Belief in superstition will likely result to missing investment opportunities, according to BDO Securities.

The stocks investment arm of the universal bank encourages investors to be steadfast and not swayed by superstitions with the approach of "Ghost Month".

Ghost Month is an annual observance believed to bring bad luck, and is associated with caution when it comes to the financial markets.

"Making investment decisions based on sound research, diversification, and long-term goals are crucial, regardless of the time of the year," John Michael Raz, Assistant Vice President and Head of Online Sales of BDO Securities Corp.–the stock brokerage arm of BDO Unibank, said.

He pointed out the 30-stock Philippine Stock Exchange index has generally exhibited weakness in the month of August, which happens historically 60% of the time.

To date, the support has been established at the 6,350 level with the market trading at the 6,350-6,750 range currently.

"This range may persist if participants continue to stay on the sidelines due to lack of catalysts. There's really no rule against buying in the month of August," he said.

Instead of getting "scared" from trading at this time, Raz pointed out that investors should instead consider the ghost month as an opportunity to go bargain-hunting.

"While historically weak, investors should take it as an opportunity to buy the dips and initiate positions in their favorite stocks. For a lot of investors, they see weakness as an opportunity to even improve their cost," he stressed.

For sectors to look out for with strong growth potential, Raz listed financial and power sectors with a dash of opportunistic buying of select conglomerates.

Look at fundamentals

"We suggest investors look at sectors that can sustain earnings growth. We continue to prefer the financials sector on the back of still healthy loan growth and improving lending margins. We are also bullish on the power sector which is seen to benefit from inelastic power demand and higher spot market prices," he added. "We also like conglomerates with consumer-centric portfolios that benefit from the country's economic resilience."

BDO Securities further stressed that a down or flat market still provides investors with decent returns and not a reason for them to stay on the sidelines.