More young Indonesians banking on stock market

Success stories among their peers and a plethora of user-friendly investing apps are luring more young Indonesians to the stock market, but some are learning the hard way that risk and opportunity go hand in hand.

According to a new Financial Services Authority report, the number of investors, or people holding a single investor identification, reached 14.21 million on Oct 22, up 17 percent since the beginning of the year, with 55 percent of them aged below 30.

"This shows the growing interest in the capital markets among the young generation," stated the report, which was published on the authority's online content sharing app on Oct 25.

Many members of the younger generation are actively picking stocks rather than entrusting their funds to a mutual fund, according to industry reports.

One of the young investors is Isya Yusril, a 27-year-old entrepreneur who started dabbling in the capital market seven years ago.

"I only needed to have at least 100,000 rupiah ($6.35) to start. The reason why I like investing in the capital market is because there are not many obstacles for young people who don't have much money," he told The Jakarta Post.

He admitted to experiencing investment losses and low returns during his early years and added that ups and downs were part of the investment learning process.

"I certainly have experienced losses, especially in the beginning, but with a small budget, so it didn't have a big impact financially. The learning curve took quite a while," he said.

"So, the losses didn't stop me; instead, they made me eager to learn and find more potential in the market."

Isya explained that he used his income earned from gig work as an online driver and from building small businesses to develop his investing habit.

"Investing is a lifestyle that needs to be maintained, in addition to learning the theories," he said.

He insisted it takes more than luck to win in the market and emphasized that young investors should be more critical of their own judgment before investing.

"Maybe because of the influence of social media content, the young generation have the mindset to find shortcuts by speculating," he said, underscoring the importance of relying on research and blocking out the noise of online hype.

Long-term effort

Attracting the young generation has been a conscious effort by the authorities to increase investment in the country.

Indonesia Stock Exchange, or IDX, development director Jeffrey Hendrik said the bourse was committed to developing the capital market in Indonesia by establishing its Capital Market School and Investment Gallery or IG, and by conducting targeted campaigns.

"The IDX IG is our strategy to bring the world of capital markets closer to academics, the younger generation, and the community.

"We want to instill an investment culture from an early age, as well as encourage the regeneration of smart and investment-literate (Indonesians)," he stated in a news release in September.

IDX president director Iman Rachman said the rise of stock investors reflected confidence in the capital market despite global and domestic economic uncertainty.

"Retail investor participation remains steady, with overall domestic investors still dominating, both in terms of ownership and transactions," Iman said in the same news release.

THE JAKARTA POST, INDONESIA