Iloilo Money Talks: Sun Life, one of the country’s most sought-after insurance and investment providers, recently held ‘Iloilo Money Talks: Build a Better Life’, an event gathering powerhouse speakers to impart valuable financial knowledge to the Iloilo community. Financial mavens Janet Dela Cena, Dodong Cacanando, Randell Tiongson, Rex Mendoza, and Cary Casipit each graced the stage, sharing their thoughts on money, saving, investing, and the like.
The event was made possible by Sun Life, in partnership with Team Janet, Avida-Ayalaland, and Atria Park District. It was held at the Iloilo Convention Center, last October 14, 2023.
First Speaker: Randell Tiongson
Randell Tiongson, RFP is a renowned wealth coach, author, and financial planner who has made countless appearances on television and mainstream media. He takes pride in being an advocate of life and personal finance with an astounding 30 years of experience in the financial service industry, including banking, mutual funds, insurance, financial planning, and management consultancy. He is currently the director of the Registered Financial Planner Institute Philippines and provides lectures in and out of the country.
“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get,” begins Tiongson citing a verse from the bible. Tiongson provided a number of bible verses related to money, cementing the bible’s principles on frugality, hard work, and generosity. “Having a truly rich life isn’t about having a lot of money. It’s about living and giving intentionally 100% of the time,” Tiongson adds.
“Money is a great tool but not the end goal. Wealth and the ability to create wealth comes from the Lord, and it is not for our own purpose but for His,” he continues.
Tiongson, as an author, bared a number of books published. His latest is entitled ‘Money By the Book’ is aimed to helping readers reach financial peace. The book serves as a personal finance book with a biblical perspective.
Tiongson concluded his talk with this statement, “Financial planning without the gospel makes money a hard task master and we get sucked into a whirlwind pursuit of earthly treasures.”
Learn more about Randell Tiongson: www.randelltiongson.com
Second Speaker: Cary Casipit
Sun Life Client Segment Marketing Head Cary Casipit topic is entitled ‘Mind Over Money: Pinoy Money Belief Patterns’. Casipit began by sharing Filipino beliefs relating to money, and how it may be harmful to productivity and money making.
“Just because you can make the payments doesn’t mean you can affort it,” Casipit shares quoting Dave Ramsey. He also elaborated on Money Scripts, unconscious beliefs about money that are rooted in childhood and ultimately shape financial health.
- Money Script 01: Money Avoidance
- Money Script 02: Money Vigilance
- Money Script 03: Money Worship
- Money Script 04: Money Status
Casipit centered his talk on psychology, and how it affects financial habits. He concluded his talk with a statement: “Money is not built overnight but over time.”
Third Speaker: Janet Dela Cena
Janet Dela Cena is an entrepreneur leading ‘Team Janet’. An associate/independent distributor of Riway International, Dela Cena is a fervent advocate of health and wellness.
Her talk titled, ‘Health: From an Obstacle to an Opportunity’, was centered on her personal experiences from health to finances. Dela Cena stressed the importance of health and how it is a valid and crucial investment to be able to reach one’s goals.
Fourth Speaker: Dodong Cacanando
Jose Feron ‘Dodong’ Cacanando is a businessman and farmer by heart. He operates Moriah Farms and Semilya sa Kinabuhi. Moriah Farm started as a contract grower for Monterey Foods, Corp, and is now a bio-diversified farm growing assorted livestock and high-value crops. Semilya sa Kinabuhi, meanwhile, is a foundation initiated by Cacanando to share business principles with the community.
Like Tiongson, Cacanando used principles from the bible to guide his financial and business endeavors.
“God blessed them; and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth,” Cacanando begins, borrowing a verse from the Book of Genesis.
He then enumerated components to start a business, revolving around the following: financial, material, intellectual, moral, natural, social, experiential, and cultural. With these components, with guiding thoughts from the bible, he was able to transform a barren land into a forest, and then into a booming agricultural business.
Moreover, in the hopes of ‘paying it forward’ and helping individuals become successful. Cacanando bared his authored books: “Creating Wealth and Managing Finances”, “Keeper of His Garden: Breakthrough Principles for Life and Business”, and “Breaking Through: A Man’s Journey to Fruitfulness”. He also invites those interested to take part in ‘Breakthrough: Transformative Values Lesson’, which may be accessed via his website.
Learn more about Dodong Cacanando: www.dodongcacanando.com
Fifth Speaker: Rex Mendoza
Called by BizPH a ‘Money Multiplier’, Rex Mendoza is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rampver Financials, one of the biggest distributors of investment funds in the country. He is also an independent director for three firms and is recognized as one of the best speakers in terms of business, leadership, finance, marketing, and sales.
In addition, Mendoza also held a number of titles to his name: he served as President and CEO of Philamlife, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing of Ayala Land, President and CEO of Philam Asset Management, and professor of Marketing and Computational Finance at De La Salle University Graduate School of Business, among his other accolades.
Mendoza began his talk by enumerating the seven streams of income, according to Janis Butevics.
- Earned income
- Profit income
- Royalty income
- Rental income
- Interest income
- Dividend income
- Capital gains
Moreover, he added that net worth is based on:
- Life insurance
- Fixed income investments
- Equity investments
- Real estate businesses
- Other investments
With factors such as growth/risk, tax treatment, access/liquidity, and distribution, it will further sift net worth into an optimized personal net worth and estate values.
Moreover, Mendoza highlighted the value of investing as a means to gain income. He adds that no asset class consistently outperforms, baring the performance of assets from 2006 to 2022.
He also added the value of asset allocation, including the consideration that it may be dependent on risk appetite: low risk/low reward and high risk, high reward.
- Conservative
- Moderately conservative
- Moderate
- Moderately aggressive
- Aggressive
Efficient Risk Frontier: Risk vs Return
(Percent of return in sequence)
- Cash in the mattress
- Cash at the bank
- Money market
- Term deposits
- Government bonds
- Investment-grade corporate bonds
- Real estate
- Blue chip equities
- Small cap equities
- Private Equity
Mendoza provided an elaborate discussion on asset allocation, ending with an introduction to his company, Rampver Financials. More information about Rampver Financials: www.rampver.com
