Day Trading Legend: BNF - The God of Japanese Day Trading

Billionaire Bears
4 Feb 202326:57

Summary

TLDRThe script narrates the journey of BNF, a Japanese day trader, from his humble beginnings to becoming a legendary figure known as 'J COM Man' after a historic trade. Despite setbacks and market fluctuations, BNF's disciplined contrarian trading strategy and keen market understanding led to remarkable profits. His story illustrates the highs and lows of trading, emphasizing the importance of strategy, discipline, and adaptability in the face of financial adversity.

Takeaways

  • 😎 Masayoshi Son, a billionaire investor, gained fame and wealth through unconventional trading methods, becoming known as the 'J COM Man' in Japan.
  • 📈 BNF's initial trading success was attributed to his contrarian trading strategy during a bear market, focusing on stocks oversold by fearful traders.
  • 📊 BNF developed unique sector-specific deviation targets from the 25-day moving average to identify entry points for trades, adapting his strategy to different market sectors.
  • 💡 His trading philosophy was deeply rooted in understanding market sentiment and the interdependence of market components, viewing trading as part of a global machine.
  • 🚀 BNF's most significant trade was with J COM Holdings, where he capitalized on a trading error that led to a massive profit of ¥2 billion, solidifying his legendary status.
  • 📉 Despite his success, BNF faced challenges when transitioning from a bear market strategy to a bull market, necessitating the development of a new approach to maintain profitability.
  • 🏠 BNF diversified his investments into commercial real estate, recognizing its potential as a long-term asset with tax benefits and inflation protection.
  • 🌐 The 2008 global financial crisis presented both a devastating loss and an opportunity for BNF, who rebounded with a renewed strategy and discipline.
  • 📚 BNF's journey underscores the importance of continuous learning and adapting to changing market conditions, as well as the value of maintaining a disciplined approach to trading.
  • 💼 Despite his wealth, BNF preferred a humble lifestyle, finding that the love for trading itself was more fulfilling than material wealth or societal status.
  • 🔄 BNF's trading evolution included refining his deviation targets over time to account for market growth and changes in sector rebound speeds.

Q & A

  • Who is Masayoshi Son and what was his interest in BNF?

    -Masayoshi Son is a billionaire investor who became interested in BNF after the J COM trade in 2005, where BNF made a significant profit. Son was intrigued by BNF's trading success and his unconventional approach to wealth management.

  • What was BNF's lifestyle like before he became successful in trading?

    -Before his success, BNF led a modest lifestyle, spending most of his days alone in a room, indulging in cup ramen and anime, and day trading.

  • How did BNF gain his initial interest in trading?

    -BNF's interest in trading was sparked by a four-part series aired by NHK in 1998, which covered the life of hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer. The documentary inspired BNF to pursue a career in trading.

  • What was BNF's primary strategy for trading in a bear market?

    -BNF's primary strategy in a bear market was Contrarian Trading. He focused on stocks that had fallen at least 20% off the 25-day moving average, identifying opportunities for short-term rebounds.

  • How did BNF adapt his strategy to trade in a bull market?

    -In a bull market, BNF adapted his strategy by identifying core companies that were lagging behind the index and buying their stocks, expecting them to catch up and then selling for a profit after a few days or weeks.

  • What was the significance of the J COM trade in BNF's trading career?

    -The J COM trade was significant because it resulted in one of the largest profits ever made by a bedroom day trader, earning BNF approximately ¥2 billion and solidifying his status as a legendary figure in the trading community.

  • What mistake did BNF make when he invested in Lehman Brothers stock?

    -BNF made the mistake of underestimating the level of corruption in the US banking system and not studying the US market as thoroughly as he had with Japanese stocks, leading to a loss of his entire $6.5 million investment.

  • How did BNF handle the global financial crisis of 2008?

    -During the 2008 financial crisis, BNF initially faced losses but remained calm and disciplined, eventually recalculating his deviation targets and going on a buying spree in the hardest-hit companies. His faith in the market paid off, resulting in a profit of over $12 million.

  • What changes did BNF make to his portfolio in recent years?

    -In recent years, BNF diversified his portfolio by investing in commercial real estate, buying two commercial real estate buildings, which offer long-term tenants and tax-cut incentives.

  • What is BNF's ultimate goal in his trading career?

    -BNF's ultimate goal is to become the world's first Billionaire Bear Bedroom Day Trader, maintaining his humble lifestyle while achieving extraordinary success in trading.

  • How did BNF's trading approach evolve over time?

