NOVEL NEXT WORLD 50
“I’m thinking of investing more money.”
A week later, Dokyung was conversing with a client who had visited his office.
This was the client who had helped attract many new customers by telling his golf club members, where he served as treasurer, about Dokyung.
“I have some cash left in my savings account…”
“Client-nim.”
Dokyung looked at the client with a serious expression.
“How about leaving what you’ve put in your savings account as it is?”
The client looked surprised at Dokyung’s question.
A securities firm employee refusing money? Unheard of.
“May I hear the reason?”
“You’ve already invested about 300 million won in stocks. While investing more money could potentially earn you more, we can’t win every time.”
“Hmm…”
“For example, let’s say you suddenly need money, but your portfolio is down 10%. If you have to withdraw funds at a loss in such a situation, wouldn’t that be a real loss?”
“Ah, so you’re saying I should keep some cash on hand.”
“Yes, that’s right. Even in the portfolio you’ve entrusted to me, I always keep 30% in cash.”
The client nodded as if he finally understood. He had been wondering why only 70% of his entrusted funds were invested in stocks.
“It’s partly to take positions when stocks I’ve been eyeing fall, and partly to have cash ready in case you need it.”
“Then it’s good to have savings too, I suppose.”
“Yes, and if you’re thinking about growing your money, keeping it in dollars is another option.”
“I’ll do that.”
The client nodded with a pleased smile.
The PB sitting before him never failed to surprise him during their consultations. A fresh shock, you might say.
“I’ll do that. I learn a lot from you, PB Yoon.”
“Learn? Not at all. I’m just someone who looks for what will benefit you the most, client-nim.”
“May I come to you again if I have similar concerns in the future?”
“Of course. It’s your right as a client under my management.”
The client stood up, looking satisfied, and extended his hand to Dokyung.
“Thank you for introducing me to your acquaintances.”
“Hahaha, introduction? I was just bragging, that’s all.”
“Client-nim, I’m quite perceptive.”
“Well… those gentlemen are the type who want to do something themselves when they hear someone else bragging.”
The client admitted, as if he couldn’t help it.
“I’ll see you next time.”
“Let me escort you to the…”
“Ah, no need. I have some business at the counter. Please stay here.”
As Dokyung tried to see him off, the client firmly declined, and Dokyung had no choice but to bow his head.
“Take care.”
After the client left, Dokyung raised his head and sat down.
Although work had been increasing lately, he didn’t particularly dislike it.
It felt like he was finally learning to enjoy this job.
Buzz-
Just then, his mobile phone on the desk vibrated, and Dokyung checked the screen.
[This is the VIP service cheering for our member.]
[A market that has lost trust often stands at two crossroads.]
[The path to losing more trust, and the path to regaining trust.]
As always, the message was cryptic, not revealing its true meaning at once.
[Stock of interest: M-Biogen]
[And Yoon Dokyung-ssi stands at the center of that path. We will always support you.]
“What’s this?”
Although it seemed no different from usual, Dokyung found the increasingly incomprehensible message frustrating.
“Stock of interest?”
This time, it wasn’t a recommendation or a stock to watch out for.
“Is it telling me to keep an eye on it and observe?”
Knock knock-
Just as Dokyung’s attention was drawn to the message, the door opened with a knock and someone entered.
Seeing who it was, Dokyung jumped to his feet and bowed.
“Chairman.”
“Oh my, PB Yoon. I’ve told you to stop calling me Chairman.”
The elderly man who entered was Dokyung’s first client and the one with whom he had maintained the longest relationship.
“Yes, father. Welcome.”
“Now that sounds better.”
The old man sat on the sofa with familiarity and looked at Dokyung.
“Why did that consultation take so long? Does that person have more money than me?”
Dokyung looked flustered at the old man’s words.
“Were you waiting?”
“I waited outside for over 20 minutes.”
“You should have let me know.”
“No, I’m asking if that person has more money than me.”
Dokyung smiled as he opened a drink and placed it in front of the old man.
“How could that be? You’re my most important client, father.”
The old man shrugged with satisfaction at Dokyung’s words.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, so please call me next time you’re coming. I’ll keep time open for you. I shouldn’t keep my most important client waiting.”
“Hahaha, should I do that?”
The old man took a swig of his drink and looked at Dokyung.
“I was passing by this neighborhood and thought I’d drop in to ask our PB Yoon something.”
“Ask me?”
“Yes. PB Yoon, have you heard of M-Biogen?”
Dokyung’s eyes trembled slightly at the old man’s question.
The name M-Biogen, mentioned in the message, had now come from the old man’s lips.
Dokyung already knew what kind of company M-Biogen was, as mentioned by both the message and the old man.
“M-Biogen… Do you mean the company that acquired Insung Biotech and went public through a backdoor listing?”
A backdoor listing refers to when an unlisted company acquires or merges with an already listed company to list its shares on the stock market.
It was a method often attempted by companies with capital, as the screening process for new listings was stringent.
“My, our PB Yoon doesn’t seem to miss any stock. Have you heard of the Hansung Club?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
How could he not? The Hansung Club was a social gathering for Korea’s upper class.
It had over 100 years of history, with a membership fee of 100 million won.
It wasn’t a place you could join just because you had money. The existing members, who held immense power in political and business circles, didn’t want to accept just anyone.
One needed a certain social status, and an existing member had to vouch for you to join.
“I visited there recently.”
“What? Chair… I mean, father, are you also a member of the Hansung Club?”
“Why are you so surprised? Do you think I couldn’t join there?”
Dokyung hastily wiped the surprised expression off his face and bowed his head at the old man’s words.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“Hahaha, I’m not a member there. A middle and high school classmate of mine is a member, and he invited me to an event, so I tagged along.”
