Too many people still think of stock investing as chasing short-term returns.
Almost everyone I meet talks about returns.
The reason for investing in funds or stocks should be to achieve financial independence, that is, to prepare for retirement.
It's like running a marathon.
Obsessing over short-term returns is like being fixated on the 100-meter time while running a marathon.
Rather than saying what percentage of returns you have, you should be able to say how many hundreds or thousands of shares you own of a certain fund or a certain stock.
Funds and stocks are something you accumulate steadily.
When you retire, your retirement funds will be the number of funds or stocks you have accumulated multiplied by their price at the time of retirement.
It's likely to be a pretty surprising amount.

The stock market doesn't always move in a straight line upward.
There will be occasional ups and downs.
But in the long run, it will trend upward.
Because companies constantly strive to maximize sales and profits.
As sales and profits increase, the company's market capitalization inevitably increases, and the profits from this increase are shared by investors who own the stock.
People who trade frequently with the hope of short-term profits are more likely to miss out on big profits.
---From "Writing a Completely Revised Edition"

There are few ways for a salaryman to build wealth without investing in stocks.
Of course, there are many people who make money through real estate investment, but real estate investment requires a large sum of money.
And it is an asset that does not require much work compared to stocks.
Investing in stocks is not only a useful way to make money, but even if you buy a little bit every month, it can add up to a lot of money later on.
If you're thinking about your retirement, the younger you are, the more active you should be in stock investment.
It is impossible for a salaryman to save only his salary and prepare for retirement in 20 or 30 years.
If you set aside a portion of your salary and invest it in stocks, you will at least not face financial difficulties after retirement.

If you buy stocks of companies that will survive and grow continuously and wait 10 or 20 years, the stock price will definitely go up significantly.
In a capitalist country, stock investments are bound to yield much better returns than bonds or bank deposits, both practically and theoretically.
---From "The Only Opportunity for Ordinary People to Create Wealth"

Q: They say individual investors can't win because they don't have the information compared to foreigners or institutions.
Should I still invest in stocks?
A stock is not a matter of having a specialist, it is a matter of training.
Anyone can become an expert.
What's important is the courage to think differently from those around you, the courage to invest for the long term, and the philosophy to not worry too much about stock volatility.

In particular, the most common comments I hear are, “Aren’t I at a disadvantage compared to fund managers?” and “Information is asymmetric.” These are incorrect thoughts.
It's not because we don't have the information, it's because we misinterpret or overreact to information we already know.
Rather, it is not uncommon for an overabundance of short-term information to hinder long-term investment.

In other words, it is not that there is a lack of information, but rather that there are many cases where information is misinterpreted.
In fact, there is too much information, and many times, we make wrong decisions because of useless information.
Since you're going to be investing for 10 or 20 years anyway, yesterday's information isn't that important.
Stock investing is not a battle of information, but a battle of patience and philosophy.
That is, investing in time.

There is also a widespread belief that 'how can small investors profit in the stock market? They are no match for investors with large capital.'
This is a very wrong idea.
Individual investors can be smarter than institutional investors.
Investing in stocks is not just about investing, it's a lifestyle.
It's training.
10% of your salary must be invested in stocks or funds.
Korea has a great pension savings fund system, so you can fully prepare for retirement by taking advantage of it or investing your retirement pension in stock funds instead of principal-protected investments.
---From "John Lee's Thoughts Q&A"

The greater the proportion of stocks in household assets, the greater the likelihood of becoming wealthy in the future.
However, the proportion of stocks among the financial assets of Korean households is around 15%.
Even if you include bonds, investment trusts, and funds, it only amounts to 30%.
On the other hand, investment products account for 70-80% of household financial assets in the United States, and deposits account for only about 12%.
Americans only deposit enough money to last them one or two months in the bank and put the rest of their assets in high-yield investment products.
Until the 1970s, the United States was not much different from our country.
However, with the introduction of retirement pension systems such as 401K in the 1980s, stock funds began to gain popularity.
Of course, the fact that American companies were actively restructuring and implementing shareholder-focused management at the time, the emergence of capable asset management companies, and active investor education also had an impact.
However, in Japan, despite interest rates being much lower than in the United States, deposits did not move to investment.
This was due to the misconception that stock investment was a source of unearned income.
An even bigger problem is that we have made the mistake of focusing solely on real estate instead of investing in stocks.
And that is now acting as a stumbling block to the Japanese economy.
Let's compare the United States, which began actively investing in stocks in the 1980s, with Japan today.
Then, we will have an answer to the question of how our country's household financial assets will flow in the future.
They say there is no nation as dynamic as the Korean people.
However, in the world of investment, Koreans' intelligence has yet to shine.
A change in perception of stock investment is needed, especially training in long-term investment.

