Chapter 10

===================

Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

The market opened, and Team Leader Park Hong-seo looked at the monitors flowing chaotically.

Clearly, this was where he should focus, but his gaze kept going elsewhere.

“..”

Jeong Jin-ho.

Park Hong-seo had deliberately arranged his seat so he could see Jeong Jin-ho well. But Jeong Jin-ho hadn’t been doing anything particular since the market opened.

‘He’s just blankly staring at the screen, isn’t he?’

Park Hong-seo was curious.

What kind of investment secrets does Jeong Jin-ho have?

What method did he use to invest to make such high returns?

Would it work in actual practice?

“..”

So Team Leader Park continued staring intently at Jeong Jin-ho.

Yet he did nothing.

Really nothing at all.

————————————————————————————————————————

‘What is all this?’

With the monitors increased to 6, it became more dizzying than during mock investment.

Having to pick one suitable stock among all these many stocks, how could that be easy?

‘Strange. Last time, when I was checking stocks, the feeling came sharply.’

But this time it’s not like that.

Even scrolling through the stock list, no feeling comes.

As a result, just doing nothing and blankly staring at the screen, time flew by and it already became noon.

“Jin-ho. Is it going well?”

But Deputy Lee Hye-rin trudged over to my desk with a deathly pale face.

“Can you leave your seat?”

“Sob. Don’t even mention it. I already lost 3% just today and got trading suspended.”

“Ah. They suspend trading just for losing 3%?”

“Of course. 3% is a big number at securities firms too. Risk managers monitor our traders’ profits in real time, and beginners like us get trading suspended immediately after losing just 2%. Veterans get leeway up to 5% at least.”

Warren Buffett said this.

First, never lose money.

Second, follow the first rule.

This was the ironclad rule that all securities firms always emphasize to us.

“People think we prop traders are crazy about short-term trading and churn out returns, but securities firms actually cry ‘safety first’ the most. It’s a place that looks at long-term return rates, not short-term rates. That’s why we always value risk management.”

That’s why the team leader emphasizes risk management at every meeting.

Because this isn’t our personal money, but company funds.

People might ask what risk management for guys doing short-term trading, but here they trade with only minimal risk.

If you break that rule, it’s a system where you get sanctioned by the risk manager monitoring our trading.

“For example, if we judge that stock A will rise, we take positions in stock A, but anticipating that stock A might fall, we buy put options. Usually the ratio is set at 7:3 or 8:2.”

She also explained point by point about diversifying investments across various sectors with VIX or ETFs for risk management.

“Ugh. What’s the point of saying this? I’m only sharp on theory. In actual practice, I only took losses and even got trading suspended. I’m so pathetic, right, Jin-ho? Even though I thoroughly managed risk, this happened.”

“Not at all. You can’t do well from the first day. You’ll definitely do well tomorrow.”

“Thanks. But what about you, Jin-ho? How’s your return rate now?”

“Ah. I.”

The deputy blinked seeing my empty trading window.

“Wait. Jin-ho. Did you not make any trades until now?”

“Well. Yes.”

I awkwardly scratched my head.

But an unexpected reaction came out.

“Wow. Jin-ho really is an investment master.”

“Huh?”

“You knew today would be an overall bearish market, right? They say in markets like this, not doing anything is really making money.”

“..”

Does the story go that way?

“It just didn’t feel right.”

But that said, I can’t just do nothing.

The problem is no feeling really comes.

It’s the first time this happened, so I was a bit flustered.

Am I doing something wrong?

It feels like something’s missing.

“Intuition is important. But when you don’t get the feeling, look at today’s briefing materials again.”

“Briefing materials?”

“Yes. I told you, right? You need good meta awareness in the stock market. And what today’s trend is was pulled out for us in materials by the research department, which you can call super-elites, so if you just look at that well, you can already be halfway there.”

Come to think of it, I suddenly got promoted to senior today and didn’t hear any of the meeting content.

I was so focused on that that what the team leader said didn’t enter my ears.

What to pay attention to today, and what to be careful of.

Without hearing any of that, it was like just my body alone was dropped on this battlefield.

“Phew. I’ve finished my rambling, so I’ll go back to my seat. Ah. I won’t get demoted from senior back to junior on the first day, right?”

“No way. How can you do well from the start?”

“Anyway, I’ll go back to my seat. I need to review today’s investments and reflect on what I did wrong. I lost, but Jin-ho, you must earn today! No. At least protect it! Then I’ll buy you dinner tonight.”

