Chapter 85: Online Game Gold Farming Studio

To put it simply, a fund is basically you handing over your money to a fund manager and letting them navigate the capital markets, hoping they'll make some money for you.
However, there's a small but significant pitfall here.
With stocks, you time it right, click the mouse, and "sell!"
The money is instantly back in your account, very convenient.
But with funds, if you want to redeem your money?
You'll have to wait patiently, at least three days, by which time the opportunity will have passed!
That's why ETFs were born.
The advantages of ETFs are:
You can buy and sell them directly on the exchange, as convenient as buying and selling cabbages.
You can put your money in whenever you want and withdraw it whenever you want—it's incredibly flexible!
However, all of Su Hao's department's funds are stuck in the hands of traditional funds.
Moreover, the funds he chose were no pushovers!
They were like ferocious beasts, starved for three days and three nights, brimming with primal, wild predatory instincts!
The risk?
It was naturally off the charts; one wrong move and he could lose everything!
But once they got the chance, their hunting prowess was incredibly ruthless!
If Su Hao had to choose himself, he would never have picked something that put his life on the line.
But his damned, ridiculously powerful intuition, like a GPS navigator, precisely led him to these dens of wolves.
Now, the cheating scandal at Zhongda University has finally begun to unfold, and in a way that is earth-shattering, sending shockwaves through the global financial markets!
"Volkswagen Group CEO Winterkorn has publicly admitted to all data falsification and resigned!
This move will further expand the impact of the 'dieselgate' scandal, and Volkswagen Group has decided to recall up to 11 million vehicles globally!"
Dieselgate! Good heavens!
These German idiots actually falsified vehicle emissions data, with actual emissions forty times higher than the stated levels!
And they even managed to sell these problematic cars for several years!
Now, the CEO is out of a job, and there's a massive recall of problematic vehicles.
Astronomical fines are raining down, leaving the entire group stunned.
But the fines aren't the worst part.
The cheated consumers also need an explanation; compensation is a must.
However, given the usual practices of these large companies, it's obvious:
They'll definitely pull out all the stops—public relations, lobbying—to try and minimize the compensation.
In short, the owners of Volkswagen cars will become the most pitiful suckers in this whole mess.
"..."
Su Hao silently opened his account and began to review the current status of his "splurged" funds.
Normally, when you throw money into a fund, you're completely blind to what stocks it's bought or what investments it's made.
If the fund manager is in a good mood, they'll give you a quarterly report; if they're in a bad mood, just wait for the year-end summary—whether you make a profit or a loss is up to fate.
But there are always exceptions, especially when you've invested a significant amount of money.
Su Hao's huge sum was secured through a large brokerage firm with a short-selling fund, and the contract they signed was full of "unconscionable terms"...
Of course, "unconscionable" from the perspective of the short-selling fund; for Su Hao, it was "VIP service."
While it's impossible to monitor every transaction in real time, regularly checking positions and trading volume is definitely achievable.
"This feels... a lot like running a gold farming operation for online games!"
Su Hao stroked his chin, a playful smile playing on his lips.
Anyone who's played online games knows that there are always those ruthless players who set up dozens, even hundreds, of computers, running scripts and bots to farm gold and equipment day and night—these are commonly known as "gold farming studios."
And to be honest, what Su Hao was doing right now did have a bit of that studio-like, automated gold farming feel to it.
These funds, aren't they just like automated monster-hunting "robots"?
He throws money around, and these "robots" howl and attack everywhere, automatically scavenging wealth for him.
The only difference is:
In a game, doing this is strictly prohibited "cheating," and you'll get banned if you're not careful;
In reality, doing this is called "rational asset allocation" and "legal wealth appreciation"!
See? It's the same kind of automated monster-hunting for money, but here it's not only legal, but it's also hailed as the highest level of investment!
How ironic, how realistic!
"But speaking of which, the aggressiveness of these 'robots' is truly ferocious!"
Su Hao clicked his tongue in amazement.
There was no way around it; when he was selecting them, he chose the most ruthless and aggressive ones.
In a normally calm exchange, these short-selling funds would probably have been wiped out long ago, losing everything.
But now it's different. This once-mighty behemoth has been stabbed through by the "exhaust gas scandal," bleeding profusely and barely clinging to life.
These funds are like a pack of hyenas that have been lying in wait, smelling blood—no, a swarm of ravenous piranhas!
They know perfectly well: this fat sheep is now too weak to resist!
If not now, when?
So, they tear at it relentlessly, wanting nothing more than to devour it whole, skin and bones!
"Judging by this, it's pretty much done...if it keeps going, there won't be any bone fragments left."
Su Hao pondered, "Shouldn't I call it quits and collect my money?"
He scrolled through the list of "gold-farming bots" he had invested in, carefully sensing each one, his brow furrowing slightly.
"..."
No!
Not even the slightest hint of "it's time to stop"!
You see, Zhongda's stock price has already plummeted by a full 20%!
Like a freefall, unstoppable!
It's a bloodbath, a truly horrific sight!
Strangely, not a single fund gave him that intuitive signal to "close the net"!
What does this mean?
This gluttonous feast, this hunt for Zhongda—is far from over!
The show has only just begun!