Q What is the relationship between stock price and a company's competitiveness?
A If a company's market capitalization is 200 trillion won and its stock price rises to 300 trillion won, then this company's competitiveness has also greatly improved.
This is because the cost of financing is significantly reduced, which improves corporate performance.
For example, Tesla produces less than 1 million electric vehicles per year.
It will work.
However, Tesla's market capitalization has skyrocketed as investors have bought the stock, seeing its growth potential.
Hyundai Motor Company sold 3,909,881 vehicles worldwide in 2021.
Tesla sold 936,172 units.
As of January 21, 2022, Tesla's market capitalization was 1,194.4195 trillion won, and Hyundai Motor's was 42.6268 trillion won.
Hyundai's sales volume is 4 times higher, but Tesla's market capitalization is 28 times higher.
A larger market capitalization lowers the cost of capital and improves competitiveness.
As Korean companies' market capitalization increases, their competitiveness increases.
No matter how well Samsung Electronics, Korea's top company, performs, if investors turn a blind eye and its market capitalization remains low, its competitiveness will decline.
On the other hand, if investment proceeds smoothly, a company like Tesla could emerge in Korea.
As the value of your stock rises, you can hire a lot of talented people from all over the world.
Because you can compensate with stocks.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can also occur naturally.
Tesla doesn't make electric cars with its own original technology either.
The power of market capitalization generated by rising stock prices can be used to acquire competitors or companies with new technologies.

Q: The U.S. market is trending upward, but Korean stocks are staying in a box for a long time. Can ordinary people really achieve high returns through long-term investment?
A You might think so if you just look at the index.
When I first became a fund manager in the US, Americans thought the same thing.
You have to invest in emerging markets to make money, American stocks are boring.
So, US stocks didn't rise much at that time.

Many companies in Korea went bankrupt during the IMF and Lehman Brothers crises.
It's all included in the index.
In the case of the United States, it may be different if we include all but 30 samples.
Also, since it's a market average, rather than simply thinking that the US or Korea are not good, it's more important to see whether there are more companies in Korea that I can invest in.
It's not that it's bad because the overall index isn't rising, but it's a better environment because of that.
Because it means there is greater potential for development.

Korea has a pension fund worth a whopping 230 trillion won, but stocks only account for 3% of it.
In contrast, the United States is approaching 40%.
If pension funds, like in the US, invest in Korean stocks, they could rise significantly.
Another thing is that many people still think that you shouldn't invest in stocks.
That means there's less competition, the stock price is still cheap, and the bubble hasn't arrived yet.
---From "John Lee's Thoughts Q&A"

So how can we identify investments that will survive and generate significant returns? Which companies will survive even recessions and economic crises and continue to grow until we need retirement funds? What criteria should we use to identify successful companies? I'd like to share the key factors my team and I consider when considering investments.
First, look at the qualifications of the management.
Business management is done by people.
Ultimately, a company's success or failure depends on how hard its management and employees work to help the company grow.
The presence of intelligent and ethical management is the most important factor to consider when investing in stocks.
The quality of management is called 'management quality' in English.
(Omitted) Second, pay attention to the company’s scalability.
Companies with scalable businesses will see their market capitalization grow faster than those without.
Assuming you are running a business, the principle behind increasing sales is that you should do wholesale rather than retail.

The reason why the stock prices of Internet-based companies have increased significantly is also because of their future scalability.
Companies whose sales growth is minimal or limited due to structural reasons have less attractive stocks.
Third, invest in companies in industries where it is difficult for competitors to enter.
It is advisable to be interested in companies with high barriers to entry.
Industries that are easy to enter have a lot of competitors, which means higher marketing costs and lower profit margins.
Companies with superior technological capabilities, patents, or high brand power are examples of companies with high barriers to entry.

---From "How to find a successful stock?"