“I Heard Today’s 20-Somethings Lost Everything After Getting Into Stocks...” John Lee’s Advice to Retail Investors

[Financial News] John Lee, head of John Lee’s Rich School, recommended investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and emphasized that long-term accumulation is more important than making quick profits.

On the 2nd, the YouTube channel “Saemeot TV” released a video titled “What You Must Know If You Invest in Stocks for Retirement Funds: The Purpose of Investing Is Not the Rate of Return.”
The video showed John Lee listening to various investors’ concerns and offering them advice.
A woman in her mid-60s said, “I’m worried because I don’t know how to invest in stocks,” adding, “I recently saw a broadcast saying that many people in their 20s got into stocks and lost everything. I want to invest, but I’m at a loss about what I should study.”
John Lee responded, “The problem seems to have been the lack of financial education. Many people in their 20s and 30s invested in leveraged products,” adding, “It’s because they want to become wealthy quickly. You can never become wealthy quickly. You have to invest in time.” He continued, “For a woman in her mid-60s, isn’t the investment period already limited? The proportion invested in stocks is important,” and advised her not to invest in leveraged products.

Another retail investor asked, “I’m planning to open a stock account for a newborn. I’d like to hear your opinion on which stocks to buy and how to manage the account.”
John Lee recommended, “That’s a very good idea. The greatest asset this child has is time,” adding, “The best option is an ETF. An S&P 500 ETF that invests in 500 U.S. companies or a KOSPI 200 Index ETF that invests in Korean companies would be enough. Alternatively, investing half in each would also be fine.”
However, when an investor asked whether it would be acceptable to invest all of the money in a retirement pension in an S&P 500 ETF, he replied, “I don’t think it’s necessary to do that. Investing 100% in the United States alone is not a good idea. I think it’s also good to invest in Korea,” adding, “Personally, I don’t think investing exclusively in the United States is necessarily a good investment strategy.”
He went on to say, “Why do you invest in stocks? It’s for retirement preparation. The purpose of stock investing is not a rate-of-return game. Returns will rise again over time,” adding, “For people who are accumulating stocks, it is actually good for the stock market to perform poorly.”
For this reason, John Lee criticized the practice of checking investment returns every day. He said, “You buy 100 shares and then stare at your phone every single day. That’s gambling. Gambling and investing are different,” emphasizing, “You may be interested in whether foreign investors are buying or selling today, but when you take a long-term view, what does artificial intelligence (AI) mean for me, and whether these companies are making money, are what matter.”
Another investor in his late 50s asked, “I have a lump sum of money. Please tell me whether I should invest it all in an ETF at once or invest through regular installments.”
John Lee answered, “It depends on the person. If you invest 100 million won and the stock market happens to crash, you may feel afraid. For people like that, dividing the investment into monthly installments is also a good option, but investing all at once still tends to produce slightly higher returns.”
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter