Chat with Richard Schäli, started trading at age of 7, founded an asset management company at 13.

Yasi: Our guest today is Richard Schäli, a full-time student and an Asset Manager. At only 14 years old, he has accumulated 7 years of experience with financial markets. He purchased his first share at the age of 7 and made a 20% profit a year later. When he was 10 he won first place in a virtual trading competition with 2.7 million participants worldwide. He then launched a magazine featuring news and analysis about stock markets for his family members which was the starting of his mutual fund. At the age of 13, his fund was listed on the stock exchanges in Switzerland and Germany. Nowadays his asset management company focuses on combining futuristic Technologies and options trading for ultra-high net worth individuals.

Today, let’s hear about his story, how he started his experiences with financial.

Richard: Thank you for having me here. My pleasure.

Yasi: And I’m very interested in your stories and I’m sure that the audience will be very interested as well, because I know that you already started a company is like asset management, like a fun. Yeah. And then you started trading at the age of eight, I think so.

Right. Maybe tell the audience. Yeah. Maybe tell the audience, uh, like how old are you now? And then when did you start, uh, trade stocks and how did you get involved into it? 

Richard: So, um, I actually just turned 14 and I bought my first stocks and stock in the age of seven back down. I was not too interested. I just wanted to somehow participate, but afterwards I gained some interest.

When I saw that my stock was up 20% in a year. And so I, I actually started to learn about the stock market at first, when I was eight. And since, since then, I’m constantly learning, improving, um, making mistakes, adapting, um, the lessons out of them, uh, out of these mistakes. And just try to as exceeding. 

Yasi: And you mentioned that you started to be interested in it when you were eight, how, although, who gets your interest in trading and buying stocks?

Richard: So actually my father is, um, also working in the asset management space, um, to be accepted in the private equity space. Um, so. That’s why I often heard the word stocks, stock market, et cetera. So afterwards I ask what’s the stock market is that. You explained me the basics of like you’re buying a share of a company.

And from then on, I just taught myself how to trade respectively. What is the system behind the stock markets by reading books, having some great mentors and also watching YouTube. That’s a very good source nowadays as well. 

Yasi: Well, you mentioned that you taught yourself, um, how did you find out where to get information from it’s naturally come to you from books or YouTube or hear from someone you’re that the good thing is done.

Richard: I am, living in a generation where internet is very, um, near me, so I can access the internet nearly anytime I want. So if I have a question. I can simply just Google it. And so at the beginning I had hundreds of questions. I would just typed in these questions and Google what response. So that’s actually a great system, um, source.

We have to just look up certain information. Let’s read whole books with some useless information. So. Useful information. So that’s actually the good thing on Google or the internet in general. 

Yasi: Yeah. And also you learn the way, how to find answers yourself, proactive learning. And what do you like the most about trading stocks?

Richard: I actually, um, what I really enjoy is participating. Um, company success. Now, what that does? What, what does that mean as a kid? I don’t have the option to found my own, uh, let’s say consumer electronics company. And instead I have the option to buy shares of a very successful consumer electronics company and make money this way because I’m, I don’t have a lot of possibilities to start my own business now.

As a kid, um, I still have to go to school, et cetera, et cetera. So that’s the way to just say, well, this company has a great broad product. I want to participate. Um, I can not only, I can not found a con this company with such a product myself, so I have to arrange myself and just buy shares. That’s the most exciting thing.

Yasi: And also when you are 10 years old, you want the first place of a virtual trading competition with 2.7 million participants worldwide. How did you weigh it? What do you think is your like success secret for success? 

Richard: Okay, actually, um, Dara, it was not about participating at some interest in companies with a great product.

The approach in this game was basically buying penny stocks, um, which are trading far below price to cashflow. And in the end, it turned out to be a very good deal because I did not influence the stock. So if we take a real life example, if I want to invest 20 million in a 50 million company, I would influence the stock too much.

That’s why it’s very important to highlight virtual trading competition and not just trading competition. And so that was the strategy I was able to do. No by nano cap stocks, um, who have a lot of cash. And we’re trading far below these cash levels and that worked out, it would not work out in real life though.

Yasi: And then your trading strategy is you figure it out yourself, or how did you form your trading strategies? 

Richard: I do. Um, I do not believe in the school rules, et cetera. I just believe in, um, failing and learning, adapting to the learn things, and then just succeed. So I make, I made so many mistakes. Even this year, I made so many mistakes in some of the fractured funds we distribute.

And I just learned from these experiences. There are more failures to come on one hand, that’s a thing. And on the other hand, I try to, um, read about a lot of strategies. I mean, there are a hundred thousands of strategies how to be successful in the stock market option, market, whatever. And in the end you have to live your strategy.

It’s about trading stock. It’s much more a lifestyle, isn’t it?

Yasi:  I really liked that you learn from your mistakes. So through all this mistakes, you actually are becoming better and the better and more experienced. Yeah. And then tell us about your, your weekend.

Maxine’s you launched for your family and friends when you were like 10 years old.

Richard: So how old were you? Nine, 10 years old.

