Gold Investor

Chapter 1 The Wedge: Wealth Has No Myths

For those who expect to rely on wisdom to succeed in a cruel world

Shanghai in early spring is shrouded in smog.The sky and the earth are gray, soaking the world in it.

The smog is like a wall, separating everyone from the distant world, making you wonder what’s happening on the other side; it’s also like knocking over a bottle of ink, and the ink spills on the human body, leaving the bare skin with a kind of ambiguity. Sticky feeling, I always feel that there is something in the lungs, but I can't breathe it out, and I feel uncomfortable all over.

In a hotel adjacent to the Bund, a new book launch event is about to be held.The hotel's high-power air-conditioning makes the room warm.The closed environment is isolated from the invasion of smog.The participants all sat facing one direction, where there was a chair with a backrest, a small round table, and microphones with logos of various media were placed on the table.

The protagonist is finally seated.Wearing a well-pressed black suit, no tie, the top button of the gray shirt is unbuttoned, and the neckline is slightly open—he is Fang Yubin, deputy investment director of Rhodium Capital Shanghai Company, and author of the new book "Wealth Has No Myths". "author.

Fang Yubin is about 1.7 meters five, and his pair of thick eyebrows are particularly eye-catching.Under the thick eyebrows, there is a pair of piercing big eyes, the bridge of the nose is high, and the lips are slightly thick.Perhaps it was the first time he faced so many audiences and reporters, he seemed a little nervous, rubbing his hands together.

The host introduced: "Mr. Fang Yubin is a veteran in the investment industry, and the Rongding Capital he works for is one of the most prestigious investment companies in China. Mr. Fang wrote this book "Wealth Has No Myth" in his spare time. In an era full of various wealth myths, Mr. Fang's book tries to tell readers that wealth is obtained by wisdom and hard work, and even has rules to follow. The wealth stories written with talent and sweat are regarded as unconstrained myths It’s a misunderstanding instead.”

The host continued: "Although this book is Mr. Fang's debut work, many experts have commented that the book is rigorous and solid, and it is a rare masterpiece. Ordinary readers think that this is a work that is profound and simple. Unlike general economics works, it will give people the impression of being difficult to understand."

As soon as the host finished speaking, some audience members raised their hands to ask questions.After taking the microphone, a lady said: "Mr. Fang, there is a chapter in your new book called 'Investment Heroes', which takes stock of many influential figures in the investment world. Among so many figures, which one impresses you the most? One?"

"Soros." Fang Yubin replied without thinking.

"Why?" asked the questioner.

Talking about topics he was familiar with, Fang Yubin’s tension eased a lot. He said calmly: “The outside world has mixed opinions on Soros’s behavior style. But there is one point, I don’t think anyone will deny it. Soros used His own practice has subverted the Western economics that has been traditional for more than 200 years and is popular all over the world."

Fang Yubin talked eloquently: "In the 18th century, the genius British economist Adam Smith wrote the magnificent book "The Wealth of Nations". This book was hailed as the foundational work of Western economics by later generations. In "The Wealth of Nations" , Adam Smith once put forward the hypothesis of economic man, which means that individuals in economic activities should have two characteristics: selfishness and rationality. This view has always been regarded as the standard by the world.”

"However," Fang Yubin changed the subject, "Solos, who did not major in finance but studied in the Department of Philosophy, questioned it. Soros believed that people must be selfish, but not rational. From this he came to a conclusion, The basic assumptions of Western economics are unreliable. Next, he put his theory into practice."

Seeing that the audience was attracted by his words, Fang Yubin became more confident: "Other investors will only bury their heads in analyzing economic models, but Soros will also figure out human nature. This was fully demonstrated in the 1992 battle against the pound exchange rate. "

Fang Yubin went on to say: "At that time, Soros confronted the Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom, by himself. While his subordinates were busy analyzing the economic data of the United Kingdom, Soros was paying attention to the televised speech of British Prime Minister John Major. Soros found that, Major blinked and folded his arms around his chest every time he talked about the pound in public."

