Starting with 300,000 yen, she has reached 10 million yen in assets in only five years.
What is the new identity that Anri Sugihara has found through investing?
What made you start investing?
Anri Sugihara (hereafter, Sugihara): 18 years ago, I came to Tokyo at the age of 23. I couldn't make a living from my work in the entertainment industry alone, but I couldn't do part-time work either, so I had to think about how to make more money.
At that time, online securities were starting to become popular, and I could easily trade at home with just a flip phone and a laptop, so I started investing to make a living.
Do you remember the first stock you bought?
Sugihara: It's now delisted and no longer available, but I bought shares of Tokyo Dome. I didn't know much about it at the time, so I just chose stocks from companies related to my field of interest.
I love baseball, and I'm a fan of the Hiroshima Carp, so I thought, "The only way to watch Carp games for free is to buy shares of Tokyo Dome!" and I chose it without thinking too much (laughs).
After all, if it's not a company you know or a stock in a field you're familiar with, it's a hassle to check out its performance, and you can't enjoy investing. That hasn't changed much from then to now.
Did you feel any fear when you first tried to invest?
Sugihara: At first, I had no knowledge at all, so I didn't feel any fear. Actually, that was probably a good thing. I started out with the feeling that "investing will make money if I do it, right?", so now I feel even more glad that I started at a young age.
What made you decide to publish your own book?
Sugihara: To begin with, I didn’t tell my parents or even my agency that I was investing until I was over 30. However, about five years after I started investing, my investment gains exceeded 10 million yen, and I thought that I could say, “I’ve made this much money through investing.”
At that point, I thought it was about time, so I told my parents and agency about investing for the first time. I didn’t intend to publish a book right away, but I felt that I couldn’t talk to other people, or rather, that I shouldn’t, until I had first proven my track record to the agency.
But after I explained it well to the agency, I wanted to convey to them that even a girl like me who came from the countryside can increase her assets little by little, and that making a living from investing is not a dream, and this was the trigger for me to publish a book.
What do you pay attention to when investing, or what are your goals?
Sugihara: The things I pay attention to haven’t fundamentally changed since I was in my 20s. I value following my own rules, not being greedy, and accumulating small profits. When I first started investing, my main goal was to make some kind of living and to make even a little profit.
My most recent goal is to create an "investment share house." The hardest thing about investing for me over the 18 years I've been investing is that I didn't have any fellow investors. I didn't have a mentor, and the closer you are to someone, the harder it is to talk about money.
I don't think I talk about it with friends in private. So I thought it would be a meaningful time if I could create a community with people who are also interested in investing and get into investing while living together. I think the main reason for this was that I wanted a community space for investing.
Have you ever heard about Web 3.0?
Sugihara: I have heard of it, but I didn't know anything about it other than that it is something that uses blockchain. However, I have a good understanding of NFTs, the metaverse, and more recently, AI.
Please tell us how you view stocks related to next-generation technologies such as AI.
Sugihara: In investing, the popular sectors change from year to year. Nowadays, anyone can get information on the internet, so I feel that investments are concentrated in fields that have potential for the future, such as the metaverse, generative AI, and semiconductors, among stock investments. I myself research such information thoroughly. Among them, I invest in things that interest me.
What sectors are you interested in at the moment?
Sugihara: ChatGPT and other things are very popular, so generative AI and other related stocks are what I'm most interested in, and I'm paying attention to related stocks. I think that I have to pick up such stocks, so I'm researching them, but the timing of investments can be quite difficult.
Investing in new technologies, not just AI, is very difficult. You never know if it's just a passing fad, and you won't know if it's going to take off until the future. So the areas I actually invest in are things like inbound tourism and retail, things I can see and touch, things that are around me.
For example, department stores. I try to invest in things that I can actually visit and judge by looking at monthly performance.
As the amount of investment changes, the investment destination will also change, right? Have your investment destinations changed from when you were in your 20s to now?
Sugihara: It has changed a lot. In the past, I had a strong desire to increase my funds, so I often invested in startups and other emerging companies. I invested in companies that were growing rapidly. I was looking for companies that would grow 10 or 20 times more than mature companies. I frequently bought and sold shares of such companies.
Now that I'm older and more settled, I often invest in companies that pay high dividends. Companies where you can deposit funds and receive regular dividends. In that way, the weight of my investment destinations has changed.
Some people buy stocks in order to receive shareholder benefits. Do you ever do so?
Sugihara: Personally, I sometimes buy stocks in order to receive shareholder benefits. I buy a lot of beauty-related stocks in particular, because I get tickets for beauty devices or beauty services.
