How should a college student invest in their future?

[Sophia]

Hey!

So i'm a Japanese college student(20 next month) but I don't speak fluent Japanese hence it is difficult for me to understand most info on the internet until I stumbled across this website. I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot of articles but I think most of the information applies to America and I think Japan might have a different system.

I want to start investing for my future but I don't know the best route to take. Should I invest in NISA? Mutual Funds? Stocks? All 3? Japanese companies? International companies?

Any advise would be helpful !

Thanks in advance

[RetireJapan]

Hi Sophia

Welcome to the forum! The good news is that just by thinking about this at your age, you are well ahead of 99% of the population and will likely be fine

I would suggest reading the information pages about NISA on the RJ site. Specifically, what the account does, the different types of NISA, etc.

A lot will depend on how much money you have to invest, what your goals are, and where you plan to live in the future.

Anyone else?

[N00bster]

Oh do I wish that I started thinking about this when I was 20...

From your message I understand that you have Japanese citizenship and plan to stay in Japan for the foreseeable future? If so, just follow the information on the site. Don't try to do anything funny, start slow and get deeper as you feel more comfortable (time is in your favor anyway). NISA or tsumitate NISA sounds like a great way to get started. Buy index funds (you can easily find people's recommendations on the forum but we can reiterate if you have questions), be regular and disciplined, and you are likely to do very well. Time in the market is more powerful than income.

You are right that most material on the net applies to the US, but most of the basics are transferable to Japan. It's just that instead of opened a 401k, you will open an iDeco, and you will buy Japanese funds that track the same indexes as the recommended US funds. So educating yourself with English material is not wasted time.

Congrats on your wisdom to start investing so early. Don't hesitate to ask questions here!

[Bushiman]

I definitely mirror the sentiments of the other guys... I wish I'd known about investing and planning for the future back when I was in my early twenties...
You've come to the right place though -there is lots of great information here, and a bunch of very knowledgeable people to help steer you in the right direction.

You're right in saying that the majority of material out there regarding investing is catered for Americans, but the same principles apply here in Japan, and what N00bster mentioned about being disciplined is really important...
I've found this series a really good read: JLC Stock Series
Some of it you won't need, but the fundamentals he talks about are really easy to understand (even for me! Ha!). Where he talks about Vanguard funds, a lot of the community here in Japan use eMaxis Slim funds...

Good luck!

[adamu]

It's not clear whether "Japanese college student" means you are a Japanese person who is a college student, or a student of a Japanese college. This advice only applies if you're not a US citizen.

I would say: If you are planning on being in Japan long-term (multiple decades of your life): start with iDeCo. If you're not sure, start with NISA.

No matter which one you do, buy a global index fund, and don't worry about it if the price goes down.

I like 三菱ＵＦＪ国際－ｅＭＡＸＩＳ　Ｓｌｉｍ　全世界株式（オール・カントリー）

I also second the stock series from the previous post, I'm a big fan. As Bushiman says, for Japan I would replace the Vanguard VTSAX recommendation that blog makes with the above.

Investing in your financial future is important, but non-financial investments are also important: friends, family, health, fitness, education, employment prospects, etc. So make sure you also have a good balance there too. No point having money if you have nothing to live for

[RetireJapan]

Most students are going to be applying to avoid paying their pension (免状) so won't be able to use iDeCo until they are paying nenkin in full.

[adamu]

I'm not familiar with the 免除 system, but from a quick check it seems like you have to make up the payments later. In that case, if you have money to spare (and are planning to get the Japanese pension), maybe not taking the exemption is the better choice?

[Sophia]

Hi Sophia

Welcome to the forum! The good news is that just by thinking about this at your age, you are well ahead of 99% of the population and will likely be fine

I would suggest reading the information pages about NISA on the RJ site. Specifically, what the account does, the different types of NISA, etc.

A lot will depend on how much money you have to invest, what your goals are, and where you plan to live in the future.

Anyone else?

Thank you very much. I have already started reading the content on your page and even downloaded some of the pdfs so I'll get to that too!

[Sophia]

Oh do I wish that I started thinking about this when I was 20...

From your message I understand that you have Japanese citizenship and plan to stay in Japan for the foreseeable future? If so, just follow the information on the site. Don't try to do anything funny, start slow and get deeper as you feel more comfortable (time is in your favor anyway). NISA or tsumitate NISA sounds like a great way to get started. Buy index funds (you can easily find people's recommendations on the forum but we can reiterate if you have questions), be regular and disciplined, and you are likely to do very well. Time in the market is more powerful than income.

You are right that most material on the net applies to the US, but most of the basics are transferable to Japan. It's just that instead of opened a 401k, you will open an iDeco, and you will buy Japanese funds that track the same indexes as the recommended US funds. So educating yourself with English material is not wasted time.

Congrats on your wisdom to start investing so early. Don't hesitate to ask questions here!

Thank you ! Yes, I'm a japanese citizen but I just moved back 2 years ago so my japanese skills aren't the best. I don't know If I want to work here after college but I will visit regularly. Does this affect anything?

[Sophia]

It's not clear whether "Japanese college student" means you are a Japanese person who is a college student, or a student of a Japanese college. This advice only applies if you're not a US citizen.

I would say: If you are planning on being in Japan long-term (multiple decades of your life): start with iDeCo. If you're not sure, start with NISA.

No matter which one you do, buy a global index fund, and don't worry about it if the price goes down.

I like 三菱ＵＦＪ国際－ｅＭＡＸＩＳ　Ｓｌｉｍ　全世界株式（オール・カントリー）

I also second the stock series from the previous post, I'm a big fan. As Bushiman says, for Japan I would replace the Vanguard VTSAX recommendation that blog makes with the above.

Investing in your financial future is important, but non-financial investments are also important: friends, family, health, fitness, education, employment prospects, etc. So make sure you also have a good balance there too. No point having money if you have nothing to live for

Thank you for the reply!

I am a japanese citizen. I dont know if I plan on working in Japan after college but I would definitely be visiting very regularly. Is it still ok if I go with iDeco or doe the situation change things?

I appreciate your time !