A Blog Post to Gold’s Gym Philippines: “Thanks” for Kicking Us Members Out!

In June 2015, Gold’s Gym Philippines surprised its Sheridan branch club members by kicking them out without considerable notice. The reason — the Sheridan Gold’s Gym branch had become Nike’s House of Rise.

 

Golds Gym Sheridan becomes Nike's House of Rise
Gold’s Gym Sheridan becomes Nike’s House of Rise. Meanwhile, Gold’s Sheridan members were displaced. Image from Adobo Magazine Facebook page.

 

I’m happy for Gold’s Gym Sheridan for getting this gig, but did the gym have to kick out its members? Unfortunately for the members, Gold’s Sheridan is still pocketing the member’s money while raking in the Nike millions. That’s stinkier than a used pair of gym shorts.

Why was the Sheridan Gold’s gym branch chosen as the site for Nike’s Rise program?   Continue reading A Blog Post to Gold’s Gym Philippines: “Thanks” for Kicking Us Members Out!

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Reality Bites: COL Financial Downgrades 2015 Yearend PSEi Forecast

COL Financial, the Philippines most popular stock brokerage firm, has just downgraded its 2015 yearend forecast for the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) to 7,950 from the 8,300 it predicted in January.

COL Financial downgrades 2015 yearend forecast
Sorry! COL Financial downgrades 2015 yearend forecast. Image from COL Financial Facebook page (see here)

 

Someone very important made an even bolder PSEi prediction — will he downgrade it as well?

Continue reading Reality Bites: COL Financial Downgrades 2015 Yearend PSEi Forecast

Picture Perfect: Ten Ridiculous Things People Do When Asked to Submit A Professional Looking Recent Photo

I also have an upcoming stint as a speaker for a conference. I’m going to talk about investments to a group of doctors. They asked me to submit a picture for the marketing materials and the conference program handbook.

There’s a problem. I don’t have respectable and professional looking photos of myself. Well I do, but they are framed graduation pictures from decades past, so they are no longer appropriate.

Can I use this picture? Errrr, a  lot of people seem to use them in their profile pics.

facebook default no profile pic
If I use this pic, people may recognize me from Facebook – “Hey, aren’t you the default avatar guy?” Facebook default no profile pic. Image from Facebook.com

 

When asked to submit a professional looking photo, these are the ridiculous things people do:  – I’m guilty of many of these by the way.

 

Continue reading Picture Perfect: Ten Ridiculous Things People Do When Asked to Submit A Professional Looking Recent Photo

Do New MLMs Just Reuse and Rebrand Products of Failed MLMs?

When some Multi-Level marketing (MLM) companies are accused of being illegal pyramid schemes, their first defense is to say that they have products to sell. They’ll even boast that these are high quality products that justify their often very high prices. But what if they are the same products sold by other currently operating and failed MLMs?

Who are the product suppliers for these MLM companies? Here’s one of them:

Success200 Guyabano (Graviola) capsules supplied by Moringa Mountain Trading
Success200 Guyabano (Graviola) capsules supplied by Moringa Mountain Trading. Image from Success200 Agarica Living International Facebook page

 

Moringa Mountain Trading – major product supplier of MLM companies?

Continue reading Do New MLMs Just Reuse and Rebrand Products of Failed MLMs?

My Customized Ferragamo Shoes That I Don’t Plan To Buy Yet

Here at Finance MD, I advocate investing and smart spending. However, the reason why we have to manage our finances wisely is to ultimately enjoy the fruits of our labor.

One good way to spend your labor’s fruits is to buy some really cool high quality brand name shoes. It would be nice if you can customize and personalize them too. If you read further, there’s an arbitrage opportunity in these shoes somehow.

Here’s my own customized, personalized Salvatore Ferragamo shoe – that I don’t plan to buy yet. 

Customized Ferragamo shoes for thefinancemd
Fruits of Investment? Customized Salvatore Ferragamo driver shoe for thefinancemd.com (see the inscription above). Calfskin driver shoe in Ultramarine with metallic Cherry hardware and Cherry soles. Image created at ferragamo.com

 

Want to create your own customized, personalized Ferragamo driver shoes? The best part is you don’t actually need to buy it, if you don’t want to. Here’s how!

 

Continue reading My Customized Ferragamo Shoes That I Don’t Plan To Buy Yet

CFA Level I and II 2015 Exam Results Are Out!

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program Level I and II exam results were released last June 28.

What makes the announcement of the results so special? Google “hardest exam in the world” and the CFA exams will come up on top of the results (see here).

 

CFA Level I and II 2015 Exam Results Announced on Twitter
CFA Level I and II 2015 exam results announced on Twitter. Image from CFA Institute official twitter account

 

So, what were the passing rates for the two levels of “hardest exam in the world” (as indexed by Google)  for 2015?

Continue reading CFA Level I and II 2015 Exam Results Are Out!

Distinguish Between Legitimate Multi-Level Marketing and A Pyramid Scam – Pinoy Style

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a legitimate business strategy. However, many scammers have been disguising their pyramid scams as MLM companies . How can a potential investor distinguish between a legitimate networking company and an illegal Ponzi scheme? 

Gotcha! If the word “investment” is used by the company, and you are called an “investor”, those are initial clues that it might be a Ponzi scheme. What are the other things you need to watch out for?

The Direct Selling Association of the Philippines (go see their website here) has come up with an eight-point test in distinguishing between a legitimate MLM company and an illegal pyramid scheme (most likely disguised as an MLM). ALL eight questions must have “YES” answers for a company to be evaluated as legitimate.

Here are the eight questions:

Continue reading Distinguish Between Legitimate Multi-Level Marketing and A Pyramid Scam – Pinoy Style