    -BNF's trading approach evolved from focusing on individual price action to understanding the market as a global machine, applying unemotional discipline and developing a deep feel for different market sectors.

Outlines

00:00

💼 The Ascent of BNF: From Cup Ramen to Day Trading Legend

Masayoshi Son, a billionaire investor, sought new wealth growth strategies in 2005. BNF, a Japanese day trader, gained fame and fortune post the J COM trade, becoming a legend known as the 'J COM Man.' Despite his wealth, BNF preferred a simple life of day trading from a small apartment, distrusting the system. His trading journey began with inspiration from Victor Niederhoffer and a documentary series aired by NHK in 1998. With no prior knowledge of trading, BNF faced numerous challenges, including a lack of resources and being a broke college student. However, his passion for trading and the dream of financial freedom drove him to save up and learn the craft, setting the stage for his future success.

05:00

📊 The Making of a Day Trader: From Part-Time Jobs to Market Mastery

BNF's journey to becoming a day trader was marked by hard work and dedication. He worked part-time jobs during college, saving every penny he could for trading capital. Despite the global bear market and Japan's 'Lost Decade,' BNF studied stock charts and developed his own theories on market movements. His strategy of Contrarian Trading, focusing on stocks oversold due to fear in the bear market, proved successful. By identifying sector-specific deviation percentages from the 25-day moving average, BNF refined his approach, leading to more profitable trades. His discipline and analysis skills allowed him to navigate the market downturns and grow his initial $16,000 to $1 million by the end of 2002.

10:02

📉 Adapting to the Bull Market: BNF's Shift in Strategy and the J COM Incident

As the market shifted to a bull run, BNF faced a new challenge, needing to adapt his bear market strategy to profit in a bullish environment. He developed a new approach, capitalizing on the codependency of core companies with the index, buying lagging stocks and selling them for profit. This strategy, along with his disciplined approach to trading, allowed BNF to maintain profitability. However, the J COM incident in December 2005, where a trading error led to a massive stock drop, presented BNF with an opportunity. He quickly bought shares at the错误的limit down price, gaining a significant stake in the company. As the market reacted and the price skyrocketed, BNF's quick thinking and bold move paid off, further cementing his reputation as a trading legend.

15:04

🏆 The J COM Man's Triumph and the Challenge of the Bull Market

BNF's calculated risk during the J COM stock incident resulted in a staggering profit of ¥2 billion, turning him into a household name in Japan and attracting the attention of billionaire investor Masayoshi Son. Despite the high-risk nature of his trade, BNF's calm demeanor and strategic thinking led to his success. However, the transition to a bull market posed a new challenge. BNF had to develop a new strategy that profited from bullish sentiment without fighting against it. He found a way to ride the bull run by identifying and trading laggers among core companies. His disciplined approach and understanding of market dynamics allowed him to grow his account by another 10 million in two years, showcasing his adaptability and trading prowess.

20:04

📉 The Return of the Bear Market and BNF's Missteps

As the global financial system teetered on the brink of collapse in 2008, BNF smelled opportunity amidst the chaos. He made a significant bet on Lehman Brothers stock, expecting a rebound due to its strong reputation. However, BNF underestimated the extent of corruption in the U.S. banking system and suffered a devastating loss when his investment went to zero overnight. This painful experience led him to swear off trading U.S. markets. Despite this setback, BNF returned to his roots and old strategies when faced with the new bear market, studying the situation closely and preparing for a market rebound. His disciplined approach and ability to tune out the noise allowed him to navigate through the tumultuous times.

25:05

💼 BNF's Resurgence and Vision for the Future

BNF's faith in his market understanding and trading strategy led him to hold his positions during the 2008 market crash, resulting in a substantial profit of over $12 million. His success in the face of adversity reaffirmed his status as a trading legend. In recent years, BNF diversified his portfolio by investing in commercial real estate, a strategic move to benefit from inflationary trends. Despite selling one property, BNF remained focused on trading, maintaining his simple lifestyle and demonstrating remarkable growth. With an unwavering commitment to his craft, BNF is determined to become the world's first Billionaire Bear Bedroom Day Trader, showcasing his ambition and the potential for extraordinary success in the world of trading.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Masayoshi Son

Masayoshi Son is a renowned Japanese billionaire investor and the founder of SoftBank Group. In the context of the video, Son is mentioned as someone who took notice of BNF's trading success, highlighting BNF's rise to prominence in the financial world.

💡J COM trade

The J COM trade refers to a specific stock trading incident that made BNF famous. It is a pivotal event in the video that showcases BNF's ability to capitalize on market anomalies, which in this case was a mistake made by Mizuho Securities that led to a massive stock price drop and subsequent rebound.