Sincerely. I liked like Yeti of having a business or sometime how I’m making money. So that was the first, um, step two, to get to know how to really struggle. Um, Uh, business. So it was not a, um, a very professional business. It was just for friends and family to earn a couple of bucks, but it did in the end.

It did not really rate me a lot of. It was a possibility for me to get him insight on how to start a business. And that helped me for my second lunch. 

Yasi: Yeah. And then the magazines in the magazines, you write about analysis about stock markets.  

Richard: That’s actually interesting because this newspaper was the reason why.

I got into asset management. I just saw, well, the stock market’s very high. That was in 2017. I knew it over. So a lot of thoughts and it was not a sustainable economy, stock market. So I offered my family members to invest in a product, which I was managing actively to not lose all the money in a crash.

And so actually I still think there is a big crunch. Since 2017, that’s actually my main mission to grow, but still have in mind that you’re maybe a crash soon. So that’s how I got into asset management after. 

Yasi: Yeah. So that mutual fund you started with your friends, like a families, and then later on turned into actual found that was listed.

Is it the same one? Yeah. 

Richard: Yeah. So it’s an accurately managed certificate, so I’m distributing the fund myself, but I have a lot of help from different people, um, to really get face charges. And I don’t know, I’m on closing the asset management company. Um, the one high launched right afterward the newspaper business, somehow I’m looking forward to launch a second asset management company is aiming to distribute and manage certificates ranging from futuristic innovations to, uh, an auction trading strategy.

To a strategy with seven different traders from Europe. So we really try to get a bit more professional and maybe attract more capital with just regeneration of ourselves. 

Yasi: So you have a group of traders now. 

Richard: Exactly. We are already having some certificates in the pipeline traded. So we have different traders.

They are nearly, all of them are trading options or general derivatives. We aim to just bring out. So list of funds, maybe early 2021, which is managed by around five to seven. Traders whole Europe and afterwards attract capital from your investors and succeed. So that’s good masterful. 

Yasi: Oh, okay. And earlier you mentioned that you got also a lot of help from different people.

How did you find people that, you know, can help you, for example, do you have some mentors? 

Richard: Yeah, so actually mentors are very important for me because they especially do. So dementia is who have lots of experience. So Dan, you made mistakes and they can teach me about these mistakes and the lessons learned there.

So I don’t have to make these mistakes anymore, so I can simply just text them. Um, Hey, I saw Tesla going up tremendously for. What should I do? So that’s just an example. Uh, so they really teach me how to think about certain things going on and bring in the example of Tesla, I would just not participate at a runner, which is not sustainable.

They can really help me to like tossed in experiences. 

Yasi: Exactly. Exactly. And how did you find them? 

Richard: Okay. So I go to different conferences and I meet them there. Sometimes these ventures are also shareholders and they are very supportive. So I really appreciate that. I mean, you should not take it for granted.

Yasi: Yeah. Yeah, indeed. And also you are so young and. I think people they’re more experienced, they would love to help you to grow since you have so much potential, like you also in the business. And they have been in the business for such a long time. So for them, it would also be very fulfilling to help young generations and what I hear often.

Richard: It just wants to help me because they think I’m something like the next Warren buffet. So I think I’m very lucky to be that young right now because I get a lot of support, um, because of my age.

Yasi: And now you have already launched your asset management company for more than a year now. And what do you think are the biggest challenges for you in the process?

Richard: It’s really difficult. I actually, there are possibilities to, um, say, well, not at a company should raise the capital for us, but that’s not an option for me as I want to grow. Uh, let’s say naturally, I just want you to experience how it is. Find investors and that’s difficult, but I like it because you make a lots of new contacts, silence, you know, you make you connect with people.

And I guess challenge is exactly the legal things. It’s not about performance is one thing, but that’s not really the difficult thing it’s possible to make a good performance. The difficult thing is to arrange something. Build something with a team and to manage a team is very difficult. And you always, with each call, if you call a bank, you always have to explain who you are, why you are calling them in the age of 14 now, 14, um, you know, all these.

Things are very complicated, but I just try and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it gets better. You’ll there I can. And will you just have to, you have some excellent. What I realized is first of all, they are, um, elite don’t believe you. Um, the second thing is they are asking you what an obligation is or something like that.

You just approve your. Um, prove your knowledge. Onto the industry until they kind of accept you. 

Yasi: Yeah. It was a business partner, right? Yep. And do you need to do, um, when you are hiring your group of traders and you try to talk to other business partners, as you mentioned that they do not know that if you are serious, how did you manage the situation?

Richard: I started to go kind of public. So. Talking to newspaper, um, like free years ago. I wouldn’t, I would have not talked to a podcast because I just would like to do the things my own, but now the positive thing is done. I have the community, um, because I was featured in different articles in Switzerland.

Mainly. So some people know me. And so I have a community on LinkedIn now I’m also an Instagram. So that’s a possibility for me to just say, well, we’re hiring apply. If you’re interested, don’t know, get a for GE appliances. And I have a look at each of them, some were very interesting. We maybe do something to catch it at the same time.

