June 1, 2015

Jay Yoon is an example of the Warren Buffett next door discovered by Instavest. His returns on Instavest have exceeded 27% across 5 positions and Jay already has close to 100 followers and +$125,000 backing his investments. Saleem Khatri, Co-Founder & CEO of Instavest, sat down with Jay to learn a little more about him and why he loves Instavest.

Who is Jay Yoon?

I’m just a normal guy who happens to be a good investor. I play ice hockey twice a week in a local league and hang out with my friends on the weekends. I live a fairly simple life for the most part.

I love public market investing because there is always something to look at. I enjoy seeing a variety of different investment opportunities and love being in charge of my own destiny.

What’s your investment philosophy?

I’m a value-based investor, so I look for companies that are trading at less than their intrinsic value. A good investor knows when they are speculating versus investing and I prefer to be an “owner” of a business. I’ve noticed that a lot of retail investors don’t know the difference and I felt the same way when I was just starting off. That’s one of the things Instavest is really good at – showing beginning investors how seasoned investors look at the world. I wish I had that when I was getting started. Also, I have to understand what I’m buying before I invest. I tend to focus on investments in the alternative energy, technology (internet, optical components) and retail sectors.

What’s your take on the market right now?

Nobody can predict where the market is going. The S&P is trading at about 19x earnings and at this point we’re getting stretched versus historical valuation levels. I am increasingly short the market and very selective about my long-term positions. This is completely different from 2010 when everything was cheap.

What do you think could bring about a significant downturn in the markets?

Well, I think the big event everyone is looking at is the rise in interest rates. The market may be pricing in the rate hike already – but timing and the magnitude of the rate increase will determine how the market reacts. I’m also keeping an eye on China’s debt, the situation in Russia and the European financial crisis.

Why do you like and use Instavest?

When I first started investing, I could’ve benefited from understanding, in real time, why great investors made their investments. For a new investor to see how an experienced investor invests is really educational. I also think that Instavest is a great platform for me to build my own profile and gain recognition. It’s awesome to be part of a website that’s growing like crazy and I know Instavest will take off over the next few years.

Can you share your view on a current Instavest position?

Sure, I invested in Sunedison on Instavest a few weeks back. The stock is currently at $30 and I invested around $23 (+30% so far).

Solar is a multiyear growth story. The penetration of solar is less than 1% right now. SUNE, in particular has the scale globally to capitalize better than its competitors because it is less focused on technology and more focused on building scale as an asset light provider of solar power. From a sum-of-the-parts valuation perspective, the stock is easily worth more than $40 per share and that doesn’t even factor in the company’s growth.

We got this question from one of your followers: Are you single?

Haha – let’s just say I’m not married!

Jay Yoon is on Instavest, a website where investors post their investments and then other investors can replicate those positions and donate a portion of their profits.

35 Kudos