Down with the beard! How the investment challenge ended and who ultimately lost

What a challenge

A year ago, Alexey Ponomar and Rodion Scriabin decided to try themselves as investors and find out who is better at managing money. At the start, each had 100 thousand rubles. For this amount, Alexey and Rodion bought securities using the Tinkoff Investments service. Whoever earns more in 12 months is the winner.

It's boring to compete just like that, so the participants in the challenge agreed that the loser would lose his beard. Not a bad incentive to choose your assets responsibly.

At the start, Alexey bought shares in Yandex, Sberbank, PIK and MTS, and invested part of the money in investment funds - gold and shares of American IT companies looked promising. Rodion put together a combo of shares in Aeroflot, Disney, American Airlines, General Electric, Nokia, PayPal, McDonald’s, Visa and Western Digital.

Every month, our investors reported on their victories and defeats at challenge page. The struggle turned out to be harsh: although the set of assets among the participants was different, but for quite a long time they went practically on a par - they lost money, earned, sold, bought and sold again. And then the coronavirus intervened.

How did it end

Due to the virus, falling oil prices and general instability, the stock market was severely stormy. For investors who look to the future and invest money for 5 or 10 years, the situation is not particularly dire, and Rodion and Alexei had to worry. The challenge was drawing to a close, so there was no time for decisive action. One could only hope that the existing assets would grow at least a little, and, just in case, keep an eye on shaving foam. Drumroll…

In the investment challenge won Rodion Scriabin. His result is 120 348 rubles (and a decent beard).

Alexey Ponomar finished the challenge with 108,742 rubles on his account and received a unique chance to reconsider his relationship with facial hair.

The results of the experiment speak for themselves: even though the spring situation on the market cannot be called favorable, they still managed to make money. And it's quite good - if the guys put their 100 thousand in the bank, then they could only dream of a profit of 8 or 20 thousand rubles. For comparison, the rate on deposits up to a year at 30 largest Russian banks on average isInterest rates on loans and deposits and the structure of loans and deposits by maturity 4.21% - only 4,210 rubles if you put 100,000 into your account.

And now what all of you (and we) have been waiting for. Yes, Alexey really shaved off his beard, we have proofs. Scroll through the gallery and see how it was.

Interview with heroes

12 months behind, the challenge is over. How do you feel now?

Alexei

Probably a relief. Finally, it will be possible to take some steps in the field of investment and not report them to the whole world.

Rodion

On the one hand, I'm glad I won. On the other hand, there was a slight sediment from the fact that at the end of the challenge there was an economic recession and this affected the results. It is not Lesha's fault that he lost. But, probably, this is the essence: when you play on investments, you need to be prepared that anything can happen around.

The main feeling: I want to start again! But no longer to report to anyone, but quietly add the deferred money to an investment account once a month.

How was the last day of the challenge?

Alexei

Before selling all assets, I once again carefully studied my portfolio and determined what I am ready to return to in the future. The challenge is over, but I won't stop investing.

Rodion

Quite boring overall. For the last 3 months we have been in the "doing nothing" mode, just calculating losses and profits. I understood that this was the last day, but it was the most ordinary one. I realized a little earlier that I would not have to shave my beard, so I was relaxed.

What did you think when you found out who won?

Alexei

I will not say that it was a surprise. The outcome became clear back in March, so it was time to think over and accept what had happened.

Rodion

Let's be honest: the market situation didn't exactly give us room to maneuver, so I knew that I would most likely win. When it was all over, I just exhaled. If I were winning with Zoom shares, which went down a lot when they were caught claiming that MAUs were actually lower than they publicly stated, I'd be very nervous. But everything was pretty smooth with us. Nobody grew or fell much, so the victory did not come as a surprise to me.

How do you evaluate investments in terms of profitability, ease of entry and complexity of portfolio management?

Alexei

It's definitely not the easiest tool to generate guaranteed income, but the overall complexity can be managed. If you want simpler and less risk - invest in proven conservative assets; want to move faster - short and look for potential candidates for rapid growth. The required time also depends on the strategy.

