The biggest annual investment conference is back and is now on its 4th year with a brand new roster of speakers known in the Philippine financial industry. Among them are my good friends Randell Tiongson (the organizer of iCON) and Marvin Germo, an expert in stock investing.
Last year, I was able to bring two of my kids and a friend’s kids to the conference. Usually kids get impatient with long conferences but my kids listened till the end. Now, they are more confident and manage their own savings with increased knowledge.
The word “investing” can sound really complicated and intimidating. Maybe that is one reason why so few Filipinos are actively investing in different investment instruments. I personally know many who think keeping money in savings accounts is the way to go, not realizing that inflation alone is eating up whatever interest is generated from savings deposits.
There are financial advocates who are now bringing the message of investing to the public with clarity and simplicity, but with a strong message. I call them financial evangelists and they have been giving workshops and going on speaking engagements for many years now. Their dream is to get more Filipinos into the investing mode. One of them is a good, good friend of mine – Randell Tiongson — who I consider a pioneer in this field, a columnist in his own right, and author of a best-selling book “Money Manifesto“. Randell is an original force behind ICON, an annual gathering of the best and inspiring speakers and advocates in the field of investing. I missed ICON 2014 last year because of time conflicts but I’m really happy to be able to go to ICON 2015 which will be happening this May 30, 2015 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.
