NOVEL NEXT 84
‘It seems like there are only extreme positions on either side.’
Dokyung sat at his desk, staring at the monitor screen with a serious expression. Recently, the market had been severely divided into two extremes due to the effects of inflation.
One side was saying the market would continue to deteriorate, while the other side was spreading optimism that the market would improve in the future.
‘Recommending stocks in this situation…’
When the market was divided into extremes, experts had to be careful with their words.
Various statements were clouding people’s judgment, making it difficult for investors to make rational decisions.
In a situation like this, if one recommended the wrong stock, there would be too many investors who would blindly follow their advice.
‘And the message just pointed to this situation…’
Dokyung muttered as he looked at his phone screen.
[The VIP Service cheering for you, Member.]
[How should one view a market like today’s? Many things are clouding our vision and pointing in only one direction.]
As the message said, it was not a good time when only the most extreme claims were being amplified in a market full of numerous variables.
[The market is now full of people who have become economists, predicting the future.]
[As an investment expert, Yoon Dokyung-ssi has a duty to remove that which blinds everyone’s eyes, deafens their ears, and confuses their minds in this situation.]
[Goal: Achieve 100,000 subscribers for Yuseong Investment Securities’ YouTube channel.]
[The VIP Service is always cheering for you, Member.]
‘Sigh…’
It was a message that made him sigh involuntarily.
Along with the grandiose message about having a duty to show investors the way forward, there was a mission to achieve a certain number of subscribers for the YouTube channel.
Dokyung had been wondering what kind of duty he had for the past few days, but looking at the recent market atmosphere, he could understand why such a message had been sent.
However…
‘It’s not even my personal channel, how am I supposed to get 100,000 subscribers…’
Dokyung muttered as he moved his mouse to access Yuseong Investment Securities’ official YouTube channel.
[Yuseong Investment Securities / 79,000 subscribers]
Multiple videos were being uploaded daily to Yuseong Investment Securities’ YouTube channel, with each video getting around 5,000 views.
This was because investors usually only watched videos about stocks they were interested in.
Even the market opening and closing broadcasts, which covered market conditions, weren’t getting many views as they were overshadowed by influencer channels.
‘At least the mock investment competition videos…’
The reason why 79,000 people had subscribed to the Yuseong Investment Securities channel seemed to be because of the mock investment competition videos featuring Dokyung.
The mock investment competition videos had an average of 500,000 views, which was still an impressive number even now.
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
“Then what is important?”
“Huh?”
Startled by the voice in his ear, Dokyung reflexively answered and turned to see his colleague, Han Dahyun, looking at him.
“Ah, Dahyun-ssi.”
“You’re going to bore a hole in your monitor, Dokyung-ssi. Why do you look so serious?”
At Han Dahyun’s words, Dokyung smiled and shook his head.
“It’s nothing. Just a lot of things to think about.”
“Aren’t you going to eat lunch?”
At Han Dahyun’s words, Dokyung looked around and noticed that the senior colleagues were nowhere to be seen. Team Leader Seo Jeonghwan had been so busy with external schedules lately that it was hard to see him in the office.
“Of course. Would you like to join me?”
“Let’s go to the cafeteria today.”
Dokyung nodded at Han Dahyun’s suggestion and got up from his seat to leave with her.
The building housing Yuseong Investment Securities’ Leaders Center had several companies renting office space, and on the first basement floor was a cafeteria operated by the building.
While the food wasn’t bad, they usually ate at restaurants around the company. Today, however, Han Dahyun had suggested the cafeteria first.
“Are you busy with something?”
Dokyung asked Han Dahyun, who was in front of him as they stood in line with their trays in the cafeteria.
“Does it show?”
“Yes. Choosing the cafeteria means you have work to get back to quickly after eating, right?”
“You’re right. I feel like I’m dying these days.”
The two found suitable seats after getting their food.
“Things are getting worse and worse in this field lately.”
Dokyung nodded as he ate, listening to Han Dahyun’s words. Recently, Han Dahyun had been exclusively handling investments in startups.
Even Agrobridge, the company Dokyung’s client Kwon Eunho had invested in, was being managed by Han Dahyun within Team 3.
It seemed like only yesterday that she had been excited about finding work that suited her aptitude, but today her expression was far from cheerful.
“There’s talk going around like, ‘The economy is getting worse and worse. Close your wallets.'”
“Ah, I see. Investments in startups are drying up.”
“Yes, that’s it. Some companies we invested in on behalf of clients have had their additional funding cut off.”
Han Dahyun’s words carried a lot of meaning.
Startups were the kind of companies that needed a constant influx of funds.
From the perspective of a company just starting out, they needed to constantly receive investments, but investors were cutting off the money supply, making it impossible to expand the business.
“Recently, something happened with one of our investments. An investor we were in good talks with decided not to invest, causing a project that had already started spending money to fall through.”
“They spent the money in advance?”
“Yes, the investment seemed that certain.”
“Still, that’s irresponsible. They could have waited until the money actually came in.”
Han Dahyun nodded in agreement at Dokyung’s words.
“You’re right. The company was irresponsible too. I guess they were in a hurry because a competitor was making moves. Anyway, this ended up blocking the money that was supposed to go somewhere else. They were planning to cover expenses with the investment money.”
“So the business has stopped?”
“When I went for due diligence, they grabbed me and asked if there was anywhere else they could get money from.”
Dokyung couldn’t help but chuckle wryly.
“The company must have been in dire straits to ask such a thing to an investor who had already put money in.”
“Yes. Since we had already invested on behalf of our client, I felt we needed to intervene somehow, so I introduced them to some angel investors.”
Angel investors referred to those who invested in startups at their early stages.
“Was it resolved?”
“Yes, we managed to cover the urgent expenses.”