"The person who blinks is not confident. The person who puts his arms around his chest is subconsciously protecting himself." Fang Yubin continued, "Soros made up his mind to continue the big gamble. He threw out 40 billion pounds in one day Sell ​​the order, and bet your life on it. In the end, Soros’ Quantum Fund made a net profit of nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars, and the UK lost 77 billion U.S. dollars.”

Another questioner stood up: "Mr. Fang, you said in the book that capital is the decisive force in the economic field. However, around us, there are also many entrepreneurs who did not own capital at the beginning and became successful from scratch. , what do you think?"

Fang Yubin replied: "We all have full respect for self-made entrepreneurs. But please don't ignore another fact, truly successful entrepreneurs are often combined with capital power at the initial stage. It is capital, plug them in the wings of success."

Fang Yubin asked: "As we all know, Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba are the three most successful Internet companies in China. Everyone is familiar with the entrepreneurial stories of Ma Huateng, Robin Li, and Jack Ma. But do you know who is the major shareholder of these three companies? "

Seeing everyone's eyes wide open, Fang Yubin smiled and said: "Tencent CEO Ma Huateng has been among the top few on the Hurun IT Rich List many times, but he is not the largest shareholder of Tencent. Since its listing, Tencent's largest shareholder has always been It is MIH, an investment group from South Africa. MIH holds a 33.93% stake in Tencent. Ma Huateng holds 10.22%, less than one-third of MIH. Baidu founder Robin Li is not the company's largest shareholder either. After three rounds of financing, DFJ, an investment fund from the United States, is the main investor. DFJ’s shareholding ratio has reached 25.8%, and Robin Li’s and his wife’s shareholding ratio is 20.78% in total.”

"There is also Ma Yun, the godfather of e-commerce today," Fang Yubin continued. "His stake in Alibaba is about 7%, and even the company's management's shareholding does not exceed 15%. The Japanese investment group SoftBank , but holds a 30% stake in Alibaba.”

"It turns out that the major shareholders of the three major Internet companies in China are all foreign investment groups!" "The foreign investors are the big bosses!" The audience couldn't help whispering.

Another questioner took the microphone: "You mentioned in the book that you are a history buff. It is much more interesting to read history from the perspective of investment and economics. Can you explain further?"

Fang Yubin unscrewed the mineral water bottle on the table and took a sip: "Because of space limitations, many cases were not presented in the book. Taking advantage of today's opportunity, I can share it with you. For example, the Second World War, why did it come to a later stage? The German army was defeated, and the British and American armies were in dire straits? In addition to military strength, it is also directly related to the financial policies of both sides. Hitler, who was cash-strapped, came up with a bad idea during the war, issuing "army emergency currency" and sending it to soldiers as military pay German officers and soldiers called this currency military tickets, but military tickets cannot be remitted back to the country, and can only be exchanged for local currency in the occupying country according to the exchange rate. This kind of military ticket becomes waste paper when it is returned to the country, and it is difficult to exchange it for real goods. It's hard to ship it home."

Fang Yubin went on to say: "although allied soldiers also use local currency as military pay, soldiers can use local currency to exchange dollars at the official exchange rate. Therefore, they often exchange local currency at the black market price, exchange dollars at the official exchange rate, and then go to the black market to exchange for dollars." Local currency. After a few cycles, you will get rich! The two armies are facing each other, and the German army is counting waste paper all day long, while the Allied forces are taking advantage of the strong position of the US dollar to make a big difference. The difference in morale of the army can be imagined.”

A questioner wearing glasses stood up: "Is investing too far away from ordinary people? We can't fight a currency war with the Bank of England like Soros did."

Fang Yubin smiled and said: "Investment is not only not far away from everyone's life, but also closely related. When we buy stocks, houses, and even the education of our children, it is actually an investment, and we use investment thinking to make decisions For example, when filling out the application for the college entrance examination, the family had to sit together and analyze the employment situation of a certain major in the next few years.”

"China used to have multiple concubines, and the ancients would use investment thinking when marrying wives and concubines." Fang Yubin added, "Isn't there a saying, 'Marrying a wife and virtue, taking concubines and sex'? It means that the wife To find a virtuous one, a concubine has to find a beautiful one. Different investment strategies are adopted for different targets, isn’t that what investment companies do today?”

There was a burst of laughter from the audience.After the laughter, a young man who looked like a college student raised his hand to ask: "Mr. Fang, you have written about many successful investors in your book, from Morgan and Rockefeller to Soros and Masayoshi Son, but you have not seen a single Chinese. In the field of investment, are the Chinese so worthless?"

The venue suddenly fell silent.After a few seconds, Fang Yubin opened his mouth and said: "Investment companies in the modern sense appeared after World War II. Today, the large and influential investment companies in the world are almost all Western companies. These investment companies are not only strong, but also formed Distinctive competition model. For example: Blackstone Fund prefers growth companies and usually does not conduct hostile acquisitions; Carlyle Group is good at using the influence of politicians to conquer cities; , known as the 'Vulture of Wall Street'; Texas Pacific is used to selling at the bottom of the industry..."

Fang Yubin went on to say: "The strength of Chinese investment companies is naturally not comparable to these international giants. But the investment wisdom hidden in oriental culture has always been talked about by people. For example, there was a businessman named Lu Buwei in the Warring States Period of China. , His investment vision and courage will be admired by future generations. The company Lu Buwei invested in is called Yiren. Although it is not listed, it has become the king of Qin. This kind of return on investment is almost infinite."

"There is also a businessman named Hu Xueyan." Fang Yubin continued, "When he was a bank employee, he met Wang Youling who was impoverished in a teahouse one day. Hu Xueyan found that Wang Youling's conversational temperament did not match his clothes. According to the current investment point of view, Hu Xueyan has discovered a high-growth company with great potential."

Fang Yubin said: "As a clerk, Hu Xueyan actually took out 500 taels of silver from the bank to help Wang Youling go to the officialdom to find a part-time job. Several years later, the two met again. At this time, Hu Xueyan's career still did not improve, but Wang Youling has already become the magistrate of Hangzhou. The investment back then began to produce returns, and Hu Xueyan immediately discovered the first pot of gold in his life."

"But why didn't Lu Buwei and Hu Xueyan end well in the end?" The questioner just now seemed to break the casserole and ask the end.

After pondering for a moment, Fang Yubin replied: "In addition to testing the vision and courage of investors, the modern Western investment model has also formed a set of effective exit mechanisms. After the company is successfully listed, investors can cash out. And this, It is beyond the imagination of Lu Buwei and Hu Xueyan."

Fang Yubin also said: "Lv Buwei and Hu Xueyan invest in a scarce resource called power. Although the income is close to infinite, the nature of power is doomed that once you tie this chariot, you will no longer have to cash out Opportunity. Lu Buwei couldn't quit, so he had to end his life with a glass of poisoned wine. Hu Xueyan couldn't quit either, as Zuo Zongtang lost power in the political battle, his business empire was wiped out."

Another questioner stood up: "Mr. Fang, we know that you are the deputy investment director of the Shanghai company of Rongding Capital, so I would like to ask a specific question. The Jinsheng Group invested by Rongding has performed well after listing, and the stock price has increased by several times. Times. What do you think about the prospects of this company? When will Rongding choose to quit?"

There was laughter again from the audience, and the questioner explained with a little embarrassment: "I'm sorry, I know this is a new book launch. But I bought the stock of Jinsheng, and I really care about the company's situation."

"It's me who should say I'm sorry. Because of this question, I really can't answer it." Fang Yubin said with a smile, "Rhodium Capital is one of the most powerful investment companies in China. Its headquarters is located in Beijing and it owns many branches. I am just the deputy investment director of Rongding Capital Shanghai Company. The cooperation plan between Rongding and Jinsheng Group, when they will choose to withdraw, etc. need to be decided by the senior leaders of the company, and I really have nothing to say."

Some questioners raised their hands enthusiastically, but the host stood up and said, "Because of time constraints, the press conference is over."

Fang Yubin left his seat and habitually took out his mobile phone from his purse.At a glance, there were several missed calls.The phone was on vibrate just now, so I didn't hear it.

The caller was Yuan Ruilang, assistant to the president of Rongding Capital and general manager of the Shanghai company.Fang Yubin called back immediately when his superior called.After the phone call, Yuan Ruilang looked very angry: "What's the matter with Jinsheng Group's stock, and today it has another daily limit?"

(End of this chapter)