -- even this late in the game. i think it's also to financial snake oil salesmen like these that warren buffett once said that he believed there should be a special place in hell reserved for such people.

which again just confirms what many like buffett have said: your money's too important to let other people handle it. kung kailangang humingi ng payo o aviso, hingin. pero sa huli't huli, tayo dapat ang responsable para sa mga desisyon natin patungkol sa mga pera natin. in general, that's my take on pre-need products -- it's a means to pool funds to maximize returns on investment that individual investors may have difficulty achieving on their own. but there are other pooled investments today that do not categorically promise a gain in your capital position (in fact they are required to state that even your principal can take a hit if the values of the assets they purchase fluctuate downward), but nevertheless have been achieving very good returns thus far. nandiyan ang mutual funds, nandiyan din ang bagong unit investment trust fund (UITF). on your own, you can also purchase stocks, bonds, real estate, jewelry -- stuff that appreciates over time rather than depreciates. just make sure that the funds you're already invested in don't also hold the exact same assets your buying. this will ensure diversity in your portfolio -- kinda like not putting all your eggs in one basket.

one things for sure, though, the days of passive investing may be over. medyo kailangan talagang binabantayan natin ang mga pinaglalagyan natin ng pera natin. with pooled funds like mutuals and UITFs, perhaps you don't need to be checking their net asset values everyday, but at least do so monthly to make sure they're going up. better yet, buy a good blue-chip stock (SMC, PLDT, etc.). kahit hindi mo na i-check araw-araw, nakakasiguro ka kahit papaano na hindi yan basta-basta babagsak dahil lumalaki ang mercado ng mga kompanyang yan at maganda naman ang pamamalakad sa kanila.

but now that the water's under the bridge, what relief can you ask for? i know there's a group of planholders that has taken the yuchengcos to court over this, although the yuchengcos have fought back by suing that group for libel. tit for tat. i'm somewhat certain it's a class suit, so that means you as a planholder should be compensated should the court's decide in their favor, even if your name is not on the list of plaintiffs. i'm hopeful the courts will see through all of their shenanigans and decide that the planholders really have been unjustly deprived of what is due them. these are ordinary people whose savings have gone up in smoke. surely, the courts will agree with that basic premise and decide in favor of the planholders.

good luck, isaw. makamit n'yo sana ang katarungan. malaki nga ang kalaban, pero dahil nasa tama kayo, ituloy niyo lang ang laban.

A major investor to keep track would be CalPERS. They are the largest public pension system in the US and the world's third largest pension system with more than $140 billion in assets invested in domestic and international markets.

These folks know where to invest and they protect their assets from corporate corruption.

Pag nakuha mo na ang pera mo Isaw, it may be good to research that group for investment purposes.