Yasi: You’re also full-time student. And how do you work it out to your work and your study?

Richard: Actually, it’s very important to say I’m really a full-time student and not even near a full-time asset manager and that’s not bad, not as bad as it sounds, because basically making too much straits, making too much decisions can be really fatal because you’d only need like free decisions.

Good positions today. That’s enough. You don’t need. Decisions, because they’re just full time on how to screen and just watching all these stocks that’s too much, too much connected to the things happening. I mean, again, it’s just much smarter to sometimes have a look in a school break. What’s otherwise not being on it too actively.

RYS you make lots of mistakes. 

Yasi: I would imagine that for people thinking, if you run, um, asset management company, or if you have a fund and a group of people working for you, it will be more than a full-time job. Do you manage your traders, your team, or you have other people helping you with, uh, like administrative staff managing the team?

Or how do you organize that? 

Richard: So I actually do the admin administration of stuff myself. So like, um, you know, making emails with all these interested shareholders making. W conferences with the traders on gender hunt, like a year ago, a half a year ago that also made a newsletter, a weekly newsletter. Now someone else is doing it for me.

So more and more I’m giving work to others are effectively. They are really helping me because I do not pay down currently. It’s really about thinking forward and maybe it will be profitable. Maybe it will. Won’t. And that’s what we’re looking forward to. Yeah. 

Yasi: Like you mentioned that other people are helping you and you work with others.

Richard: Yes. Yeah. So actually really we’re a team they’re not working for me or something like that. Yeah. I guess that’s a better kind of explanation and sometimes sales fabric chopped herself, so, yeah. 

Yasi: And do you think learning finance at a younger age benefit you in certain areas? 

Richard: Yes. On one hand it opens me a lot of new gates.

So if I really want, I can connect. Nearly anyone? No, I saw him not a usual kid. Um, that’s actually the opinion of your people. So that’s means I can connect to literally. Anyone I want to, that’s a gate, which is just underrated. I mean, connections are very important. So that’s one thing that when you have your hand finances very important because I actually think Warren Buffett, what happened in one hand, a very good track record, but on the other hand, he started with 12 and that’s a game changer.

If you start refer to lunch on trade in Western till 90. It won’t have the same performance as Warren buffet because there’s compounding effect, et cetera. And that just cumulates itself over the years. So that’s actually the reason why I have huge advantages in this industry. 

Yasi: Yeah. So you have to time.

Yeah. You have to time ahead of you and you have, um, Because you have the time, so you can take certain risks because other people might not, or they don’t want to. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. My last question is, so you started at age seven, eight with trading. And what do you recommend like our audience? If they have kids at younger age, How can they teach their kids about finance or investment?

Richard: First of all, I think it really needs to understand that basics in general, it’s very important that you give your kids the opportunity to, um, invest your money at respite, because we don’t give them the opportunity. Just invest the money for them. One day or boring, just put all the money at the beginning into a index fund, whatever, not too risky, not just one stock, whatever, just to participate at the stock market because once there are seven, eight, you can show them well, AF invested $1,000 when you were born, when Wes had that amount for you.

And now it’s $1,435. $435 is a lot of money for a seven year old. And that’s actually one, um, possibility to teach your kids just by showing them that it works. Now, the stock market only goes up because inflation is here and it’s actually the concept of the stock market. 90% of the time the stock market goes.

And that’s how you have to impress as well. Just teach the basics basically. 

Yasi: And your classmates, because of you other interesting trading as well. 

Richard: Actually, they are, they really are. So the game you mentioned before I won now, right? Half of the class has downloaded this game to just by Tesla and Spotify.

Just, uh, the stocks, they respectively the company stay. No. The which are relevant. Well-known like Tesla, apple, Spotify. These are favorites of these kids after kids portfolio. So. That’s a possibility as well to just either companies you’ll know where it will. And again, you can do better than the stock market.

Actually. That’s the funny for you. Don’t have to be a hedge fund looking for bank stocks, which are trading at one digit PE. That’s not a strategy, which is probably working in the long run. 

Yasi: And then for the audience, if solved might be interesting investing in your font or following your progress with your company, where can they find you?

Richard: Um, you can find me on, on LinkedIn as Richard Schäli, or you can find the website of current asset management company,  financial-trading-group.com or, uh, I’m on Instagram as well. And if they want to become a shareholder, they have to wait until a late autumn, because right now we’re closing the funds, not really attracting new capital or something like that.

So you will just find more information on the website soon.

Yasi: They can also subscribe to weekly newsletter from your website. Exactly. Okay. I will put the information in the podcast. Yeah. We tell still they can find out. And thank you very much for sharing your stories. I think in reality though, are much more that what you have done that we have not covered.

So I try to put into the interview. Part, so people have a better understanding of what you actually have downs from the age of seven, eight tier. Now it could be a very good inspiration for the others because a lot of audience might be 25 to 35 to 38, then their children like a five to nine years old. I think it’s a good age to start teaching them about five.

Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing your stories today, Richard. 

Richard: Thank you!