Chapter 66: The Fame of Wall Street
Chapter 66: The Fame of Wall Street
A budget of $12 billion to invest in US stocks.
‘I doubt all the stocks I bought will fail.’
With the New York stock market having fallen so much, I selected companies that were outstanding in various ways.
Companies showing steady growth, companies turning a profit, companies with substantial assets, and companies with technical expertise in their fields.
‘Is it time to scoop them up?’
When the market drops significantly, it creates an opportunity to buy good companies on the cheap.
Though it requires the courage to catch a falling knife.
“Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem like a bad attempt.”
“What do you mean?”
Today, Ellie made toast for breakfast.
We had a simple meal of fruit and scrambled eggs.
“If you buy stocks at this point, I’m sure they’ll go up eventually.”
“You think so?”
“The drop has been excessive. And the stocks you bought… IT companies are somewhat removed from the effects of COVID-19, after all.”
Stocks that had become undervalued as the New York stock market plummeted.
I had swept them up nicely by injecting a massive sum of $12 billion.
“The manager will put together the portfolio by tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Regarding the call options, JP Morgan acted as the broker, and various financial institutions on Wall Street structured the products.
If the stock prices rise, the sellers of the call options will incur a considerable loss.
Conversely, if they fall, the options will become worthless.
“It’s an extremely risky investment, focused solely on profitability.”
“I know.”
If the investment fails, I’ll probably be remembered as a fool with new money.
As for a way to relieve the tension…
My gaze fell on Ellie, who was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.
She was operating her computer, her slender and captivating figure on full display.
Watching her made me realize just how beautiful a woman’s legs could be.
“W-What is it?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it? I understand how you must be feeling. Tell me anything.”
“Can I use the computer for just two hours?”
Ellie’s computer. After taking over her desktop, I sent a text to Oh Myeong-woo.
- Kim Shin: Can you get on?
- Oh Myeong-woo: Roger! Be there in two.
I was able to blow off some steam by playing a ranked match.
* * *
“My name is Choi Jae-bok, General Manager at JP Morgan.”
“I’m Kim Shin. I see you’re Korean.”
“My whole family immigrated here when I was in high school.”
The next day, I received a call not from Ellie’s manager or director, but from a General Manager, a vice president-level executive.
“We have finished structuring the products you requested.”
“Then I’ll visit this afternoon to sign the contract.”
Since we couldn’t meet at Ellie’s place, I went directly to JP Morgan.
A conference room on the 26th floor.
The General Manager and eight other employees were waiting to greet me.
“Welcome. Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“It was fine.”
The conference room was furnished with high-end refreshments, coffee, and more.
“Thank you for coming in person.”
“I wanted to see JP Morgan for myself. I didn’t expect the General Manager to greet me personally, though.”
“Haha. The honor is all ours.”
The world’s top investment bank was treating me like a VIP.
Back when I worked at Arcor, I used to see the VIP and Premier lounges at commercial bank branches and wonder what kind of people used them.
I was told they were for people who had deposits of several hundred million won or met certain credit card spending conditions for affiliate companies.
Becoming a Premier member got you preferential exchange rates, a personal safe-deposit box, and a slightly higher interest rate.
There was a time when I was incredibly envious of just that, but now I was getting VIP treatment on Wall Street.
Of course, even for global financial institutions, a $500 million options trade was nothing to sneeze at.
“First, here is the list of products you requested. The volume was too much for JP Morgan to handle alone, so it has been distributed among financial institutions in New York, Chicago, and London.”
He listed the names of major financial institutions I had heard of, like Goldman Sachs, Lazard, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays.
If the stock prices didn’t rise, the institutions would pocket the entire premium, but if things went the other way, they would face massive losses.
After running various calculations on risk and return, each company had created a set amount of options.
Lawyers from New York reviewed the product list and contracts with me.
“The composition of the products appears to be accurate.”
“Yes. If you have no objections, please sign here.”
I took the pen the General Manager offered me.
From its touch to the way it wrote, it felt incredibly luxurious.
I suppose this is why some people are so enthusiastic about writing instruments.
“This is an excellent pen.”
“It’s yours if you’d like.”
This scene, meeting with financial institutions in a conference room to sign a contract, felt familiar, like I’d seen it somewhere before.
*The Big Short.*
It was a movie about investors who foresaw the financial crisis and cleaned out the major financial institutions.
‘If this investment succeeds, will they make a movie about me too?’
The story seemed a bit too thin to be made into a movie, though.
In any case, this pen would make a nice souvenir when that time comes.
Whether all I’d have left from a $500 million investment would be a single pen, or billions of dollars more.
“Then I’ll gladly accept it.”
“I’ve heard a lot about your previous options investment. And also that you’re running a business in Silicon Valley.”
“Is that so?”
“Mr. Kim, you’re a celebrity on Wall Street. Please feel free to visit anytime, and we hope you’ll make great use of JP Morgan in the future. We can create any product you desire, whenever you want.”
General Manager Choi Jae-bok.
He took my hand and bowed respectfully.
A greeting that respected Asian culture.
Honestly, when I was in sales at Arcor, I never bowed that low even for doctors.
I never thought I’d receive such a greeting in New York.
“Let’s meet again soon.”
Choi Jae-bok and his subordinates escorted me all the way down to the first floor of the building.
Having been a salesman, I wasn’t foolish enough to think this was pure goodwill.
Sales is all about showing favor; it’s an efficient method for the time and effort invested.
‘Being escorted to the lobby by a vice president is quite an honor, though.’
Even if I lose $500 million, the fact that I’m super-rich won’t change.
I’d still receive good treatment the next time I came to JP Morgan, but whether they’d be seething internally or see me as a sucker…
I thought it would be fun to watch and find out.
* * *
“One hamburger, please.”
