Why I enrolled at RFPI?

Why I enrolled at RFPI?

by: Denky dela Rosa, MD

I have just completed the course for registered financial planning (RFP). Was it worth it? Certainly! It opened my world to so much information which many of us only take for granted. I had so many AHA! moments in the course such as realizing that investment risk is not something that you must resist at all costs but something you must learn to minimize. You don’t need to have a financial background to appreciate the education. They are able to explain the concepts in easily understandable terms.

Many have asked me why I took the course. I guess it all started with Oprah. I saw an episode where her guest was Suze Orman and I was fascinated. I kept hearing her mention about financial planners so I started asking around for them here but I couldn’t find any. Last December, I saw a magazine article written by Al Sembrano and I noticed his title RFP. I googled RFP and stumbled upon the website of RFP Philippines and saw that they were offering a course in financial planning and the rest was history.

You may still be wondering why enrol when I can just hire financial planners to do the planning for me. I think the bottom line is my desire to keep on learning. “Continuous and never ending learning and improvement” is one of my mantras and it has always served me well. Here are the reasons why:

1. Innovation is the name of the game. I know of a couple in their 60’s who used to have a printing shop. They lived quite comfortably in their early years and provided well for the children. During the time that I met them, they were no longer in excellent health and had to undergo a few treatments here and there. I would prescribe some medications and ask them to undergo some tests and come back in a week or two. Often, they would miss the appointment and a skip a number of doses of medications. On one occasion, I asked them how come they were having financial difficulties when they had their own business.
They said that new technologies have practically made their services obsolete and the volume of their business has gone very low. Why is it that some companies have thrived for decades while others have died? I think the answer here lies with our abilities to adapt to the changes and embrace them like they were our loved ones. The younger generation may not be familiar with the walkman and betamax because they now have their ipods and DVD players. This is what innovation means.

2. Diversification. Many people are losing sleep over fears of losing their job. Some people fear that they are somewhat old to be hired again while others are afraid because their skill is so specialized that no other industry will utilize their services. Take the case of the auto industry worker who is excellent in making cars but has not developed himself in other fields. “Who else will hire me?!” is probably nagging in his head. The same is true for a company who has specialized only in making a certain part for the auto industry and is now fearful of losing his business. He does not have the means to cushion the blow of this tragedy.

In investments, diversification of portfolio is crucial in minimizing losses. Big corporations such as Ayala and SM thrive over the long haul because their business is not concentrated in only 1 or 2 sectors. They engage in entertainment, banking, insurance, real estate, telecommunications and many more. So why is it that most people are concentrating in only one craft or one job? Many of us will say that we don’t have time anymore to engage in other things. But I think we simply refuse to admit that we are afraid to step out of our comfort zones. The current events has taught me that diversification of abilities and sources of income is now a must in order to prevent the risk of being wiped out and devastated after losing a job or being caught in the middle of the demise of an industry. We can no longer rest on our laurels no matter how stable the company is that we work for or how thriving our business may seem. We must keep on diversifying and growing until we leave this world.

3. Knowledge is power. Have you ever bought something only to find out that it was not exactly what you were looking for and because the salesperson was so glib in convincing you of the benefits of the product? Admit it, all of us have fallen victim to this scam at some point in our lives. Many people have been enticed by high yielding investments without really understanding what they were getting into. Marketing will always be there to hound us and there will always be bad people preying upon us. Emotion and ignorance are enemies of financial well-being. Money governs everything that we do. Money makes the world go round. We all work so hard for our money so that it only makes sense for us to exert all effort to ensure its safety and the only way there is, is by educating ourselves. Education (especially financial education) makes us more rational and enables our better judgment.


There is a formula to live a good life as well as a solution to all of our problems. I just haven’t figured out the entire equation for now but I am certain that never ending learning is a major part of that equation.

Warren Buffet said: “The best asset you have during the time of recession is your talent”. I’ll have to end here. I don’t want to be late for my next class.