The old man chuckled as if he found teasing Dokyung amusing.
The Hansung Club allowed entry only to members and their accompanying guests.
“Anyway, while at the event, everyone was buzzing about M-Biogen. They say it’s developing a new drug…”
“Is that so?”
Dokyung was well aware of M-Biogen.
Since the founder of M-Biogen was a Korean who had led the new drug development research institute of a famous global pharmaceutical company in the U.S., various articles had poured out since its backdoor listing.
After the backdoor listing, the stock price had more than doubled from the 3,000 won range to over 10,000 won, but then returned to its original price range due to a lack of news.
“And they say it’s a drug that even pharmaceutical powerhouses like the U.S. or Germany couldn’t develop.”
“Can you tell me what kind of drug it is?”
“They say it’s a diabetes drug, and if developed, it’s valued at over 10 trillion won.”
Dokyung furrowed his brow at the old man’s words.
He knew diabetes was a disease difficult to cure completely and required lifelong management due to complications.
Of course, major pharmaceutical companies had been showing continuous interest in developing treatments for kidney diseases and diabetes, and were constantly developing new drugs.
“Even major pharmaceutical companies find it difficult…”
“The CEO is from ID Bio. Didn’t he develop new drugs there too?”
“Yes, M-Biogen’s CEO does come from a major pharmaceutical company background.”
“He must have discovered something to leave such a prestigious company and start his own, right?”
There was one immutable truth in the stock market.
Pharmaceutical stocks were said to be like lottery tickets. The stock price of a pharmaceutical company could more than double just on news of entering clinical trials for a new drug.
Why? Because the pharmaceutical industry strictly recognized patent rights.
If you developed a unique new drug, you could make money exclusively for decades. Furthermore, giant global pharmaceutical companies would acquire smaller pharmaceutical companies that developed new drugs for large sums.
No industry saw as frequent mergers and acquisitions as the pharmaceutical industry.
However, this also meant the risks were enormous.
If you buy a 5,000 won lottery ticket and don’t win, that 5,000 won disappears.
It was the price of investment.
“What do you think? Should I buy some too?”
The old man finally came to the point. He seemed interested in M-Biogen based on the information he heard there.
“When a pharmaceutical stock really takes off, it can go up 100%, 1,000%, or even 10,000%, but it’s also true that it’s hesitant to enter based on rumors alone.”
The downside of pharmaceutical stocks was that they fell twice as easily as they rose.
“It’s hard to identify the peak too.”
“Yes. In the end, my profit comes from realizing gains, so as you said, it’s difficult to distinguish between rumors and truth, making it hard to identify the peak.”
It was difficult for ordinary people to understand new drug development. No matter how hard you study the technology of drug development, it’s a challenging subject.
That’s why there were also many people who ran schemes with pharmaceutical stocks.
It was also why Dokyung was skeptical from the start.
“May I study it further and get back to you?”
“I’d be grateful if you could do that for me!”
“It’s my job to do so. I’ll look into it more and contact you.”
“As expected, I did well to come to Yoon Dokyung! Well then, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be going. Let me know what you find out.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Dokyung saw the old man off and returned to his room, sitting down.
“M-Biogen…”
After pondering for a moment, Dokyung began typing on his computer with a determined expression.
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“I plan to maintain the portfolio for the time being.”
Three days later, the morning at Yuseong Investment Securities’ Seongnam Branch began as usual with meetings and reports.
“Good. I hope this week goes smoothly for everyone… And by the way.”
As Ryu Tae-hwa hesitantly opened his mouth, everyone looked at him curiously.
“Does anyone know about a company called M-Biogen?”
As Ryu Tae-hwa got to the point, Dokyung’s brow furrowed.
“Isn’t M-Biogen that company that went public through a backdoor listing? The founder is from a global pharmaceutical company, right?”
As Choi Woojin spoke up, everyone nodded with short exclamations as if they remembered.
“Dokyung-ssi.”
Ryu Tae-hwa called out to Dokyung, who was sitting at the end with a furrowed brow, but Dokyung seemed not to hear.
“Yoon Dokyung-ssi.”
“Yes, yes! Branch Manager.”
“You look like you know a lot about M-Biogen.”
As Ryu Tae-hwa said this, everyone’s gaze turned to Dokyung.
“Recently, one of my clients showed interest in M-Biogen, so I’ve been studying it separately.”
“Is that so? Do you have any materials?”
“Yes, I have some documents I was working on in my room.”
“Good. Let’s end the meeting here.”
Ryu Tae-hwa tidied up the table and looked at Dokyung.
“Please bring the compiled materials to my office.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Go ahead, I’ll clean up the conference room.”
As Choi Woojin, sitting next to him, said this, Dokyung gave a slight bow of thanks and got up to leave the conference room.
“Strangely, everyone’s talking about M-Biogen.”
Dokyung walked down the hallway with a furrowed brow.
The message, the client, and now Branch Manager Ryu Tae-hwa—everyone seemed interested in M-Biogen.
As if they were all seeking an answer from him.
“This is…”
Returning to his room, Dokyung picked up and looked at the M-Biogen documents he had organized on his desk.
[Company Analysis: M-Biogen (4942230.KS) – Yuseong Investment Securities, Yoon Dokyung]
He felt as if he were standing at a crossroads, as the message had warned.
It was an issue where everyone’s evaluation could change depending on how he judged it.
“Well, I didn’t just skim through it.”
He had analyzed diligently over the past few days. And he had confidence in his analysis.
All that remained was the judgment of those who would receive Dokyung’s analysis. With this thought, Dokyung left the room with a determined expression.