Our everyday lives have not been the same since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.. For today’s Money Talks guest, the pandemic led to a complete shift in career! Following mass airline layoffs, Will Chow transitioned from pilot to being a full-time investor, financial columnist, and investment blogger. How did that come about? Today, Will is here to share his views and insights on money, career and investments! 

 

 

Tell us a bit about yourself! 

 

Hi! I’m Will, an ex-pilot who became a full-time investor as a result of airline layoffs during the pandemic. I started my own financial column at the beginning of this year and set up a Facebook and Instagram sharing platform called @willyfool. I use my platforms to share information about stocks and finance because I believe anyone can build wealth through the right investments.

 

 

Rapid-fire questions! 

 

Q: "Pilot or full-time investor?" 

A: "Pilot."

 

Q: "Long term or short term?" 

A: "Long-term."

 

Q: "Stocks or ETFs?" 

A: "Stocks."

 

Q: "Hong Kong or U.S. stocks?

A: "U.S. stocks."

 

Q: "Active or passive?

A: "Active."

 

 

Has your relationship with money changed since leaving your job as a pilot?

 

Of course! It was a loss of a stable source of income for me. When I was a pilot, my income was always very stable and I’d never thought I would be laid off. Now that I am investing full-time, my income is not as stable as before because it depends mostly on my investment returns. However, before I started investing full-time, I had already prepared an emergency fund, so the financial pressure after getting laid off was relatively small.

 

 

Why did you become a full-time investor? 

 

I’ve always had a great personal interest in stocks. When I was in college, I studied economics, so I’ve been exposed to equities before. But later on, due to my busy schedule at work and other things, I seldom took an active stance in investments. I was more passive and mainly invested in indices and ETFs. But now that I have more free time, I like to read books and pay attention to the financials of different companies. Over time, I’ve been able to devote more time to investing, so I started to invest full-time.

 

 

What was the most difficult part of your career transition?

 

I launched my Facebook and Instagram pages, "夫子 Investment", at the beginning of the year. My personal belief is that everyone, regardless of their background, can get positive returns on their investment. I was not very good at using Instagram and Facebook, and I didn't know how to raise awareness through promotion. I got a lot better through LinkedIn and watching Youtube marketing videos. It was a new experience for me and I found that writing more articles and reaching out to different organizations can lead to many new opportunities. In April this year, I had the opportunity to write a financial column for NOW, sharing information on U.S. stocks. I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by aastocks. Through focusing on what I like to do and writing about my own views, people started to notice and appreciate my content!

 

 

 

Do you have any advice for new investors interested in U.S. stocks? 

 

I think new investors can start investing in large companies such as FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), who are well-established market leaders in the U.S.. While some people think they are too large for innovative growth, this is not the case. In fact, many Americans are now investing their retirement funds in these stocks. There are also many passive ETFs that compose of stocks like FAANG and Microsoft. As a newbie investor or one who lacks the time to research individual stocks, these companies will meet your needs.

 

 

Is there anything in common between being a pilot and being a full-time investor? 

 

I think risk is something that’s definitely present in both careers. In everything I do, I think about the hazards and risks involved first. For example, when I was a pilot at a new airport, I would plan ahead by understanding how to get in and how to get from the gate to the runway, Similarly, before I invest in a new company, I always do my research about the industry, the growth of the company, the business model, the source of the business, etc. So I think the common denominator between the two is risk, because I only invest in companies I am familiar with.

 

 

What is your money goal for the next 10 years? 

 

I hope to continue to grow my wealth through savings as well as investments. I'm not sure if it's achievable in 10 years, but I hope that I won’t have to rely on stock investments someday and have stable passive income. 

 

 

 

If we gave you HK$10 million, what would you do with it? 

 

At this moment, I would still prefer to buy into the stock market. Thus, most of my HK$10 million will be used to buy equities. But when I have eight-figure assets, I will consider bonds because the threshold of the bond market is higher.

 

 

 What does money mean to you?

 

This question is so deep! Many people say that time is money, but I think the opposite is also true. For example, we spend most of our time at work, exchanging our time for money. But when my financial situation allows me to be "financially free", as many people call it, I hope to stop spending the majority of my time chasing money. Instead, I want to spend that time chasing my dreams and doing what I love. That is a joy that money cannot buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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