Rodion

I earned more than if the money was on the deposit. I am glad that Lyosha, despite the fact that he lost, still earned more than on the deposit. Therefore, I highly value investments in terms of profitability. If my hands grew from the right places and I knew how to navigate more adequately, I could raise 30 thousand.

Honestly, I'm surprised: I didn't expect it to be so good! It turned out that this is much more interesting and more money than I previously thought, and you can start earning by investing even 100 thousand. With the ease of entry, everything is also in order: it is not necessary to immediately spend a large amount, you can throw in 10 thousand every month or 1,000-2,000 in general - it all depends on what kind of shares you want buy. As for the complexity of management, you need to cultivate Zen patience. And if you plan to behave progressively and buy some additional shares every month, then it is also important to know what is happening around.

What do you think investments are suitable for?

Alexei

For the most diverse! A gambling person will satisfy his thirst for the game, an analyst will easily find bottomless volumes of data to study, even a fan of esotericism can build some mystical model.

Rodion

I think investment is suitable for three purposes. First, earn a little more than on a deposit. Secondly, stimulate your vision of the world around you. Because when you have invested money, you have to follow a little more what is happening in the world and reflect on this topic. Well and - Kirill will not like this answer, of course, but have fun. And also to be normal, because you have a Google share, for example.

What useful services did you discover during the challenge?

Alexei

I did not confine myself to a certain set of sources, I studied the situation as a whole. And now I don't follow the news very closely.

Rodion

I found a lot of interesting things in the internal social network for investors "Pulse». I also used the forecasting tool in the mobile application: I looked at what they predict for companies whose shares I own or whose shares I would like to buy. I joined the YouTube channel “Money does not sleep"And constantly read company reports in telegram channel Tinkoff Investments. And the news, of course. When you have a large shareholding or any company you believe in, it is impossible not to follow the events that are associated with it.

What is the most interesting thing from the investment world that you learned during this time?

Alexei

I learned about the Retire at 30 movement and became very interested in it. People build capital and invest until they are 30–35 years old, and when they realize that they can provide their lives through dividends, they stop working. It's a bit late for me, of course, but I really like the strategy itself.

Rodion

I found out that I can do this! It's the most important. I also learned that the stock price reacts vividly to what is happening around, and this is not always a symmetrical response. Therefore, it is very useful to be aware of what is happening in the world!

Give cool advice to those who were inspired by our challenge to start investing.

Alexei

Find a balance between caution, attentiveness and determination and you will succeed.

Rodion

My cool tip: don't delay! Start investing with any amount right now. The main thing is to make it a habit. This is exactly what I plan to do for the next year - I will get used to using my investment account as a piggy bank and pour in some money every month. And I recommend it to you.

What would you be at stake in the next challenge?

Alexei

As a person who is absolutely not gambling, I am not ready to sacrifice anything. :)

Rodion

We are adults! So I would put my eyebrows up.

What to do if you also want to make money on investing

We invented and made this challenge together with the service “Tinkoff Investments». To open a brokerage account here, you need to fill out a short application for challenge page. If you already have a Tinkoff card, all documents can be signed online, if not, a bank representative will bring the necessary papers himself.

There are 11,000 securities in the Tinkoff Investments catalog. If you do not understand all these stocks and bonds at all, call the robot advisor for help. He will ask three questions and build a balanced portfolio based on your answers. You can also open an individual investment account for three years and receive not only the money earned, but also a tax deduction of 13% on investment income.

It is convenient to monitor the status of assets in mobile application. There is 24/7 support, expert forecasts and market news. If you dream of buying Microsoft or Apple shares, but their value is not yet happy, set in the application the price at which you are ready to conclude a deal. The program will let you know when the right time to buy is.

For novice investors, Tinkoff Investments has a free service tariff: you only need to pay a commission for a transaction - it is 0.3%. Active investors will benefit from the "Trader" tariff - the commission here is from 0.05%. You can replenish a brokerage account or withdraw money to a card instantly and at any time without commission.

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