“I will definitely make profits!”

Suddenly willpower started surging up.

I looked over today’s briefing materials first.

‘International oil prices falling, and accordingly US stock market also falling, interest rates rising, Chinese stock market falling, foreign investment decreasing.’

Since our country will soon have the 15% upper limit raised to 30%, there was foreigners pulling out all their funds to prepare for that time, and above all, money flowing to the bond market due to rising interest rates was huge.

Plus, with the shipbuilding industry taking a fatal blow, psychological factors worked greatly. That’s why today had no choice but to continue the overall bearish market.

It said that in the briefing materials.

‘The team leader said at times like this, we should rather profit from short selling.’

But how exactly do you do that?

I didn’t properly know how to short sell.

Short selling, aka going short, I know what buttons to press, but to short, I heard you need to buy certain stocks for risk management and reduce losses through hedging.

‘To do all that, I don’t know much.’

From risk management to shorting, hedging, etc.

To me who’s no different from a stock newbie, these were alien languages.

If I touched those wrong, I might lose all the money.

‘Let’s just do what I’m good at.’

That’s only trusting this flashing intuition.

I quickly finished reviewing and put down the materials.

Then I looked at the stocks again.

‘Huh?’

But the feeling that wouldn’t come no matter what earlier came tingling from the very first stock.

‘Earlier it wouldn’t come no matter what I did.’

Is it because I read the briefing materials?

It’s too coincidental to be coincidence.

Looking back, whenever I invested, I always read the briefing materials thoroughly.

And intuition always came only from things related to that.

When I get data on a specific field, intuition flashes there.

I learned something today.

‘This is why they say if you listen well to your mentor, you get rice cakes even while sleeping.’

This wasn’t what I said, but what Deputy Lee Hye-rin told me.

‘Then let me buy. Wait. She told me not to dump everything into one like before.’

Divide the baskets.

Diversify investments.

She said these are all necessary for risk management.

That way, even if one decreases, you can profit from another.

‘Diversify. I need to diversify. But how much?’

Appropriately. Wouldn’t 3 be enough?

————————————————————————————————————————

“Ah. Today’s market is just crazy.”

“Ha. Let’s go smoke.”

“Ssshh. Totally forced no-smoking. We can’t smoke while watching the market.”

“Then you go to the derivatives floor. They only smoke all day there.”

“Ugh. I’m too scared to go there. I’d rather quit smoking.”

As the market closed, curses burst out everywhere.

On bearish days like today, it can’t be helped.

Even buying a little put option for risk management couldn’t defend against losses because today’s market fluctuated too severely.

The problem was there’s a high possibility it will continue like this until the upper limit is lifted.

“Ugh..”

But market or not.

There was one person making groaning sounds while biting their nails because of a different problem.

‘Ah. I’m really crazy!’

When living corporate life, especially working at big companies, there’s a circulating ironclad rule.

Don’t touch the royal family.

Even if parachutes are annoying, never touch them.

Because they and regular office workers are different from the starting point and have different backgrounds.

The problem is if you have trouble with such a person and try to move to another securities firm, they won’t accept you either.

Even if it’s a competing company, they’re reluctant to accept employees who rebel against the head family, no matter how good their career.

And Deputy Yang Mi-ju touched exactly that royal family.

In crude terms, she’s screwed.

‘No. There’s still a chance for recovery.’

Deputy Yang calmed her mind down.

Today’s return rate.

-1%

Well, not bad.

In today’s bearish market, -1% was doing well.

Other traders got their trading blocked from big losses and it was chaos, but Deputy Yang couldn’t concentrate because she was worried about Jeong Jin-ho, resulting in the ironic situation of having even smaller losses.

“Ahem! Jin-ho~.”

Yang Mi-ju approached Jeong Jin-ho with a bright smile.

He flinched seeing such Yang Mi-ju.

“Earlier my words were too harsh, right? Sorry. With the market situation like this lately, and being desperate for performance, I got a bit excited, you know? You understand, right?”

“Ah. Yes.”

“I knew you’d understand. Jin-ho, from your first impression, you looked very kind and nice. So let’s do well together from now on.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Oh right. With today’s market situation, you must have taken big losses too, Jin-ho?”

I heard Deputy Lee Hye-rin even got trading suspended today.

Surely Jeong Jin-ho did too, right?