💡Day trading

Day trading is the practice of buying and selling financial instruments within the same trading day, with the goal of making a profit from small price movements. BNF is described as a day trader, which is central to the video's theme of his trading lifestyle and strategies.

💡Contrarian Trading

Contrarian Trading is a strategy where a trader makes decisions that go against the prevailing market sentiment, often buying when others are selling due to fear. BNF's initial success in the bear market is attributed to this strategy, as he exploited the market's fear to make profits.

💡Moving Average Divergence

Moving Average Divergence is a technical analysis tool used to identify potential trading opportunities by comparing the price of a stock to its moving average. BNF used this tool to determine when stocks were oversold and due for a rebound, which is a key part of his trading strategy.

💡Bear market

A bear market is characterized by falling prices and a negative sentiment, where asset prices are expected to decline. BNF's trading strategy was initially successful in a bear market, which is a significant theme in the video as it sets the stage for his early success.

💡Bull market

Conversely, a bull market is marked by rising prices and positive sentiment. BNF had to adapt his strategy when the market shifted from a bear to a bull market, which is a critical turning point in the video that challenges his trading approach.

💡Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers was a global financial services firm whose collapse in 2008 was a significant event during the financial crisis. BNF's investment in Lehman Brothers stock represents a major loss in the video, illustrating the risks of trading and the importance of understanding the market context.

💡Nikkei 225

The Nikkei 225 is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, representing the performance of 225 large companies listed on the exchange. BNF's trades in the Nikkei 225 index are a central part of the video, demonstrating his ability to navigate and profit from market fluctuations.

💡Deviation targets

Deviation targets refer to the percentage by which a stock's price has moved away from its moving average, a key metric in BNF's trading strategy. The video discusses how BNF adjusted these targets over time, showing his adaptability and analytical approach to trading.

💡Risk management

Risk management in trading involves the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated efforts to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events. BNF's approach to risk management, such as cutting losses and diversifying positions, is a key theme in the video that underscores the importance of discipline in trading.

Highlights

Masayoshi Son sought new wealth growth strategies despite his $4.3 billion net worth.

BNF became a legendary figure known as 'J COM Man' after a successful trade in 2005.

BNF's simple lifestyle of cup ramen and anime contrasted with his day trading activities.

BNF's trading success post-¥2 billion trade was driven by a desire for the next trade, not material wealth.

BNF's distrust of the system was reflected in his small, unprofessional trading setup in an apartment.

A 1998 NHK series on finance inspired BNF's interest in trading and his name based on Victor Niederhoffer.

BNF's trading journey began with part-time jobs and relentless chart study despite limited resources.

BNF developed a contrarian trading strategy in the bear market, focusing on oversold stocks.

BNF identified sector-specific deviation ranges for more accurate trade entries.

BNF's strategy during the bull market involved identifying and trading lagging core companies.

The J COM incident in 2005 led to a massive profit for BNF, making him a household name.

BNF's trading philosophy prioritized the art of trading over material wealth and fame.

BNF's 2008 Lehman Brothers investment was a rare mistake, leading to a complete loss of his investment.

BNF adapted his strategy during the 2008 financial crisis, recalculating his deviation targets for the changing market.

BNF's disciplined approach to cutting losses and holding positions led to a $12 million profit during the market rebound.

BNF diversified his portfolio into commercial real estate, maintaining a focus on trading.

BNF's journey illustrates the importance of strategy, discipline, and adapting to market changes in trading success.

Transcripts

play00:02

2005.

play00:03

Billionaire investor

play00:04

Masayoshi Son was looking for a new way to grow his wealth.

play00:08

Despite his $4.3 billion.

play00:09

Not everybody folds under this pressure.

play01:22

BNF made a name for himself after the J COM trade in 2005.

play01:26

Everybody wanted a piece of him.

play01:29

He became a Japanese legend known as the J COM Man.

play01:33

But to BNF, it was just one trade.

play01:36

Cup ramen, anime,

play01:37

and spending most of his days alone in a room day trading.

play01:40

After making ¥2 billion in one trade, BNF felt the same.

play01:45

He just wanted the next trade.

play01:49

But as he adapted to his newfound fame,

play01:51

a deadly storm was coming,

play01:53

as the global market

play01:54

started showing signs of a bear market.

play01:56

The greatest financial bubble of his lifetime,

play01:59

one that could wipe out his portfolio size.

