Stock Investment, Better Late Than Never


By Choi Kyong-ae
Staff Reporter


Woo Bang-rae
Just like other collegians, Woo Bong-rae likes to listen to the MP3 player dangling around his neck. At first sight, he looks like a typical youngster you might see in Shinchon, western Seoul where some top-notched universities are nestled about 10 minutes away from each other.

Woo, 21, studies law at Yonsei University. But he has a keen interest in what other ordinary collegians would ignore: stocks.

Calling himself a ``fund manager,¡¯¡¯ he has formed an ``academic trio¡± together with student investors from his school, Sogang University and Ewha Womans University.

The amateur investor says stocks are a lot more attractive than properties. He suggests that students pay more attention to stocks not to get rich, but get to know more about economics and businesses.

He said that students and ordinary people can pick up crucial information from their daily lives for smart investment in stocks.

``Last year, I happened to see trucks of desks and chairs made by an emerging office furniture manufacturer brought to our classrooms. I invested in the company after analyzing its financial status,¡± Woo said.

The amateur investor preparing for the state bar examination noted that students need to have an ``investor¡¯s mind¡± to pick up intangible but valuable things ``on the street.¡¯¡¯

He believes that Koreans¡¯ thinking is lopsided toward properties when it comes to investment. He said, however, that will eventually change.

``People began studying companies before making investments. That¡¯s a very positive thing,¡± he added.

In the past, analysis did not draw attention from retail investors. They just listened to others and bought stocks of a certain company on recommendations that usually prove to be wrong later. Consequently, many of them were burned out.

``But now a study of target companies is a sort of must for stock investment,¡± the young asset manager said.

He personally started active investment just about two year ago when he was a freshman with just 3 million won ($3,000) in seed money. After rounds of successful investment, he increased the seed money to as much as 20 million won ($20,000) which is now yielding about 85 percent profit. Woo favors investment in undervalued companies with growth potential.

Woo, a prepared professional investor, is also a member of the Yonsei Investment Group (YIG), a well-known university investors fraternity.

YIG members became the envy of fellow college investors last year when the union won a one-year project to analyze listed companies commissioned by FN Guide, a leading online financial information provider.

Satisfied with the project results, the company had Woo and other YIG members carry out the same project for another year early this year.

``The money coming from the project is not big, but I think experience in the real market is more important. Experience means everything in an investors¡¯ world,¡± Woo said.

YIG members are going to receive a total of 8 million won from FN Guide a year or 2 million won per quarter for investments.

``Unlike other student investors, they voluntarily formed a union and are doing very well. They jointly manage 10 million won with such profits annually. We have no plan to replace the college team with others,¡± Kim Hee-soo, manager of FN Guide, said.

On top of that, the YIG was selected as one of 14 college investment unions on June 28 to receive 2 million won every year from Tongyang Investment Bank and have a meeting with analysts twice a year.

The company started the BoomUp System (BUS) for University last year to secure talented people. Students who participate in the BUS program will stand a chance to land in the companies they once worked as students.

``It¡¯s a win-win game for companies seeking for competent talents and students seeking for jobs amid rising unemployment,¡± Yun Young-jin, manager of Tongyang Investment Bank, said.

In the 2nd competition to get the annual seed money, about 40 college investment groups submitted applications. Among the14 winners are Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University and Aju University, but Seoul National University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) failed to make the list.

``Of the applicants, YIG members were the most potential and enthusiastic about investment and asset management. We gave high scores on their restless activities last year,¡± Yun said.

Emerging as an ``enfant terrible¡± among college investors, YIG investors manage a pool of 10 million won. To become a YIG member, he or she has to receive a three-week program from seniors and pass an examination at the end of the course.

The amount is nothing compared to those managed by U.S. collegians. Many Korean students enter colleges without knowing even the definition of stocks, let alone how the stock market works.

``Korean middle and high school students have little chance to experience even mock investment. In the United States, they run a mock investment class even for middle school students. It makes a difference between the two countries,¡± said Woo. ``Better late than never is true for college students¡¯ investment.¡¯¡¯

College students who have an account in a securities firm see the market move and change, he said. ``Chances are high that they will live a different life in 10 years from those who do not know the ABCs of investment.¡±


godamon@koreatimes.co.kr

07-05-2005 20:11

 

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