Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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104. Sell as much as you possibly can! Hurry up!

Caught off guard by the unexpected directive, Andrew couldn’t hide his bewilderment as he questioned it.

[You’re telling me to liquidate our positions?]

Unlike the startled Andrew, Seok-won answered in a measured tone.

“That’s right.”
[But the market has only just begun its collapse. If we wait, prices will fall even further. Isn’t selling this aggressively premature?]

Though he voiced his objection tactfully, Seok-won refused to reconsider his decision.

“No. Now is the right time to sell.”
[….]

Andrew recalled the countless successes he had witnessed beside Seok-won, observing the unwavering conviction in his demeanor.
Then, sensing that he was missing something crucial, he asked carefully.

[Could you explain your reasoning?]

It would all become clear within a day anyway.
Besides, to proceed with the next course of action without delay, it was better to move with a clear understanding of the rationale, so I explained why now was the right time to sell.

“You’re aware of the massive human and material losses from this major earthquake, aren’t you?”
[Then shouldn’t we be holding more positions, not selling?]

The earthquake had triggered a collapse in investment sentiment and unleashed indiscriminate selling across Japanese stocks and the yen itself as investors succumbed to the human instinct to avoid risk—a natural reaction for any investor.

“The exact figures will take time to determine, but insurance companies will need to pay out at least one trillion yen in claims.”
[That’s precisely why Japanese insurance stocks are getting hammered right now.]
“Exactly. But where do you think these insurance companies will get the money to pay out those claims?”
[Well, they’ll liquidate the assets each insurer holds in reserve for situations like this….]

Andrew, who had been answering casually, suddenly froze as a thought flashed through his mind.
Then he spoke urgently.

[You’re saying that Japanese insurance companies will liquidate their foreign assets on a massive scale to pay insurance claims, then convert dollars to yen and bring it in, causing the exchange rate to skyrocket in the opposite direction!]

Seeing how quickly Andrew grasped the situation, I smiled faintly.

“I mentioned earlier that the expected insurance payouts would be at least one trillion yen. If that much money flows into Japan all at once, the yen won’t weaken—it’ll surge to extraordinary strength.”

Andrew swallowed hard without realizing it, muttering as if his mind had gone blank.

[Right… right. I should have seen it with just a little deduction. Why didn’t I think of this…]

As Andrew berated himself, he realized his mistake wasn’t really a mistake—it was that Seok-won was exceptional for seeing this far ahead while everyone else was fixated on the yen’s weakness and the Japanese stock market’s collapse.

‘His perspective really is different from ours.’

Andrew, inwardly marveling greatly, now fully understood why Seok-won had told him to liquidate his positions.

[Understood. I’ll sell off the positions right away. And then you want me to buy yen immediately after, correct?]

Seeing Andrew articulate the next steps without needing explicit instructions, I wore a satisfied expression.

“Exactly.”

Leaning on the desk with both hands while speaking through the speakerphone, I straightened my upper body as I spoke.

“Liquidate all the short positions we have on the Nikkei and switch to long positions instead.”

Andrew then asked in a surprised voice.

[You believe the Nikkei will stop falling and reverse course?]
“Given the scale of the damage, Japan’s government will soon announce a massive reconstruction plan.”
[Ah, I see. If astronomical sums of money are injected, the Japanese economy, mired in stagnation from the bubble collapse, will regain vitality. It would be tremendous good news for the stock market.]
“You’ve got it exactly right.”

The reconstruction projects might bring a temporary sparkle to domestic demand, but they wouldn’t pull Japan out of the deep quagmire of recession.
Rather, the excessive fiscal spending would surely deliver a fatal blow to Japan’s already-faltering economy.
But for now, there was no need to delve into that, so I simply moved past it without elaborating.

“A reconstruction plan will inevitably emerge soon to address the chaos and anxiety caused by the massive earthquake. Let’s complete all our work by today.”
[Restructuring all positions won’t be a simple task—it’s going to be an extremely busy day.]
“The rewards that follow such hard work will be extraordinarily sweet.”

Andrew burst into bright laughter at that.

[If you put it that way, I’ll have to wrap everything up by today no matter what. Of course, you’ll be using maximum leverage, correct?]
“Of course.”

I chuckled softly and replied.

“This is a rare opportunity—we need to capitalize on it decisively when it arrives.”
[Absolutely correct, sir.]
“Once the position adjustments are complete, call me back.”
[Understood.]

After ending the call, I glanced briefly at the Bloomberg terminal displaying rapidly updating information, then stretched my arm to press the intercom button installed on one side of the desk.
Through the speaker came the voice of Na Seong-mi, my newly assigned dedicated secretary since my promotion to department head.

[Yes, Director.]
“Contact the Team 1 leader and tell him to come to my office immediately.”
[Understood.]

Seated in my chair, I watched the Nikkei index—unable to hold even the 18,600 line—crumble helplessly and continue its relentless plunge.

“Soon enough, dollars will be desperately needed. I need to secure as much as I can while the opportunity exists.”

* * *

Chuo Ward, Tokyo, Japan. Nomura Securities Headquarters.
Caught in the eye of a raging typhoon, the Nomura Securities Trading Center resembled nothing less than a battlefield.

