"The market rally is over," they scoffed. But in just three weeks, the 'grandma's A4 stock picks' surged 45%

[Financial News] An elderly investor who walked into a brokerage branch with bundles of cash was mocked online, but the outcome turned out to be the exact opposite of what people expected.

On the 26th, a post titled "Update on the grandma at the brokerage branch who was mocked on stock forums" was shared on an online community.
The poster, identified as A, wrote, "This was used as a mocking meme that 'when a grandma who seems new to stocks shows up in the market, it's a sign we've hit the top.' But Samchundang Pharm. written here has since tripled in price, and the leverage product listed with it has also roughly doubled."
The attached photo shows the elderly woman handing over a note listing stock names such as "KODEX KOSDAQ150 Leverage," "KODEX Leverage ETF," and "Samchundang Pharm."
That photo was originally posted on the 3rd by another user, B, under the title, "Ah... the grandma at the brokerage on Friday..."
At the time, B wrote, "I guess this really is the tail end of the rally. Maybe this grandma is a human indicator. Even though you can open an account online, she came all the way to the branch to buy leverage products, KOSDAQ, and even hurriedly added Samchundang at its peak with a pencil. I wonder if the staff tried to stop her," expressing concern about her trades. B also attached a chart showing Samchundang Pharm. trading in the 500,000 won range.
The post spread across various stock-related online communities, where netizens reacted by saying, "Who recommended such risky stuff to that grandma?", "I hear there are a lot of seniors walking into branches these days with wads of cash," and "This looks like a sign we've hit the top, time to get out."

However, roughly three weeks later, the results were nothing like what online users had predicted. As A pointed out, the stocks the grandmother bought have risen sharply instead of crashing.
In fact, "KODEX 200 ETF" written on her memo tracks the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) 200, which includes Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while "KODEX Leverage ETF" delivers twice the daily return of the KOSPI 200. The KOSPI closed at a record high of 6,307.27 on the 26th, breaking through the 6,300 level, up from 5,288.08 on the 3rd. Over the same period, KODEX 200 ETF gained 19.27%, and KODEX Leverage ETF rose 38.54%, roughly twice that.
The "KOSDAQ 150 Leverage ETF," which provides twice the exposure to the KOSDAQ 150 Index, also climbed from 78,000 won on the 3rd to 113,520 won, a jump of 45.5%.
Samchundang Pharm., which B had worried was at its peak, also rose from 529,000 won on the 3rd to 757,000 won at the close on the 26th, an increase of 43.1%.

In response, netizens commented, "Looking back, her market insight was on another level," "Instead of making fun of the grandma who came to the branch, we should have bought the stocks she picked," and "If we had just followed her, we could have made an average return in the 30% range in less than a month."
sms@fnnews.com Seong Min-seo Reporter