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Why become a QIB?
Being a QIB can give you the full advantages of being a savvy global investor.
By Anthony O. Alcantara
The curious acronym is pronounced “quib”. It means Qualified Individual Buyer or Qualified Institutional Buyer. And if you are a high-net-worth individual, it may be a good idea to consider being accredited as a QIB by Metrobank.
Asked why being a QIB matters, Jennifer Tan, Metrobank Private Wealth Department Head, said, “If you qualify as a QIB, this means you are a more sophisticated and astute investor who possesses the knowledge and the means to invest prudently.”
That’s because being a QIB opens a world of investment opportunities.
| Non-QIB | QIB |
|---|---|
| • Stocks of local companies | • Sovereign bonds issued by governments |
| • Peso bonds issued by the Philippine government | • Peso bond issuances of local companies |
| • Bonds issued by a sovereign entity | • Dollar issuances of local banks or financial institutions |
| • Bonds that carry the guarantee of the Philippine government | • Dollar bond issuances of local and foreign companies |
| • Bonds issued by entities supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas | • Quasi-sovereigns (bonds issued by companies partially owned by the government) |
| • Stocks of foreign companies | |
| • All other financial instruments |
If you are a QIB, you’ll be able to invest in almost everything available to investors globally.
Tan said the value of being a QIB becomes apparent when the investor, for example, realizes he couldn’t invest in, say, bonds issued by a bank in Korea, such as the Export-Import Bank of Korea, which is way bigger than banks here in the Philippines.
“If you see opportunities like that, you can go grab them, if you are QIB,” said Tan.
But just as important as the opportunities is the trusted advice of Metrobank’s experts and third-party research providers such as CreditSights, an award-winning global credit research firm owned by the Fitch Solutions Group.
How to become a QIB
There are two ways to become accredited as a QIB: have a net worth of at least PHP 30 million or stock-listed securities of at least PHP 10 million in market value. Proof of trading must also be presented, i.e., two to three buy and sell transactions a year.
The accreditation is done every three years and the QIB client must meet the criteria stated above and execute the required two to three buy and sell transactions annually.
“Managing your wealth can indeed be much easier when all the options for investments are available to you,” said Tan. “When you complement that with expert advice backed by extensive experience and rigorous research, you’ll have everything you need to make smart investment decisions.”