In her teens, Michelle Huynh made a promise to her family that she would become a millionaire by 30. Now 26, the Australian saleswoman is trying to make that dream come true by betting her savings on tech stocks – a gamble that has paid off handsomely, then backfired.
By the middle of July, the technology-driven surge in stock markets had lifted more than a third of her investments in tech by 50%, a gain of A$31,000 (£16,100). But those profits have since shrunk to about A$22,000 as the sector enters what she calls a “wild moment”. Huynh says she is prepared for the volatility, viewing the investments as a long-term bet.
“Young investors like Michelle Huynh are betting big on tech stocks amid AI-driven surge and volatility.”
“Times are so different and investing has become a necessity,” she says. “It feels like our purchasing power is shrinking. This is the only way to combat that.”
The rise in tech stocks, led by firms riding the artificial intelligence boom, has attracted large numbers of ordinary investors, many in their 20s and early 30s, even as some analysts warn AI fervour may be overblown. Retail investors have been caught up in the excitement, fuelled by social media and marketing efforts to draw non-professionals, says Glenn Tan from advisory firm Providend.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq in the US is up about 10% this year, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 has risen more than 20%. But volatility is most extreme in South Korea, where Seoul’s Kospi index – including tech giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics – has jumped more than 50% since January, only to plummet from a record high of over 9,000 points in June to around 6,500. Trading has been halted seven times this year under a circuit breaker mechanism triggered by an 8% fall.
That rally has attracted an army of retail investors known locally as “ants”. “I could maybe count with my hands the number of people who aren’t investing today,” says South Korean investor U Chan Lee, 30. “Even stay-at-home mothers, like my mum, who has never been interested in the stock market, are now interested.”
But the slides have raised concerns over people who borrowed money to invest, leading South Korean authorities to take action to curb the practice. Lee sold many of his shares last year when the Kospi surged, worried the market was becoming “too overheated”.
For Huynh, the promise of millionaire status remains within reach – but only if the AI craze doesn’t crash first.
