 | Rain's Multiply Site | Sep 30, 2005 |
Hiyee! Thanks for visiting! This is where I'm keeping all my stuff from now on, so come back whenever you want to see what's new. Feel free to post a reply if you see something you like or just want to get in touch.  | It | Aug 18, '09 1:15 PM
for everyone |
We always hear Mr. H say that he's going to retire by 50. Well... tinotohanan nga nya! Hehe. He will surely be missed by all. 
MANILA STANDARD TODAY Page B 2 INTEGRATIONS Maya Baltazar Herrera What’s your next mountain? Today marks an unusual event in the history of the Philippine life insurance industry. The presidents of the two largest life insurance companies in the Philippines retire at the close of business of 31 July 2009. Jose L. Cuisia, 65, President of the PhilAmLife group, and Henry Joseph M. Herrera, 50, President of the Sunlife Financial group in the Philippines, are both retiring. To the industry, Cuisia’s retirement had long been anticipated as PhilAm’s mandatory retirement age is 65. Outside of Sunlife and his personal group of friends, Herrera’s retirement seemed more of a surprise. I, of course, count myself as being in Herrera’s inner circle as he is, as we often say, my ex-boyfriend and current roommate. Financial Freedom Three years ago, in this same column, I wrote about Henry’s 47th birthday, a birthday we called “Turning Prime”, the birthday that marked the three-year countdown to his early retirement. As most of those who know us have always known, we plotted our financial plans almost in the first year of our marriage. And retirement at age 50 had always been one of our primary goals. Funnily enough, very few people seemed to take us seriously. In fact, Joey Cuisia himself actually asked me whether Henry was seriously planning to retire at age 50. Being a good executive wife, I could not divulge actual dates and plans and had to content myself with my stock answer – one that was truthful but did not violate either privacy or confidentiality. “We have always planned to be in a financial position to be able to retire at age 50. Are we on track for that goal? The answer to that is yes. Will he actually retire at age 50? I suppose that depends how you define retirement. I think the important thing is to be in a position where the choice is yours.” In retrospect, it is an excellent thing to be able to say that Sunlife’s president is the perfect example of what Sunlife says is its mission – to help Filipino Families attain financial freedom. While there is nothing wrong with working until you are age 60 or 65 or even 70, there is something to be said about being able to truly retire early. What I still remember vividly, though, is the common response I received. Even Cuisia commented that age 50 is too young to retire and that there is still so much that Henry can do. And the answer to that, of course, is that retirement does not mean the end of any person’s ability to contribute. Looking Back In a sense, retirement marks one end. This is why retirement is often a moment of remembrance. Yesterday, as I was planning this column, I rustled up a paper that my eldest, Tinka, wrote about her Dad for one of her college courses. The assignment was to interview a corporate CEO and to write a paper that provided insights into leadership. Being fortunate enough to have the CEO of one of the largest companies in the Philippines actually living in the same house, my daughter decided to write about her dad. Here I excerpt from her paper: The Midas Touch In 2007, Henry Herrera stepped up from his EVP[1] position to take the reins of Sun Life of Canada Philippines, Inc. (SLOCPI), one of the two biggest life insurance companies in the country. He also became President and CEO of SLOCPI’s two subsidiary companies, Sun Life Financial Plans (their pre-need arm) and Sun Life Asset Management (SLAMC). In his whirlwind first year as CEO, the company’s first year premiums almost doubled, from P1.032B to P1.969B, and for the first time in over four decades, they overtook their biggest competitor- PhilAm Life. Single premiums (it’s like one-time pay insurance) were up almost 400%, from P778M to P3,833M. In the same year, Sun Life also posted the biggest growth in gross sales for mutual funds in the industry, capturing 26% of the market from a previous share of only 14%. Whew! That was a mouthful! Sheer luck? The last time he took over something was back in 2005, and it was the Sun Life Asset Management Company that came under his command. That year, he went around Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and opened the agency force’s eyes to the unexplored opportunities in mutual funds sales. In 2005, mutual fund sales almost doubled, from P1.6B to P3.1B. Then it almost doubled again, to P5.9B the following year. Then it almost doubled again, to P11.1B in 2007, catapulting their market share from 7% in 2005 to 26% today. It seems like everything this guy touches turns golden. But, as my daughter was to discover, her father is more than just actuary and investment whiz. Henry truly believes that people are the key to organization success. Henry, fondly called Mr. H by Sun Lifers, has spent a considerable amount of his first year going around the different branches in the Philippines, and is particularly notable for making an effort to visit even the farthest and smallest branches. He shared that some of the branches hadn’t gotten a personal visit by the CEO in years, and they were very excited by the visits. “Sa tingin ko, hindi pwedeng hindi mo sila bibisitahin. Even if they’re far away, they’re still part of the company, and at the end of the day, the growth that you will be asking for will ultimately be coming from your most important resources- your people.” Next What my daughter was learning is that there are things about her dad she really didn’t know. Like many people, Henry leads a multi-faceted life. One of the best things about retiring early is that he now has the time to be able to explore his many other interests. He is in the position of pondering one of the best questions that can be pondered, a question that is a favorite of my friend Jess Gallegos: “What’s your next mountain?” Henry, who has so much to contribute, has, I know, many possible answers to that question. Perhaps the most important one is that he can now spend more time with his children, who still continue to discover amazing things about their father. I will have my daughter have the final say about her dad. Before this project, I knew my dad was a great guy. I just didn’t fully appreciate how cool he was. That he is in charge of so much is mind-boggling—even if he’s busy, he always makes time to have dinner with our family, or go out and watch movies with us. This project gave me an opportunity to know my dad better. I got to ask him questions I wouldn’t have otherwise asked, and we had conversations we probably wouldn’t have otherwise had. From this project, I have gotten a very strong and newfound sense of next-level admiration, and awe. You know that feeling of “oh my goodness” when you suddenly realize that you haven’t been fully acknowledging the amazingness of something sitting right in front of you? That’s it. Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://www.mayaherrera.com. Finally, after several months of squirreling away some money from your salary you have managed to set aside a tidy sum that you want to use for starting an investment. You want to be certain that your money grows considerably - - the faster, the better. But you don’t have the time to manage your money nor the financial know-how about investments. And since you are not a George Soros or a Warren Buffet, it is highly unlikely that your pockets are deep enough for you to hire a professional financial manager to look after your money. That is why there are mutual funds. Mutual Funds vs. Time deposit Imagine that there are hundreds of other people like you. You all then pool your money together and have a professional manage that money for you. Simply put, that is what a mutual fund is. Of course, as an alternative, you can always go to a bank and place your money in a time deposit. You get back your money plus interest come maturity date. But while your money is secure in the time deposit, there are drawbacks. Supposing you keep your money in the time deposit, your investment portfolio would be limited to that bank. And, funds tucked away in time deposits generally grow slower than those in mutual funds, given the limitations of fixed interest rates. What then makes mutual funds attractive? For only P10,000, you can avail yourself the services of a professional fund manager. AND because your money is pooled with other similar investors like yourself, you get the chance to invest in big-time financial instruments normally available only to large, more sophisticated investors. Thus, you are not limited to just one investment instrument and are therefore able to diversify your holdings and spread out your risks. Also, money in a mutual fund generally grows faster than it would in a time deposit depending on the financial savvy of the fund manager. There are several mutual funds now in the market. Among the Peso denominated funds are the Bond Fund which is recommended for the conservative investor and is designed to generate regular income and capital preservation; the Balanced Fund which is for investors who prefer a mixture of income and capital appreciation; and the Equity Fund which is for clients who desire long-term growth potential. It seeks to produce long-term capital appreciation through investments in diversified stocks. There is also the Money Market Fund which is for investors who are ultra-conservative. And there is also the GS (Government Securities) Fund which is for investors who prefer to invest in instruments that have a sovereign guarantee. There are also dollar-denominated funds now available in the market. These are developed especially for investors who desire to have exposure in foreign denominated securities.Returns must beat inflation It is important to note that in considering any type of investment, foremost in the considerations should be that the returns would at least beat inflation. i.e., one that gives an investor a positive real return (real return = returns - inflation). To explain this further, let us cite as an example the 5-year period of June 2004 to June 2009. During this given period, inflation increased by 6.15% per annum; thus, it would make sense to be invested in the mutual funds like the Balanced Fund, for instance, as this would have given you an average return of 9.85% per annum. This would then give you a positive real return of as much as 3.70% per annum. IF we compare this to merely investing and re-investing in the 91-day treasury bills for the same 5-year duration, you would have had an average return of 4.59% per annum, which would have resulted in a negative real return of -1.57%. That means, your money is not growing better than inflation. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, there is reason to expect professionally-managed mutual funds to perform well against less flexible instruments like time deposits. For another, the fund manager decides where to invest the fund – either in bonds or other investment instruments – and shops for the best interest rates. He studies the investment climate, sees where things are going and decides when and where he should put the money in and when to pull out. Mutual funds are best for medium and long-term investors. The longer you park your money in mutual funds, the bigger the payback. Think of your money as a tree – if you don’t cut it down, the bigger it grows. So if you’re thinking of saving money for your daughter’s college education or for your retirement and future dreams, a mutual fund is a good option. So, if you’re planning to grow your hard-earned money, start planting soon. Keep the discipline of setting aside part of your income and make investing a habit. That’s the surest way towards financial freedom. (This financial literacy piece was prepared by Sun Life Financial in partnership with the Inquirer.) Feel free to send me a PM if you would like to start your mutual funds now.  Cheers, Rain
 0917-8940999 / 0922-5499944
 tan.lorraine@yahoo.com
Now on its seventh year, the Zero In consortium of the country's leading private museums, takes on the theme of Bridges--between artist and the public, between art and audience, between the past and today. Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Bahay Tsinoy, Lopez Museum, and Museo Pambata present exhibitions that continue the vision and directions of past Zero In exhibitions and other programs in the museums. Bridges as theme reinforces the function of museums to educate and entertain the public as well as demonstrate how programs support each other in fulfilling the varied objectives of the five museums.
