December 29, 2025
The market has finally closed for the year, down by 7.29% year to date return. While most of the analysts were quite optimistic at the beginning of the year- driven by better post-pandemic economic outlook, no one truly anticipated the turn of events during the year- flood control scandal, calamities, and the mid year election results. All these affected how foreign, even local investors, view the Philippine economy.
On top of the negative news, new policies and mandates also affected their respective market sectors.
Konektadong Pinoy Act (KPA) shook the Telecom sector during its drafting and implementation. The law aims to increase competition among the big players and lower the barrier of entry for potential players. In effect, TEL and GLO prices drastically went down but gradually recovered by end of the year.
CMEPA LAW on Stock Transaction Tax cut was beneficial for traders and investors. While the 20% final tax for long term interest income (previously tax free) signals that the government favors the stock market and government investment schemes like PAG IBIG MP2 over time deposits.
Meanwhile, the de-linking of e-wallets to online gambling apps and increasing the cash in up to 5,000 pesos also affected online gambling stocks BLOOM and PLUS. Just when BLOOM was about to expand its business across Asia, thus soared the price, this news pull down the price and has yet to recover. Unlike Plus whose business is entirely revolving around online gambling, BLOOM has physical assets which can hopefully offset their losses. For PLUS, the company had higher income during Q1 and Q2, but due to the new mandate, they had a massive loss in the last 2 quarters. Some analysts expect a continued decline for Plus in 2026.
Year end performance review
This year marks my third year in the market. While I consider it my weakest year, I was able to accumulate 15% gains and added 50% addtional capital in my total portfolio- these, I think, are already considered a win. What I learned is that opportunities, regardless of the state of the market (bullish or bearish), will always be present. Creating a rigid strategy and following it all throughout is really important. Picking a stock must also be aligned with my personal values as it indirectly supports the business. Some of my watchlist includes DMC, OGP, MYNLD, MWC, and OGP.
For 2026, I strongly believe that the market will be bullish. However, I will abstain adding additional capital as im planning to explore other investment opportunities globally.
That's it for today's blog. See you in my next one.
Sending some love and light
With love, Jane