"Don't worry about whether it's a peak; stepping onto the roller coaster now is the shortcut to becoming wealthy. There's no need to ask, 'Is it a peak right now? Should I still buy?'""
Petit Rich (author Kim Woon-ah), author of 'First-Time U.S. Growth Stock Investing' and 'Money Changes Everything,' and operator of the Naver Cafe 'Jae-rin's Life,' delivered a lecture titled 'It's Never Too Late to Start Investing in U.S. Growth Stocks' at Money Today's '2026 The Lifestyle X Single FIRE Money Show' held on the 4th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Petit Rich is a real-life FIRE member (voluntary early retiree) who started with a negative balance and achieved a net worth of 4 billion won. She is particularly known as a seasoned investor who recorded an extraordinary return of 8,000% through early investment in NVIDIA.
She emphasized that "the U.S. stock market has been trending upward over the long term, so if you invest appropriately by diversifying, there is no risk of total failure," and stated that "now is the best time to invest in U.S. growth stocks."
She specifically cited exchange rate fluctuations, the U.S. midterm elections, and initial public offerings (IPOs) of major corporations as opportunity factors. Petit Rich explained, "Recently, the exchange rate has dropped to levels seen exactly one year ago. At that time, 1,300 won was considered expensive, but now that it has fallen from hitting 1,500 won, people say it's cheap. As the exchange rate declines, the burden of investing has become much lighter." She pointed out that when looking at past stock market performance based on U.S. elections, higher returns were achieved in the year following midterm elections. According to her data, the average return in election years like 1932 was 6.1% (median 9.5%), while the return in the following year was 7.5% (median 9.1%). The second year of a midterm election cycle saw the lowest returns at 5.8% (median 6.2%). However, the third year—the year after the midterm—saw returns of 16.3% (median 18.1%), nearly three times higher than the comparison period.
She stressed that "the bull market trend has not yet ended" and added that "worrying about whether it is a peak or not is simply a waste of time."
She advised maintaining an appropriate investment horizon of at least 20 years. She stated, "S&P 500 stocks should not be bought and sold but held continuously. If we calculate all cases where U.S. stocks were held for 20 years from 1928 to 2024 based on dividend reinvestment, there was never a single instance of loss."
Adding systematic investment plans further enhances the effect. Petit Rich said, "If you had started investing 500,000 won monthly via systematic investment at the peak of the 2000 dot-com bubble and continued for 26 years—that is, 312 months—the accumulated principal would be 156 million won, but the current market value would reach 740 million won. With dividend reinvestment, it would exceed 800 million won."
Regarding U.S. stock investments, she advised increasing the proportion of growth stocks over index funds. Among the S&P 500, the top 10 companies account for 38% of market capitalization. Since the market capitalization share of the top 10 companies has been growing annually, this indicates relatively higher profitability. She emphasized that "as AI (artificial intelligence) advances, the proportion of technology stocks will become even larger."
When it comes to selecting specific stocks, she answered that investing in well-known large-cap and growth stocks is sufficient. She stated, "Instead of wasting effort searching for hidden pearls, it's more beneficial to invest in verified stocks and spend time where it matters most," adding that this is "the fastest and safest way to grow assets." She also noted, "Investing should be simple and sustainable for ordinary investors."
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