DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

Retired teacher loses half his pension fund chasing stock market gains

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • A retired Japanese teacher lost half of his retirement savings after investing in stocks and cryptocurrency, initially encouraged by a bank.
  • He began by investing in a mutual fund recommended by a bank, which grew, leading him to watch YouTube investment videos and shift to riskier assets like US stocks and AI concepts.
  • Despite warnings from a friend and mounting losses, he continued to invest, believing dips were buying opportunities, ultimately losing approximately 12 million yen.

A 63-year-old retired teacher in Japan lost half of his 24 million yen retirement fund after a foray into stock market investments turned into speculation. The man, identified by the pseudonym Takahashi, initially deposited 10 million yen into a time deposit and was unsure how to use the rest of his savings.

The bank-recommended product should be safe, right?

— Takahashi (pseudonym)Takahashi's initial thought process when introduced to the mutual fund.

A bank representative introduced him to a mutual fund investing in global stocks and bonds. Although warned it was not a principal-protected product, Takahashi trusted the bank's recommendation. His initial investment of 8 million yen in the fund grew to 8.9 million yen within months, fueling his confidence.

This early success led Takahashi to spend his mornings watching investment videos on YouTube instead of reading the newspaper. He found the bank's recommended fund less appealing compared to the strategies he learned online. His friend, Nakata, cautioned him that his gains were due to favorable market conditions, not his skill.

People who don't even understand the basics of investing should not touch it.

— NakataTakahashi's friend's warning about investing.

Takahashi began withdrawing funds from the bank and moved to an online broker, investing in U.S. stocks, including AI-related companies and leveraged ETFs. While he initially saw small profits, market shifts led to significant paper losses. He held onto losing positions, believing that selling would solidify the loss. Influenced by a YouTube video promoting buying during market downturns, he withdrew more retirement funds to lower his average cost.

Your assets increased not because you are skilled, but simply because the market was good.

— NakataNakata's attempt to temper Takahashi's growing confidence.

Ultimately, his losses exceeded 8 million yen, reducing his total savings by half. Takahashi and his wife are now re-planning their retirement. The article emphasizes that the line between investing and speculation is crossed when the desire for more profit or recouping losses overrides rational judgment.

If I sell now, it will truly become a loss.

— Takahashi (pseudonym)Takahashi's reasoning for not selling his losing stock positions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog