Access to information has always been one of the major challenges for retail investors looking to make an informed decision when it comes to investing. With the advancement of technology, the financial landscape, especially social media, has changed entirely.
Think Robinhood, the commission free stock trading and investment app; or Reddit, a social news aggregator and discussion forum platform.
Locally, we have seen various online forums, news aggregator apps, Telegram channels or YouTube channels related to finance command massive retail investors following. Yet how does one separate wheat from chaff?
Those who are active in the investment community may have heard of the FIRL guys. FIRL which is short for Finance in Real Life was launched in April 2020.
To date, FIRL has various channels across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram and Tik Tok, among others. Of all the social media platforms, Gan Ming Jie or MJ, as he is better known, said they have the most viewers on YouTube.
Their content is split over 2 channels. The main channel discusses company analysis and current issues affecting the stock market, while the second channel focuses on in-depth interviews of personalities in Malaysia's business and investment fraternity ranging from fund managers, CEOs, business owners, closet investors and book authors.
So how did MJ, 27, meet John Huo, 42, the co-founder of FIRL?
The duo were colleagues at a local equities data provider and training company.
MJ was an analyst and junior trainer in the company. He was also tasked with spearheading the digital marketing team whereby his efforts allowed him to speed up his learning process when it comes to the world of online content creation.
Not bad for someone who dropped out of university back in 2014. MJ said he felt lost at the time but a year later, he forayed into stock investing. In spite of not having a degree, MJ achieved a six-figure net worth by age 25.
As for Huo or John as he is better known --- after graduating with a Masters in Electrical Engineering, he pursued a career with Royal Dutch Shell, building offshore oil and gas facilities before venturing into the insurance planning industry. Thereafter he joined the same company where MJ was, first as a trainer then helping them list on Bursa Malaysia and eventually being their Chief Operating Officer.
During his time with the organisation, John also managed to train more than 5,000 students. One day, he found himself telling MJ that he had to repeat the same lesson over and over. It was at this juncture that the duo started to toy around with the idea of venturing out.
"We wanted to do something which we only need to do it once, and we can multiply the effect by reaching out to many people. Interestingly, we live in a time where social media allows us to do that" MJ said.
"Our goal is to encourage more people to empower themselves with financial knowledge. We found that many investors focus on the "hope index" and not the "risk index". Someone with financial knowledge will be able to make better informed decisions," MJ added.
"It doesn't matter how many likes our videos get, nor are we too bothered about the traffic. The important thing is that the viewers get our message, which is to empower themselves with investment knowledge. Hence, the quality of our content mattered more than anything else," said John.
John also urged investors to take responsibility for their own decisions.
"There are many so called "financial gurus" out there. And the investor shouldn't blindly adopt everything they say nor adopt the victim mentality should they lose money. An investor needs to
be discerning, adopt an investing framework and do their own fact check before putting their money into any investment," he added.
John, who is from East Malaysia, came from humble beginnings where his parents were both teachers. Despite that, through prudent investment and financial knowledge, he has accumulated a seven figure portfolio to date.
On what changes they would like to see in the investment landscape, John said he would like to see better company disclosures.
"Investor relations should also be improved. Let me give you an example. If you are an investor of a coffee shop that were to lose money every year, wouldn't you want to know what happened?
When the company goes public, the company or their representatives handling the company's investor relations need to improve the way they bridge the communication gap between shareholders and their clients," he said.
"When we read an annual report, there are still a lot of questions left unanswered such as why the revenue was driven by lackluster sales.
"We hope to level-up the knowledge of the retail investor as well as corporate governance and disclosure of companies within the Malaysian Capital markets," John said.