Ring! Ring!
“Selling 25,000 Sony shares at 3,990 yen!”
“Dump 50,000 Toyota Motor shares at market price!”
“Mitsubishi Electric is plummeting over 30 percent!”
“Tokyo Electric Power is in free fall as well.”
“Prices are dropping faster than we can place orders—what are we supposed to do?”
“At this rate, the entire market will collapse.”

Yoshimura bit down hard on his lower lip as traders’ screams pierced the air from all directions.
It was a bolt from the blue, plain and simple.
While the Nikkei had been trending downward in the wake of the bubble’s collapse, I never imagined such panic would engulf the market overnight.
As a member of the Yamakawa faction—the dominant clique within the company—Yoshimura had climbed the elite track steadily, becoming the head of the Headquarters Trading Center, a critical position, two years ago.
I had been building steady results, eyeing an executive promotion at year-end, but now this catastrophe had struck!
Though I held myself together outwardly, inwardly I wanted to unleash every curse imaginable.
Unable to remain seated, Yoshimura continued to stand and manage the situation, then turned his head to glance at the television mounted on one side.
Six televisions lined up in a row displayed Japan’s major broadcasters alongside CNN and ABC News.
All six channels were broadcasting special reports of Kobe City, reduced to ruins by the massive earthquake that struck at dawn that morning.
As I watched the Hanshin Expressway elevated roadway collapsed to the side and buildings crumbling throughout the cityscape, billowing black smoke into the air, my dreams of executive promotion seemed to vanish as well, leaving me hollow.
To preserve my position at all, I had to minimize losses somehow, but the unfolding situation made that seem impossible.
To cut losses, I would have to sell the holdings I possessed, even at a loss.
But with fear spreading through the market and the index plummeting vertically, no one was willing to buy, and transactions had nearly ceased entirely.

‘Damn it!’

As Yoshimura cursed inwardly, Uemura, the senior trader, hurried over with a deeply furrowed brow and spoke.

“Director! There’s unusual movement in the market.”
“What do you mean?”

Yoshimura replied with irritation in his voice.

“Someone is buying Nikkei futures in massive quantities.”
“…!”

Yoshimura’s eyebrows shot up at this unexpected news, and he stared at Uemura.

“You’re saying they’re buying Nikkei futures, not selling them?”
“Yes.”

Upon hearing the answer, Yoshimura’s expression turned utterly incredulous.

“What kind of madman does something like that?”

The Nikkei Index was the price-weighted average of 225 highly liquid stocks selected from those listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by the Nihon Keizai newspaper, Japan’s leading economic publication.
Since it included all of Japan’s representative companies—accounting for more than half the market capitalization of the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange—it essentially reflected the movement of the Tokyo market as a whole.
Therefore, if one was bullish on the Japanese market, the standard practice was to buy Nikkei futures, and conversely, if bearish, to sell futures and take a short position.
But in a situation where stock prices were plummeting terrifyingly and everyone was desperately dumping their holdings in fear, the notion that someone was buying Nikkei futures rather than selling them could only be described as insane.

“I’m equally bewildered, but that’s not what matters right now.”

Watching Yoshimura’s furrowed brow, Uemura spoke rapidly.

“Regardless of their reasons, they’re buying. If we sell futures in massive volume to them, we can recover at least some of the losses from this crash, can’t we?”
“…!”

Yoshimura’s eyes snapped wide open.

“Of course. In this situation, the index won’t rise—it’ll only fall further. We can offset our losses by selling Nikkei futures.”
“Exactly.”
“Ha ha ha! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Yoshimura, who had been drowning in despair, suddenly found a miraculous lifeline. His face brightened with renewed vigor.
In truth, it was an extraordinarily simple solution.
But no one could have conceived of it because they never imagined anyone would commit such madness as to massively buy Nikkei futures in a situation like this.

“Who on earth is buying these futures?”
“It’s an American investment fund—Eldorado.”

Yoshimura tilted his head quizzically.

“An unfamiliar name… but that doesn’t matter.”

Regardless, it was the only way to navigate this crisis, so the identity of the buyer was irrelevant.

“How many purchase orders have they placed?”
“They’ve already bought over 500 contracts and are continuing to sweep up available inventory.”

Yoshimura’s urgency intensified, and he spoke hastily.

“Then we can’t waste time! Before their ammunition runs dry, we need to sell futures immediately!”
“How much volume should we put on the market?”
“As much as we can! Move quickly!”

Yoshimura’s voice rang out with urgency.
He intended to minimize losses through aggressive Nikkei futures sales.

‘If I can minimize losses while the entire market collapses, I might actually earn recognition for my competence.’

“Yes, understood!”

As Uemura, who had received his orders, returned to his station, Yoshimura clenched his fists tightly while gazing at the massive ticker board displayed before him.

“That’s right. I’m not the kind of man to crumble here.”

His eyes gleamed with hope as he dreamed of a spectacular reversal.
Yet he had no inkling that the decision he had just made would not be a lifeline to escape the abyss of hell, but rather a ticket descending into an even deeper quagmire.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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