I have a dream for each of my children to go onto college after graduating high school. I’m hoping that the Manulife GradMaker Application will help me on my way to providing for this dream most especially for Gellibean.
I am sure that many of you who are reading this blog post have the same kind of educational dreams for your children as well.
Nor her exams.
Or her registration, or even her car pool.
Where will she go?
What happens when my child with Down Syndrome, chooses to study education to become the teacher that she tells me she wants to be?

Photo Credit: Manulife Philippines Youtube
- Download the app from the Apple App Store or from the Google Play Store
- Set Up your account
- Upload a photo of your ID
- Select payment method/enter bank account information
- BAM! Your kiddo has an account
Want to know an added plus?
This “industry first, has an added feature allowing parents to save for their child’s college education, using a mobile phone, AND gifts parents an insurance policy that is automatically included in the app,” shares Ryan Charland, CEO of Manulife Philippines.
Here are some of the things that I love about this app:
- It’s so easy to use.
- You can invest anywhere, as long as you have your phone.
- It’s eco-friendly. No printouts necessary to keep track of your investment.
- You don’t have to research anything. It’s all done for you. (investments are always intimidating for me.)
- The insurance benefit is what sets this apart from other investment funds. Gradmaker is a variable life product.
- For every investment made in MANULIFE PHILIPPINES through the app, Manulife GIVES 1% (of their own money) to CARTWHEEL FOUNDATION.

I think this is one of my favorite features of this product. The fact that there is social responsibility built into investing makes the user feel like she is giving back too!
What does that mean?
It means that you are not only saving and putting aside money for your child through a peso dynamic allocation fund which can earn up to 8.5% on your investment, you are also helping other kids in far flung areas of the Philippines (WITH SPECIAL NEEDS) receive an education as well!

Sitting down with both Bianca and the executives of Manulife Philippines helped me create a solid understanding of how this investment app can help me save for Gelli’s future.
During the informative media launch of this app, I was able to sit down with both Bianca and the executives for Manulife. Like I said, investments intimidate me, so I had only a few things I wanted clarified because as intimidating as they are, this app makes the whole process really simple.
Actually. SO SIMPLE.
So simple, that I only had a few questions:
Question: If I calculate the projected cost of 4 years at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde for Gelli, and she changes her mind or there are other schools for her to choose from by that time, what will happen?
Answer: Actually, the app just uses the choice of college for projection costs only. We are not locked into CSB per say, we just use that as a basis for the cost of college now, and the projected cost in 12 years.
Question: Since the money invested in the app, is put into a Peso Dynamic Allocation Fund, will there be a penalty if I decide to pull the money out earlier than 12 years?
Answer: There will be NO penalty if money is pulled out after a 5 year period. But before that, there will be a 2% withdrawal fee inclusive of the total account value.
For more information on how to invest and secure your child’s educational future visit:
Manulife Philippines
https://www.manulife.com.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/ManulifePH/
https://www.instagram.com/manulifegradmaker/
Or download the app by clicking:
For Apple devices:
https://itunes.apple.com/ph/app/gradmaker
For Android devices:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.manulife.ph.gradmaker.prod&hl=en