“That’s good. You’ve been working hard, Dahyun-ssi.”
Dokyung could now understand why Han Dahyun’s expression had been so gloomy lately.
“How’s Agrobridge doing?”
Dokyung asked Han Dahyun, seemingly concerned about the company his biggest client, Kwon Eunho, had invested in.
“Agrobridge is doing great. They’re on track now. Making good money too.”
“That’s a relief.”
“I wish the other companies were even half as good as Agrobridge. They have good investors too, right? SB and the money your client invested.”
Dokyung smiled at Han Dahyun’s words and continued the conversation.
“In a market like this, we need to separate the wheat from the chaff. Even with startups.”
“Separate the wheat from the chaff?”
“Yes. Let’s discard those that only have dreams and are expensive. They say startups live on dreams, but among them, there are companies like Agrobridge that actually make money. It might be better to invest in such places, even if it’s a bit late…”
“Ah, like Tae-Jo-I-Bang-Won?”
When Han Dahyun responded this way to his words, Dokyung furrowed his brow for a moment.
Han Dahyun carefully spoke, observing Dokyung’s expression.
“Um… did I say something wrong?”
“Ah! No.”
Dokyung raised his hand as if asking for a moment.
In the middle of his conversation with Han Dahyun, something began to dawn on him, and he felt the need to organize his thoughts urgently.
“That’s right. In a market like this, we need to approach it in a classic way.”
When Dokyung said this after pondering to himself, Han Dahyun looked at him as if to ask what he meant.
“You mentioned Tae-Jo-I-Bang-Won, right?”
“Yes. Isn’t that what you were talking about? Expensive, full of dreams, and beyond that, can’t even make money because they’re just dreams.”
Tae-Jo-I-Bang-Won was a theme leading the recent market.
Of course, there were companies among them that made money, but most were overvalued due to the strength of their sectors.
“No. There must be companies among them that are making money. At times like this, we need to go back to the classics.”
“The classics?”
“Yes. There’s a saying, ‘Classic is the Best,’ right?”
“You mean we should stick to the basics at times like this?”
Dokyung nodded with a smile at Han Dahyun’s words.
“Yes. That’s how investing should be.”
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“How did it go?”
A few days later, in the office of the Personal Asset Management Division Head at Seonjin Securities.
The division head, seated at his desk, asked the VIP Center Director and PR Team Leader.
“We’ve completed the planning.”
The PR Team Leader opened a report and placed it in front of the division head, who began to read through it.
“Tae-Jo-I-Bang-Won?”
“Yes, looking at recent stock-related videos on YouTube, it seems videos related to this theme are securing views.”
“Is it okay for us, as a securities firm, to talk about themes?”
The division head furrowed his brow and asked the VIP Center Director.
“It’s not bad. If it were a theme without substance, I would have dissuaded the PR Team Leader, but it’s quite good these days.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Solar and secondary batteries, nuclear power are all energy-related stocks, so they fit the current times. The defense industry has recently won several overseas export contracts for Korean companies, and there’s more talk about it. And in shipbuilding, our country is the best.”
The VIP Center Director was someone on the front lines of the field.
When someone like him spoke so confidently, the division head nodded, dispelling his doubts.
“So the performance is good, and investors are interested, is that right?”
“Yes. I think it would be good to introduce those that are expected to have good news in the future, excluding the overvalued ones.”
“Then we’re not going to introduce all of these.”
The VIP Center Director nodded at the division head’s words.
“Senior Manager Lee Donghyuk seems to have chosen secondary batteries.”
Lee Donghyuk was a star PB leading Seonjin Securities.
He had the performance to be selected as the top PB by economic magazines for several consecutive years and was a star among stars whose videos secured views wherever he appeared on YouTube channels.
“Secondary batteries are good.”
Secondary batteries had also been a cash cow leading the Korean stock market for the past three years.
Typically, the batteries used in electric vehicles were secondary batteries, referring to rechargeable batteries that could be reused through charging rather than being discarded after one use.
As the demand for electric vehicles exploded due to global environmental policies, the demand for secondary batteries rose along with it.
Korea was enjoying the status of a secondary battery powerhouse, with several companies producing everything from secondary battery materials, parts, and equipment to finished products.
“Then let’s prepare without any hitches. It might be an exaggeration to say our future depends on this one thing, but prepare with that mindset. We need to increase client acquisition somehow.”
The VIP Center Director and PR Team Leader nodded at the division head’s words.
“Yes, understood.”
“Alright, good work, and let’s try to upload as quickly as possible. If the response is good, we’ll do it again. You can go now.”
At the division head’s words, the two bowed and left the office. The division head loosened his tie as if he could finally breathe, leaning back in his chair.
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Meanwhile, Dokyung was researching companies to introduce on the YouTube channel based on what he had organized from his conversation with Han Dahyun.
“This side definitely seems better…”
Bzzt-
When his phone vibrated while he was deep in thought, Dokyung reflexively pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear.
“This is Yoon Dokyung.”
-Dokyung-ssi, it’s me. Lee Seonghyun.
“Ah, yes. Manager.”
-Something urgent has come up…
Dokyung furrowed his brow at Lee Seonghyun’s urgent voice, even though he hadn’t even received the planning materials yet.
“What’s the matter?”
-Can you come to the head office tomorrow? No, I’ll come to you.
“Tomorrow?”
-Yes, tomorrow morning. How about it? I think we need to talk in person.
Dokyung took out his notebook to check his schedule at Lee Seonghyun’s sudden proposal.
“Fortunately, it looks like I’ll be in the office tomorrow morning.”
-Then I’ll come early tomorrow morning. See you tomorrow.
“Alright, understood.”
After ending the urgent call, Dokyung tilted his head quizzically before deciding he’d find out tomorrow and resumed his research.