On a street in Manhattan.
I bought a hamburger and a steak box from a food truck to fill my stomach.
‘I always wanted to do this after seeing it in the movies.’
A sort of romantic notion, I guess.
I had eaten here before on a trip to New York, but it tasted best now, dressed in a suit.
I felt like a New Yorker.
If I wanted, I could buy a house here and become a New Yorker anytime.
‘It feels like I don’t have this need to settle down and live in one place.’
Isn’t New York the city that best fits the description of a melting pot of races?
That’s why it has the charm of coexisting diverse cultures and passions.
A nomadic life.
Out of boredom, I checked the Arcor group chat.
- Na Sang-guk: Amateurs make money when stocks go up. True masters don’t lose money in a downturn. And the gods of the craft make a fortune.
- Go Bo-kyung: Awesome! Assistant Manager Na, you’re the best!
- Lee Min-young: I respect you so much…
- Park Hwa-young: At this rate, I think I can buy a house!
‘What’s going on?’
I scrolled up through the chat and saw that Na Sang-guk had told everyone to invest in put options.
That must have been around the time my own put option investment was featured on YouTube.
- Na Sang-guk: You know what this situation is?
- Park Hwa-young: What! What is it!
- Na Sang-guk: Even if the sky is falling, there’s a way to make money.
- Na Sang-guk: We’re the people who buy puts for a better tomorrow.
- Park Hwa-young: This is so! So! Exciting. So this is why people invest in stocks.
- Na Sang-guk: It’s not just an investment. It’s a high-risk derivative product.
It was nice to see the people from Arcor having fun.
Seeing that Na Sang-guk had made 400 million won stirred a strange feeling in me.
‘So you can be happy with 400 million won.’
Just two and a half years ago, I was happy yet anxious as my Bitcoin fortune grew by 2 or 3 billion won a day.
It’s amazing how a person’s life can change so much.
As I sat on a bench, smiling, my bodyguard, Jason, spoke.
“Boss. You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. You have a similar expression to when you were relaxing at the hot springs in Mexico.”
“That place was truly amazing.”
It’s not advisable to meddle in others’ investments. Still, they were my Arcor family.
I didn’t know if we’d ever meet again, but they were people I once thought I’d see at work for the rest of my life.
After some thought, I tossed a casual greeting into the group chat.
- Kim Shin: Hello, everyone.
- Park Hwa-young: ?????
- Go Bo-kyung: Whoa! Senior! It’s been so long!
- Lee Min-young: Assistant Manager Kim! I’ve missed you so much. I watch your YouTube videos all the time. Not many people probably call you Assistant Manager Kim anymore, but it’s such a fond title for me.
- Choi Young-in: Hello, Senior!!! I’m a new employee who joined this year!!!
- Jeong Chan-soo: The legend himself has appeared! I’m an employee doing sales in Daegu. I joined the year you left, Senior.
- Kim Yi-seul: It’s been forever!
After my simple greeting, it seemed like everyone was welcoming me enthusiastically within five or six seconds.
More than a dozen people.
There were quite a few names I didn’t recognize.
- Kim Shin: It’s nice to see you all.
After a brief acknowledgment of the greetings from various employees.
- Kim Shin: I’m no investment guru. There’s no guarantee that I’ll always succeed in my investments.
- Park Hwa-young: What are you talking about! You’re already Asia’s top investor!!!
- Kim Shin: Anyway, the market has fallen excessively until now, and personally, I’m cautiously predicting that stock prices will rise soon.
- Go Bo-kyung: A rise in stock prices?
- Lee Min-young: Stocks are going up? Everyone’s saying they’ll fall because of COVID-19.
- Kim Shin: In my opinion, it seems they might. I’ve bought stocks and also purchased call options. But I could be wrong, so just take this as a light reference and invest carefully.
- Kim Shin: You never know how or when the stock market will change.
The reason I posted in the group chat was to offer advice, at least to the extent of my knowledge.
To be honest, I felt a little regretful after leaving the comment.
It could be seen as unnecessary meddling or interference.
‘Well… considering my $500 million could become zero.’
They’ll all invest wisely on their own, I’m sure.
* * *
A rumor began to spread on Wall Street.
- Kim Shin has invested a huge sum in call options.
- $500 million. A bet too large to ignore.
- JP Morgan has started buying up stocks.
Many financiers knew the name Kim Shin.
The legend of his success had spread widely among young financiers, and hedge funds were particularly interested.
And they talked about what kind of investments he was making.
“Does he think the recent decline was excessive?”
“I mean, New York alone has a huge impact on the US economy.”
“Kim Shin is in New York, too. I heard he visited JP Morgan in person.”
“Oh. I’d love to meet this Kim Shin and have a chat.”
At a New York hotel bar.
Hedge fund managers in expensive suits spoke quietly among themselves.
“With unemployment rising in the service sector, it’ll be hard for the US to avoid a recession.”
“That’s why the stock market fell. But if it starts to rebound, the impact will be tremendous.”
“JP Morgan and a few other firms have started buying stocks.”
“The effect of the call options?”
“Probably. They’re likely buying stocks to hedge against potential losses if the call options are exercised.”
Michael Burry.
The manager of a multi-billion dollar hedge fund saw COVID-19 as an opportunity.
When you manage a fund, every event that happens affects stock prices.
‘Kim Shin…’
Wall Street, recently thrown into turmoil, was in the midst of a tense waiting game.
Watching the US government, watching the Federal Reserve.
The opportunity to make big money comes to those who can predict which way the market will move and get there one step ahead.
“There’s a party buying up a large stake in Tesla, over 5%.”
“Really?”
“The source of the funds seems to be Kim Shin.”
“He’s investing on quite a large scale.”
Kim Shin’s name spread rapidly among the hedge funds.