Question: I attended your seminar “Steps to Financial Peace” and you mentioned about pooled funds as a good way to invest. I wanted to ask more about pooled funds but was unable to, so I’m writing you and asking you about it. I would also like to know if I can invest small amounts but on a regular basis in those funds.—Val Baguios, International Organization for Migration (IOM) staff

Answer: Val, thank you for attending my seminar and I pray that you learned much from me and the other speakers. It seems the seminar achieved its objective since you are now asking about pooled funds for your investments.

Let me start by defining what a pooled fund is, borrowing the definition from Investopedia.com: “Funds from many individual investors that are aggregated for the purposes of investment, as in the case of a mutual or pension fund. Investors in pooled fund investments benefit from economies of scale, which allow for lower trading costs per dollar (peso) of investment, diversification and professional money management.”

It looks like the definition made it more complex than it really is. Pooled funds are investments where people put their money, with an investment manager handling the investments. To explain further, let me use this analogy: Assuming you want to invest but do not know the first thing in investing in stocks or bonds. You can join a “pool” of investors who allow an investment manager …

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