Do you have any favorite investment proverbs or mottos? Please tell us about them.
Sugihara: There is a Japanese proverb about stocks that I have drilled into my head. It's a classic, but it's "Give away the head and the tail." I think this is everything when it comes to stock investment, so I always keep it in mind when I'm managing my stocks.
Humans are inherently greedy. We chase after it and think, "I want a little more, a little more profit," or "I can still go."
But we don't know how long the top or bottom will last. In particular, a crash from the top is common, and chasing it too far often leads to failure. So I think it's best to just take the sweet spot in the middle, even if it's just a little at a time.
When I'm investing, there are many times when I get adrenaline and get excited. At those times, I wonder how can I control my emotions. When I was looking up various proverbs on the Internet, I learned that each person controls their emotions based on proverbs.
So I think the saying "Give away the head and the tail" is the best for me, and I treasure it. I also write down other sayings in a notebook. Speaking of notebooks, I've been writing things down in something like a "stock notebook" since I first started investing.
When your adrenaline rushes and you feel like you want to go too far, is there anything you do to calm yourself down?
Sugihara: When I get adrenaline, I tend to get "positive-positive disease." I buy when I don't need to, and sell when I don't need to.
At times like that, I close my smartphone for a moment. That's when I take the time to calm down. I close my smartphone for 10 minutes, and if the market still makes me want to buy or sell, then I make a trade. I think it's more important than anything else to calm your mind and stay calm when investing.
I think the investment environment now is different from when you were investing in your 20s, including in terms of assets. With that in mind, is there anything you want to achieve in the future when you've managed your business smoothly?
Sugihara: As with the share house I mentioned earlier, I am currently running an online salon and communicating with the students. I think I want a community. Right now, it's small scale, but I would like more people to participate.
I would be especially happy if women could participate. As we are now in an era where women are working, I think there are a certain number of people who are interested in investing. Women are good at organizing and using their brains to avoid losing money, but there are still not many who use their brains to increase it.
I think women are relatively more prudent when it comes to spending money, so I would be happy if they would pay more attention to increasing their assets through investment. I would also like to contribute to increasing the number of people like that, and I would like to move the current community in that direction.
Please tell us about the investment methods and ideas that are suitable for women.
Sugihara: I think women are generally suited to the steady type. There are many things that need to be done, such as daily housework and childcare. Therefore, I feel that an investment product that allows you to make a gradual profit through savings like an investment trust, accumulating profits over a 10-year span, would be a good fit.
The new NISA will also start next year. The government has created a tax-exempt system and expanded it, so there's no reason not to take advantage of it. Systems like this should be used to the fullest. Saving money is commonplace these days, but I think that in the future, investing will become the norm.
Any message to our readers?
Sugihara: In my case, I work as a TV personality, but you can also invest while running a business. It's a mistake to think that only a few wealthy people can invest; we are now in an era where anyone can. You can invest with as little as 100 yen these days. So, I hope you'll give investing a try.
I'd be happy if it makes you feel positive and makes you realize that you can do it.
"Stocks are a tool to make dreams come true: An introduction to stock investment for women"
Anri Sugihara is a "stock talent" who appears in magazines and variety shows, but she also works as a businesswoman. She started investing with 300,000 yen when she was 23 years old, and in five years her assets had grown to 10 million yen. This book, which describes her investment experience and know-how, as well as the way of life she has acquired through investing, has become a long-selling book.
"Let your money work for you! Easy Investment"
Anri Sugihara teaches "How to change your life with investment." With the lowering of the age of adulthood, even 18-year-olds can open a securities account and invest without parental consent. This is a must-read book for beginners that focuses on how assets can increase gradually even if you have zero savings or knowledge, just by leaving it alone.
"Stock Investment for Beginners: Easy to Understand in Manga - Together with Sugihara Anri, the Billionaire"
A book that teaches you about stock investment in an easy-to-understand way using manga. This book candidly describes how Anri Sugihara went from zero knowledge to 10 million yen in assets in five years, the stocks she recommends, and past investment failures.
◉ Anri Sugihara
While appearing in magazines and TV shows as a gravure idol, she also launched a brand of soft shapewear and is a businesswoman. She started investing with 300,000 yen at the age of 23, and achieved assets of 10 million yen in five years, and is now a billionaire. Her first book, "Stocks are a Tool to Make Your Dreams Come True," is a long-selling book that describes how to start investing in stocks, how to buy and sell, and the way of life she has acquired through investing. "Stock Investment for Beginners: Easy to Understand in Manga" won first place in the securities and finance category on Amazon's rankings. She also appears at many events and seminars related to stock investment and real estate.
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