Hey there!
Welcome to our first ever post!
A strange way to start a column?
We beg to differ, because we prefer to start with a more conversational tone compared to the average business column you’d find in a newspaper or whatever medium you happen to be reading this on.
We also have, we believe, a legitimate reason to take this approach, and it is mainly to make a “dry” and/or complicated subject like the field of finance and business more “palatable” to our audience, the ambitious Filipino who wants to achieve “financial freedom” but may not have the know-how or know anyone that could help.
Who are we?
Oh, I apologize for getting ahead of myself, my name is André Mikhail F. Obierez and I’m one of the co-founders of AlphaEdge Research, a start-up focused on providing market education as well providing analysis and commentary about the massive world of financial markets and the like.
Though I’d want to emphasize that this column, going forward, will also touch on a number of other topics ranging from personal finance such as “renting or buying a house” to “how much should I save for retirement”. We’ll also touch on more in-depth and complicated topics such as “how to analyze stocks” (that’s a company, mind you) and even starting up your own business.
So why the name, AlphaEdge Research?
We believe it’s a fitting name for what we mainly do.
You see, in finance, “Alpha” (from the Greek letter α) basically means the performance above the “average” or more formally a benchmark or index. It gets a bit deeper and more complicated than that, but let’s just leave it there for now since we’ll eventually cover such jargon in our future posts.
While the “Edge” part of our name refers to a strategy or method that will give a trader a sustainable advantage in making money while one of our chief activities involves researching the markets for that edge and what our customers will be using.
Now that we got that out of the way, please allow me to introduce to you our founding members:
Aside from my personal investments, I’ve also worked in the Financial Sector as a Stock Market Analyst for local and international companies, where I would write up research using the stuff I learned in school (and on the job) about companies and whether the firm’s clients should invest. I’ve also had a teaching job at one point in life covering finance and investing at a university in Cebu.
Me aside, we have Marke Arellano (that’s pronounced as mar-KEE) who completed the Certified Securities Specialist Course from the Ateneo de Manila University and also worked as a Stock Market Analyst before finding his “fit” as a Stockbroker (formally “Certified Securities Representative”). He also passed the level 1 exam of the Chartered Financial Analyst program, which is the gold standard in our industry. Marke has also been trading in the stock market since 2009.
Marke is our main seminar speaker (yes, we hold seminars) for the “5 Fundamental Truths of Trading” based on the works of the late Mark Douglas, one of the greatest educators on trading, as well as the “Market Psychology” topic that helps traders figure out if it’s a good time to trade based on the ongoing sentiment.
Our other member, Ralph Jason “RJ” Caballes, is a Senior .NET Developer for an Australian company. Though he hasn’t worked in finance, he is quite the entrepreneur having had his start back in his elementary years selling various products to now running many small businesses from selling pets and pet care products to developing his own brand of spiced coconut vinegar “Sukang Tagi”.
He also has expertise in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Image Processing, and Computer Systems Performance Analysis among many others in field and is currently working on his master’s in computer science degree from a prestigious university in the Philippines.
Next on our line-up is Keirby Diputado, remember I mentioned that I used to teach? He was one my ambitious students who has now matured into quite a professional. He has been trading stocks since 2015 and also works as the Operations Manager for his family’s business, a Wholesaler for Spices and Produce.
Despite his young age, he’s had significant exposure to the wheeling and dealing of the highly competitive produce markets and was mentored closely by his parents which sustained his interest and passion for starting his own business.
And the last, but definitely not the least, is Francis Louigi “Kanyang” Cañizares, a graduate of Petroleum Engineering from a preeminent university in Palawan.
Francis is one of the perfect examples to prove that anyone can be an entrepreneur and that you don’t need familial role models to serve as your starting point to become one. Actually, if you got to know him personally, you’d actually think that entrepreneurship is in his bones but as a matter of fact, he jokingly would say that “he comes from a long line of employees” and that he actually gained his “entrepreneurial spark” from reading business books back in his university days.
He has also been trading stocks since 2016 and has built up a decent portfolio just by using the fundamental principles in Technical Analysis (we will also get to this topic in our future posts). In light of that fact, he is our main speaker for the “Basic Technical Analysis” Course which works as the entry point for aspiring investors looking to master the basics and kickstart their journey to financial freedom.
So, in sum, we hope you’d give us the honor to be part of your journey to financial freedom and we look forward to seeing you again next week!
For inquiries about the markets or how to get started, E-mail us at AlphaEdgeResearch@gmail.com. We also have a Facebook page: AlphaEdge Research
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