Treasure and Heritage opens at Bahay Tsinoy on November 29 and will be ongoing until January 31, 2009. To know more about the Zero In consortium, visit: http://zeroinmuseums.org/ To know more about Bahay Tsinoy, visit: http://www.kaisa.ph/Bahay_Tsinoy_text.html |  | I'd like to congratulate my friend, Sherra, for being invited to this event. She supplies metallic chips (Dome brand) and Havaianas has invited her to share her creativity in spicing up the flip flops.
Unlike in the Philippines, their MYOH event lasts only for a few hours, approximately 4 hours each for 3 consecutive days.
Here are some of the pairs that were created. Enjoy! |
This is a video of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets.
They work State Street every week for donations. The animals are pretty well fed and seem to be happy. They are a family.
The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself).
At some juncture, the mouse came along, and since no one wanted to eat anyone else, the mouse started riding with the cat and often, on the cat. The dog will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire him for a few chin scratches.
The mayor of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a Christmas card.
In an effort to contribute to the worldwide campaign towards the elimination of plastic wastage, a lot of eco-friendly bags have been 'invented'.
The first eco-friendly bag that I own was a simple one that I got from Watson's. I find it very convenient to use since it is foldable and I can just put it inside my bag and bring it out during 'emergencies' - meaning, masyado nako maraming pinamili at hindi ko na kayang bitbitin with my two hands. This usually happens when I'm abroad.
Another eco-friendly bag that was a hit is the 'I'm not a Plastic Bag' bag by Anya Hindmarch -
 I even remember raving about this bag when I was chatting with Jamie... actually, kinekwento ko to sa kanya since I know she's flying to the U.S. soon. Baka kasi mahirapan sya bilhan ako ng pasalubong, kaya tulungan ko na. Harhar. But then, I started seeing imitations of this bag everywhere... Greenhills, 168 Mall, and even Celine! Some of the colors are even so hideous! In short, nawalan nako ng gana to get this bag! LOL.
Next, I chanced upon the Luntian bags. Cute ng mga designs!
 
And this one is my favorite -
To order, you can visit http://luntianbags.wordpress.com
Just today and the reason for this post, I got the 'I'm a Natural Shopper' bag by Aranaz from a dear friend of mine. This katcha bag is so sosyal... it has genuine leather handles and an I'm a Natural Shopper wooden plaque in front. All smiles ako sa bag na to! Grabeh! Can't wait to use it! Thank you, Nats! Mwah!
Next stop, the Envirosax bags naman! They have a lot of designs to choose from. I hope magkaroon na dito sa Pinas nito soon! Personally, I want to get these designs-
 
And I know someone who's going to love the Retro Kitche designs as well! Diba, Mabel?
 
So, friends... do something good for Mother Earth now, get your own eco-friendly bags!
 | | Mar 1, '07 1:30 PM
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| Where I'm Headed | | Playing My Game | | Lene Marlin | |
| | Caught the hot air balloon night glow @ Clark, Pampanga (Feb. 11, 2007)
Next time, am flight naman... plus, i want to ride in one! ;-) |
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mary janes ->
Bili na! 
Hello, Lorraine. :) 