Daven Tamayo

Filipino investors diversifying abroad as PSEi struggles

Philippine Stock Exchange in Taguig City.  Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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MANILA — More Filipino investors are diversifying into global markets as the Philippine stock market struggles with geopolitical shocks, peso weakness, inflation pressures, and slowing investor confidence.Speaking on ANC’s Market Edge, COL Financial multi-asset fund specialist Lorenzo Marquez said investors are not necessarily abandoning Philippine equities altogether, but are increasingly shifting part of their portfolios overseas to access stronger-performing sectors, currencies, and markets.“To be honest, yes,” Marquez said when asked if it now makes sense to reduce local exposure and diversify globally.The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) has fallen 9.66 percent since the escalation of the Iran conflict, while the peso weakened to P61.56 against the US dollar following fresh US strikes on Iran.At the same time, the Philippines’ gross international reserves dropped 8.1 percent from their February peak to $104.1 billion, while import cover declined from 9.9 months to 8.2 months, figures cited during the interview and reported earlier by Bloomberg.For retail investors, those numbers matter because falling reserves and weaker import cover can increase pressure on the peso, fuel imported inflation, and reduce the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ flexibility in defending the currency during external shocks.<div> </div><div>WEAK PESO</div>A weaker peso also raises the cost of imported fuel, food, gadgets, travel, and dollar-denominated debt, potentially squeezing both consumers and companies listed on the local stock market.Still, Marquez said the Philippines remains far from a full-blown currency crisis.“These are levels that are still very, very much comfortable for us,” he said.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TG_Qm_xUgD4?&amp;t=140s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>He added that much of the negative sentiment may already be reflected in local asset prices.“A lot of the bad news has already been priced in,” he said.The Philippine market has underperformed for years amid elevated inflation, weak foreign investor participation, high interest rates, and repeated global shocks.“For the past few months or even the past few years, the Philippine market has been roughly flat to even lower,” Marquez said.That weak performance is now pushing more investors to look at global equities, multi-asset funds, and AI-linked investments abroad.<div> </div><div>INVESTING ABROAD</div>Marquez said many Filipinos still do not realize they can already invest internationally for as little as P1,000 through feeder funds and global investment products offered locally.“A lot of Filipinos right now actually aren’t aware that they could be investing in global markets for as little as P1,000,” he said.Some global equity funds have already generated gains of around 9 percent to 10 percent year-to-date despite war-related volatility, while several funds posted returns exceeding 20 percent over the past year, according to Marquez.By comparison, the broader US S&amp;P 500 index delivered total returns of around 17 to 18 percent last year. But Marquez cautioned against blindly chasing famous US technology stocks.“When you look at the MAG-7, only two actually outperformed the index,” he said.Instead, he encouraged investors to diversify through funds rather than attempting to pick individual winners.“Through funds, you get access to the whole pie,” he said.Marquez said some of the strongest opportunities now lie in Asia’s artificial intelligence supply chain, particularly among semiconductor and infrastructure companies supporting the global AI boom.Companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), SK Hynix, and Samsung have emerged among the world’s strongest-performing AI-linked names as demand for advanced chips and data centers accelerates.“The focus has really been on Asia right now because the data center build-out is still somewhat strong,” he said.Markets such as Korea and Taiwan have already delivered gains of around 9 percent to 10 percent this year despite geopolitical tensions and oil price shocks. Still, Marquez said investors are unlikely to aggressively buy back into Philippine equities unless markets see meaningful improvement in several key areas.<div> </div><div>DIVERSIFICATION</div>Among the biggest concerns remain oil prices, inflation, interest rates, peso stability, and the broader impact of geopolitical tensions on growth.“That’s really the big question that everyone’s been watching,” he said, referring to the Middle East conflict.Marquez said any resolution to the war could immediately improve investor sentiment globally and stabilize the peso closer to the P60 level.“If you do have some kind of resolution with the war, then that could help risk assets overall,” he said.He also noted that local equities may struggle to deliver sustained upside unless investors see stronger earnings growth and clearer economic momentum.“You might not have that much of an uplift on the local market bearing any big change fundamentally,” Marquez said.For now, Marquez said diversification remains the safest strategy.“We really harp on diversification,” he said.While still maintaining some Philippine exposure, Marquez said global and multi-asset allocations are increasingly becoming the “core” position for many investors navigating today’s volatile environment.“We wanted to have an allocation for the Philippines,” he said, “but maybe keep it as more of a thematic or smaller part of your portfolio.”

The benchmark PSEi has fallen 9.66 percent since the escalation of the Iran conflict, while the peso weakened to P61.56 against the US dollar.

The benchmark PSEi has fallen 9.66 percent since the escalation of the Iran conflict, while the peso weakened to P61.56 against the US dollar.

Filipino investors diversifying abroad as PSEi struggles

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Filipino investors diversifying abroad as PSEi struggles

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News Channel

Published May 29, 2026 03:46 PM PHT

Read More:

investing

diversification

stock market

feeder funds

inflation

peso depreciation

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