ako meron. mutual funds are 3 types. there is the equity fund where the funds are invested purely in stocks. bond funds are invested in bonds and government securities. balanced funds are invested both in stocks and bonds. also depending on your preference the fund manager can invest your funds in either high risk (emerging markets) or low risk (blue chips) stocks. i have both the balanced fund and equity fund with sunlife.

historically sunlife has returned as high as 60% per year on their balanced fund. the top performer last year among the big players was bpi mutual, which returned 65%. there is also philam mutual which i think was the top performer 3 years ago, returning as high as 67% if my memory serves me right. there are other smaller mutual fund companies in the philippines that have had higher returns, but the risks are greater.

startting investment for most funds is P10,000, and minimum additional is P5,000. you can add as many times as you want. another thing you need to consider is if you will keep your money invested there for a long time or short time only. since you are only 24 years old you might elect to keep your money there for a long time, and therefore i suggest you have a "back-ended" account. a back-ended account will have the management fees taken out when you withdraw from the fund. most have will have decreasing management fees, with the fees going to zero after 5 years. for a front-ended account the fees are charged when you invest the money. the percentage is less but then you pay up front, whereas on the back-ended account you don't pay anything if you keep it for 5 years or so.

you can withdraw your money anytime. it takes them about 3 working days to deposit it in your bank account.