So you need the ability to decide for yourself.
There isn't much fruit to be had in this season, and you know that fish is delicious, so you should go to a fishmonger instead of a fruitmonger.
When I leave the house, I can't ask anyone whether I should go to the fruit shop or the fish shop.
You can go to a fruit shop and ask what kind of fruit is delicious, or go to a fish shop and ask what kind of fish is delicious.
Investing is the same.
I don't know much, so I think I should just ask an expert and leave it to them, but first I have to decide for myself whether I want to leave it to a securities firm, a bank, or an insurance company.
In such cases, you need to be able to look at the data yourself and make a judgment.
--- p.
70

People who diversify their investments have better results on average than those who focus on investing.
However, the people who get the best results are those who invest intensively and then hit the jackpot repeatedly.
Of course, there are many more people who invested heavily and then failed.
The problem here is that people only care about the rich who have made a lot of money.
When I asked people who made a lot of money how they became rich, they all said that they invested heavily.
So I think that you have to invest intensively to become rich.
In fact, many more people have failed because of concentrated investment, but those who failed are invisible.
Because you don't ask a failed person how he failed.
And people who have failed don't brag about how they failed because they invested so heavily.
--- p.
124-125

If you start without deciding on an asset allocation ratio, you will often end up with a loss even if you buy or sell good stocks at the right time or at a good price.
Even though I bought and sold stocks I learned from a master at the same price, I ended up losing money because my bet was wrong.
And then you start cursing the expert.
I did as I was told, but I lost money.

The reason I don't tell you the stocks you keep asking me about is because I'd lose money if I did.
If you don't know the basics, like how to allocate assets or the principles of investing, you're bound to lose money nine times out of ten.
If you can't tell the difference between the arithmetic mean and the geometric mean, and you don't know what it means to divide money into an arithmetic mean and time into a geometric mean, then you can't talk about stocks.
I understand the urgency to make money right away, but if you swallow food in that state, you'll end up with indigestion.
I know you're going to get sick, but I can't share the food.
--- p.
139-140

You need to decide what to include in your core assets and how to invest them.
Then, the next step is to decide how to structure the surrounding assets with the remaining money.
Even when we take exams, there are required subjects and electives, right? There are required subjects like Korean, English, and math, and electives like arts and physical education.
So which of the two should I study first? I should start with Korean, English, and math, and then focus on the rest.
Likewise, we need to think about what to put in our core assets first, but people don't think about these core assets and focus on peripheral assets without properly organizing them.
He came to me and said, 'I'm thinking about investing in stocks. Can you teach me?'
Most people who ask questions like, "What should I do? What should I buy?" approach stocks as a peripheral asset.
'Let me know and I'll invest 80% of my assets in stocks!' That's not how it works.
He asked, "I have some spare money left over, so I'm thinking about investing in stocks."
The way I invested then didn't match the way I invest now.
I approach stocks as core assets.
The way I invest is different from the way I invest in peripheral assets, because it's a method that applies when stocks are the core asset.
People who want to invest in stocks with their surrounding assets don't need to follow my method.
But people who ask how to invest in stocks with peripheral assets are putting their core assets in strange places.
Either you just leave it as a deposit, or you sit on it as a deposit for a rental property.
So, for you too, what to do with your core assets comes first.
That has to be decided.
--- p.
330-331

When talking about investing, I always emphasize the MDD, right? Stocks eventually rise, but they also plummet occasionally. The MDD averages (-)50%.
What you need to do in such a situation is to be able to wait! "Looking at past data, stocks can lose half their value over a five-year investment period. But if you wait, they'll rise again, recover, and become positive in the long run." Assets that allow you to wait with this mindset are reliable assets, and they're the ones you can embrace as your core.
Eventually, I have to be able to wait for my core assets to grow and become rich.
So, I think it's right to hold assets that I can wait for, assets that I can trust, as my core assets.
Of course, this is purely my opinion and my standard.
Everyone's standards may be different, and I think it's important to set your own standards.
You have to think about that yourself, and only after much thought and consideration can you continue to stick to the principles you have established.
That ultimately becomes your own investment philosophy.
--- p.
351-352

If you look at the ways to become rich, they are all ways to become rich slowly.
Getting rich in a short period of time is a result of good luck, and following the same method doesn't guarantee the same success.
It's possible if you have a lot of luck.
If I see someone who won the lottery and became rich in a short period of time and buy a lottery ticket, I won't become rich either.
Even though the method of buying and scratching a lottery ticket is the same, the results are completely different.
The way to get rich quickly is to rely on luck, and the way to get truly rich is to get rich slowly.
It's about slowly growing your core assets.
--- p.
401-402

Just as a doctor can talk about medications and treatments, he can't dictate how someone should live. The same holds true for investing. I can explain the past performance and MDD of products like AOR, NTSX, RPAR, and SWAN.
But I can't tell you how to live your life.
The results of our investments have a huge impact on our lives.
What products you invest in are linked to who you are and what kind of life you pursue.
--- p.
508-509


If you feel like studying is beyond your ability, too difficult, or too overwhelming, you can invest at a level that suits your level.
It's okay to leave everything to asset allocation ETFs and not hold any peripheral assets.
Because it's a choice based on your level.
'In the time I should be studying investment, I want to study music and art, I want to exercise, I want to spend time with my kids, I want to travel' are all perfectly fine choices.
It's not necessary for all citizens to study stocks.
Studying core assets is mandatory, but studying anything beyond that is optional.

--- p.
557