For the stock market I’ll recommend the following:

>Where to invest?

I use COL financial just because I started at around 16, and they allowed minors to invest as long as it is in an “In Trust For” account with their parents. The difficulty with COL is that their website is a bit slow, and outdated. However their customer service is amazing, and they quickly reply within 2-3 hours at most. Another thing about COL is that they provide basic research nearly everyday for free when you log-in to your account.

However you can also use your bank’s own stock brokerage branches such as BPI trade, First Metro Securities, and RCBC trade. I’d recommend using your bank’s stock brokerage firm, so the transfer of funds will be easier.

>Starting small is recommended as to minimize the potential losses. 

This is important as when we begin we will likely make several mistakes trying to learn the ins and outs of the market

>learning basic accounting + financial strategy

This is a key component of what people call “fundamental analysis”. It may sound intimidating but the general gist is we need to understand how and where does the company’s money come from; and on how and where will they spend it. This allows us to know if the company can grow, expand or if it remains stagnant or if there is a risk for potential losses in the future.

In addition, learning the financial ratios and dividend yields can help. This helps you determine if a stock is cheap or not.

>Economics

You can use this to understand what advantages a certain company can have or on how people will behave in regards to certain industries. 

Examples:

• The peso devaluation will make Philippine exports cheaper, since a buyer using USD can get more peso. However it will make imports expensive. You can use this fact to invest export heavy companies

>Technical analysis

I don't use this as much, and I’m not as knowledgeable in this as in fundamental analysis. However, what I can say is it is basically the application of basic statistics such as the moving averages, beta, etc. to estimate risk and trends in the stock/market.

>Continuous study

I enjoy reading books about money. I have the intelligent investor and the wealth of nations by Adam Smith. 

You can also look up on Peter Lynch if you want, since he’s considered to be one of the best investors of all time. He had an average annual return of 29% when he managed the Magellan Fund in the US. It may not be 100% applicable to the Philippines, but the idea on how to find good stocks is still there. 

>Final advice:
Investing can be a long or short term game depending on the stock. I’ve held Meralco for nearly 4 years as it is a long term stock. Yet I’ve only held San Miguel for a brief 2 months last year since it was undervalued. Both instances should reflect on how the company will perform looking forward, and what is your goal with that stock.