At times like this, you comfort them saying it’s okay and show a senior’s kindness.

“Don’t worry. I’ll earn a lot to cover the losses. And if there’s anything you don’t know, feel free to ask me. I’ve been in this market quite a while, so I know a lot.”

Saying that, Yang Mi-ju casually glanced at Jeong Jin-ho’s trading window.

“Hm?”

But something was strange.

Jeong Jin-ho’s trading window that should be full of minuses was glowing red.

“10%?! J-Jin-ho. This is your trading window, right?”

“Ah, yes. It went up a bit at the end, so fortunately I didn’t take losses today.”

Unable to believe it, Yang Mi-ju looked back and forth between Jeong Jin-ho and the monitor several times.

‘Not even shorting or buying put options. Purely buying only stocks for 10%?!’

What? They said royal family.

They said parachute!

But how 10%?

And in this crazy bearish market?

‘What the hell is this person?’

————————————————————————————————————————

“10%..”

Today, at least among prop traders on this floor, there won’t be anyone who can match Jeong Jin-ho’s return rate.

Just, because the amount was small, it didn’t get pumped up much.

“And he picked 3 out of the few stocks that were rising while everything was hitting lows?”

Today too, he was a guy who made me laugh in disbelief.

Usually on bearish days like this, you only buy stocks for risk management, and mostly short to make profits.

But this guy was going against such orthodox theory and investing alone in his own way.

“Team Leader. Were you okay today?”

“Why ask when you already know. Section Chief Kim knows everything.”

“Haha. I’m asking out of courtesy.”

While blankly looking at Jeong Jin-ho’s trading window.

Section Chief Kim, the risk manager, came over.

“They suspended a lot of trading today.”

“Yes. Even the friend who just got promoted to senior here got trading suspended. That friend, it’s their first day trading as senior, so it’ll be traumatic.”

“Can’t help it. It’ll continue like this for a while. They need to endure well. But what brings you here?”

“Ah. Not the friend who got trading suspended, the other friend.”

Meaning he came because of Jeong Jin-ho.

“That friend alone made huge profits. 10% in this bearish market without shorting. Is he strong-hearted, or does he not know stock basics?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yes. There’s a problem. Isn’t risk management the top priority at all securities firms? But this friend. Did no risk management at all and just bought stocks outright. And only exactly 3.”

Just 3.

Diversification exists for risk management, and you strategically divide money into at least 10 to 30 stocks.

Even focusing on so-called driven events like M&A, spin-offs, you handle at least 5 to 10 stocks.

But Jeong Jin-ho bet on only exactly 3.

And that bet was right.

“No matter how successful the bet, isn’t this purely good luck? Plus, maybe he has absolutely no basic investment knowledge? Seeing him buy stocks without any risk management like an individual investor who knows nothing.”

“Well. Was it really just luck? Plus, do you think you can become senior without basics?”

“What?”

“This friend’s style is a bit like this. He doesn’t diversify investments broadly, but puts money only on specific stocks. He’s not someone who doesn’t know investment at all. He clearly knows well what diversification is, what risk management is. Yet making this choice means?”

“He had confidence those stocks would rise.”

There’s no other way this action makes sense.

If anyone else did such a thing, they’d have been kicked out of the team immediately.

But securities firms don’t look at a person’s character.

They only look at return rates and evaluate with that.

“You came to warn that friend not to do it that way?”

“Ah, yes. It’s good for young people to be confident, but risk management is essential.”

“Just leave him alone for now.”

“What? But no matter how good the return rate.”

“If you don’t know why I’m saying this, ask your team leader. Then you’ll understand right away.”

Section Chief Kim left with a confused face after bowing.

Jeong Jin-ho.

He completely ignores risk management, the basics of securities firms, and doesn’t even diversify, pursuing only extreme profits.

The reason that’s possible is that he has his own firm analytical algorithm, and another is thanks to his backing.

Doesn’t he have the company’s CEO behind him?

He knows that even losing some money won’t cause any harm to him.

‘That’s it.’

Team Leader Park checked the capital allocation ratio distributed among his team’s traders.

Usually, the amount given to beginner seniors is 1 billion won.

But today, the only one who made profits was that rookie senior alone.

“..”

He pondered briefly and readjusted the ratio.

‘I should at least set this stage for him.’

From tomorrow, the capital going to Jeong Jin-ho was modified from 1 billion won to 5 billion won.