"Am I the Only One Missing Out?"... What Is the Account Saying "If You Want to Make Money, Create It Now"? [AK Radio]

Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude: The Three Keys to Investment Success
"To Build Wealth, Start by Developing the Habit of Saving"

"A common trait of people who earn a lot of money is that whether they were poor or rich, they always spent less than they earned."

Lee Sang-geon, head of the Mirae Asset Investment and Pension Center, cited a quote from Andrew Carnegie, the American steel magnate, while discussing the characteristics of people who make money. Carnegie, the founder of US Steel, which is currently being acquired by Nippon Steel, pointed out in his autobiography that a common trait among the wealthy is the "habit of spending less than their income."

Before talking about the ability to make money, Lee emphasized the importance of timing and trends. "The most powerful variable determining the size of a person's wealth is nationality," he explained, "Even someone with the ability of Warren Buffett would have difficulty achieving the same level of wealth if born in Africa."

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He analyzed the case of Korea, stating that there are periods when wealth is explosively created. After the Japanese colonial period, the complete collapse of Joseon's feudal system and the destruction of existing wealth due to the Korean War created opportunities for new wealth generation. The emergence of founders of Korea's representative companies such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG around the same time is explained in this context. Recently, the advent of the internet and mobile era has opened new opportunities for wealth creation. The fact that founders of IT companies like Naver, Daum Communications, and Nexon all belong to the class of 1986 is not a coincidence, he explained.

He also analyzed that the real estate market has periods of explosive price increases. He cited the 1980s real estate price rise leading to the "Bokbuin" phenomenon, the early 2000s upswing, and the price increases in the 2020s as examples. "If you do not hold assets during these explosive rise periods, you inevitably experience relative poverty," he said.

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Lee identified three key elements for investment success: knowledge, skills, and attitude. He explained that people who succeed in investing constantly study and maintain interest. "People who are not interested in money find it difficult to succeed in financial management," he emphasized, "Investment is a field that requires interest and effort." He also warned about the risks of excessive leverage (borrowing). "Historically, almost all financial crises originated from leverage problems," he pointed out, "Cases of success through excessive leverage are close to luck rather than skill."

Another characteristic of successful investors is having a long time horizon. Most investment experts Lee met had an investment horizon of 3 to 5 years. "Most people do not even have this length of time horizon," he said, advising, "People lacking patience should wisely choose simple methods like installment investments."

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For those planning to start investing in 2025, he recommended first utilizing tax-advantaged accounts. He advised maximizing the use of government tax-benefit products such as pension savings accounts, individual retirement pensions (IRP), and individual savings accounts (ISA). Especially in Korean society, where aging is progressing rapidly, the importance of these long-term investment tools is expected to grow even more.

"Our country is experiencing the fastest aging rate in the world while simultaneously recording the lowest birth rate. The baby boomer generation born between 1955 and 1974 accounts for over one-third of South Korea's population, reaching 16 million people, and they will be classified as elderly aged 75 or older over the next 20 years. To prepare for these demographic changes, systematic asset management from a young age is necessary."

Finally, he emphasized that the most important thing in investing is knowing oneself. "Since Socrates, the ontological question 'Know thyself' has never disappeared from philosophy," he said, "Many people think they know themselves, but in reality, they do not." Ultimately, successful investing begins with accurately understanding one's tendencies and limitations and choosing an investment strategy that fits them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.