Nowadays, it`s hard to find someone among the younger generation who doesn’t engage in trading stocks. What led the younger generation to be interested in stocks? ST spoke with a member of the younger generation who recently started trading stocks...................................Ed
Have you ever heard of the term, Jurinee Jurinee combines the words ‘stocks’ and ‘children’, and refers to people who are new at investing in stocks. To the extent that these word combinations have been emerging, more and more people are starting to invest in stocks these days. In particular, many of the newly introduced stocks are said to be bought by the MZ generation, the Millennial generation born in the early 1980s and early 2000s, and the Z generation born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s. Previously, stocks were mostly liquid assets held by office workers who had accumulated a certain amount of money, but why did the younger generation become so interested in them? ST conducted a research on why the younger generation became interested in investments, as well as the characteristics of investment behavior of the older generation and other MZs, and even interviewed some of them in person.
Through the so-called 386 generation, who removed the dark shadows of the industrialization era in the 1980s and led to democratization, their adult children ushered in social change. These are the MZ generation. On the other hand, the MZ generation is considered as the first generation to be expected to be poorer than their parents. Many of them were frustrated with the world which they think is full of unfairness. This is because of the decrease in the number of high-quality jobs for the youth. Even if they land a difficult job, they cannot even dream about getting a house in an environment where asset growth is elusive, just like during their parents’ time. Furthermore, the Bank of Korea recently lowered its key interest rate to 0.5 percent, the beginning of a ‘zero interest rate era’ in Korean society. The majority of the MZ generation, not the so-called “connections” or those born with a “golden spoon,” has begun to trailblaze a new path. That’s why stock investment has started drawing attention.
It is true that stock investment has become a craze not only involving college students, but also those who have just entered society. Investors in their 20s and 30s accounted for more than 50 percent of the “Donghak Ant Movement.” It is also noteworthy that about two-thirds of new accounts at major domestic securities firms are owned by people in their 20s and 30s.
This MZ generation’s stock investment, coupled with the MZ generation’s biggest feature, ‘Digital Native’, has transformed the stock market into an easily accessible feature in daily life, and not as a grandiose concept. To obtain investment information, they use new media channels, such as YouTube, aside from Internet sites and mobile apps. If you look at the stock market channel, you have to wait for a long time until the content you want comes out, but YouTube says that it is also saving you time by allowing you to choose the video that you want. Moreover, the effects of COVID-19 have fueled the preference for non-face-to-face financial instruments. Investors mainly use mobile applications and FinTech apps from each bank to analyze and invest in consumption stocks.
For Soongsilians who are interested in investing in stocks but have not yet put them into practice, and those who have already started investing in stocks, ST has interviewed Cha Hea-ry (The Department of Bioscience & Informatics, 18, Myongji University), RyuHeesun(international student in England), and Kim Jong-yeong (Department of Chemical Engineering, 16, Konkuk University).
Interview
Students Who Have Not Started Investing in Stocks, But Are Interested in Stocks
ST : When did you become interested in stocks?
Cha : Recently, vaccine stocks for COVID-19 have been on the real-time charts many times, and my close friends have been
talking about stocks one by one. That’s how I became interested in them.
ST : Have you ever studied stocks before?
Cha : I only searched for them, but I didn’t look into them in detail through books or YouTube. I have the personality to look up to the end of the earth as soon as I see something in a book and on YouTube.
ST : Why haven’t you started yet? When do you think you’re going to start investing?
Cha : I think if I start investing in stocks, I’ll be only holding onto the graph of price fluctuations and losses. However, I don’t want to stay there because I have something else to do right now. If I have more time, I’ll do it one by one. I can’t say exactly when, but if I had to pick one, it would be after graduation.
Students Investing in Stock
ST : When did you start investing in stocks?
Ryu : When Covid-19 exploded, I was thinking about when to do it. At the time, I received a lump sum of money and started investing.
Kim: My family and friends talked about stocks. After I heard their stories, I became interested in stocks. Then, my friend, who was playing games with me, told me about stocks and asked me to try them. I just had extra money at that time so I decided to start it.
ST : What do you want to get from your stocks?
Ryu: That’s too obvious. I want to earn extra income other than from my work. In particular, the entry barriers are too high for real estate and savings, as interest rates and prices are completely different from my parents’ generation. On the other hand, the younger generation seems to prefer relatively easy-to-manage stocks.
Kim : I just want to know the overall trend of the market. Moreover, I enjoy putting money in stocks, and watching the stock prices going up and down, rather than expecting to earn money from them.
ST : What has changed since the beginning of the stock market?
Ryu : At first, I was economically ignorant, but after studying stocks, my interest in the economy has increased significantly. I started to look for terms, phenomena, and values of companies, and I feel that my understanding of how a capitalist society works is definitely higher than before.
Kim : Even if I start selling stocks, the money doesn’t go directly into my bank account, so I have little money left in my bank account. But I have managed my bank account, and calculated the distribution of stocks and bank accounts. I’ve never thought about managing my own money before, but, now, I think I can manage my own money well.
In conclusion, the MZ generation has come to approach stock investment through high-rise housing prices, low interest rates, and
opportunities stemming from Covid-19. Seeing this phenomenon, one side is concerned about the ‘get-rich-quick fever’ on earning large
amounts of money from stock investments. However, experiencing self-reliant financial activities through various channels is a sign of a
very positive change.
Jeon Seo-yeon (ST Reporter)
seo1256@soongsil.ac.kr
Lee Ga-eun (Planning Editor)
nameun33@soongsil.ac.kr