play02:02

He knew he had to cut out the noise.

play02:05

He had always kept it unprofessional.

play02:07

Because he didn't kiss the ring of the people

play02:09

with the chequebooks,

play02:10

BNF had set up his trading in a tiny apartment.

play02:13

His small, unprofessional setup reflected BNFs

play02:16

distrust of the system.

play02:33

1986 Osaka,

play02:40

What are you doing?

play02:41

That's way too far!

play02:42

We got to rewind the track.

play02:47

In 1986, Osaka,

play02:49

Growing up, it was the same.

play02:52

BNF spent most of his days inside.

play02:55

But then a blessing happened to BNF

play02:57

that turned his whole worldview bright,

play03:00

and made him ready to believe you could outsmart

play03:02

the system.

play03:18

BNF was living the college life.

play03:20

Like a lot of you, he was experimenting with...

play03:24

erm...

play03:26

his life purpose.

play03:28

Ramen, anime, sake,

play03:31

not much had changed, until one day he came

play03:33

across an episode.

play03:36

In 1998*, NHK, a Japanese TV network,

play03:40

aired a four-part series about the world of finance.

play03:42

With the first episode titled

play03:44

‘The Man Who Lost 50 million’.

play03:46

The episode covered the legendary

play03:48

hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer.

play03:51

Victor Niederhoffer was a wild guy.

play03:53

He was a notorious speculator.

play03:55

His fund traded options on Index futures,

play03:57

and was known for blowing his fund twice.

play04:01

After watching the series, BNF got hooked.

play04:05

BNF was so inspired by the documentary, lifestyle

play04:08

and trading,

play04:09

he based his trader name, BNF on Victor Niederhoffer.

play04:13

The game of trading and the freedom it gave,

play04:15

It was the lifestyle he had always dreamed of.

play04:30

But unlike Victor,

play04:31

BNF wasn't born in opportunity.

play04:34

At the time, BNF was a broke college student.

play04:37

He knew he would have to save up

play04:38

for years to even get started.

play04:40

Let alone make profits?

play04:42

Are you kidding me?

play04:43

He knew nothing about trading.

play04:45

And he's not like you,

play04:46

he didn't have YouTube.

play04:47

In the 1990s, Japan had very little

play04:50

textbooks on trading, let alone trading via a computer.

play04:53

There was no information on it.

play04:55

Even though the odds were stacked against him.

play04:57

Nothing in life beat the excitement he felt

play05:00

when he thought about making millions in trading.

play05:02

How his life would change.

play05:04

The charts captivated him.

play05:06

He knew he wanted to become a day trader,

play05:09

against all odds.

play05:15

So in college, he got the work.

play05:18

BNF started working part-time jobs.

play05:20

He was working weekday nights and weekend shifts.

play05:23

Besides rent and cup ramen, he saved as much as he could.

play05:28

In between college and his job, he spent every moment

play05:31

he could looking at charts.

play05:33

Day in and day out.

play05:34

Studying price action.

play05:38

Like a bear studying currents for its next meal,

play05:41

Bnf was learning how stocks moved.

play05:43

Studying all the top stocks in the Japanese Nikkei Index.

play05:46

In time, he started identify meaning in the movements.

play05:50

There is a flow to it.

play05:52

To make up for the lack of available information,

play05:54

he relied on building his own theories

play05:56

on how the market worked.

play05:58

He sacrificed

play05:59

all his time.

play06:02

After two years,

play06:04

working part-time jobs and studying the charts

play06:06

every single day,

play06:07

the moment had come.

play06:09

By living frugally, he had managed to save up

play06:11

$16000.

play06:13

It was time to face the markets.

play06:27

Young, hungry and disciplined.

play06:29

BNF is anxiously trading to make a living,

play06:32

but the market he faced,

play06:34

was an unforgiving bear market.

play06:38

As you know in 2000,

play06:39

the global stock market

play06:40

had just been hit

play06:41

by the burst of the Internet bubble,

play06:43

aka

play06:43

the ‘Dotcom’ bubble.

play06:45

But what you might not know

play06:46

is Japan

play06:47

had already experienced a huge asset bubble burst

play06:50

in the nineties.

play06:51

It is known to Japanese economists as the ‘Lost Decade’,

play06:54

where asset prices dropped over 70%.

play06:58

A decade of terrible economic pain.

play07:01

Despite studying the charts for two years,

play07:03

BNF started suffering initial losses.

play07:06

However, through his experience,

play07:08

he quickly developed a strategy

play07:09

that was simple yet brilliant.

play07:14

In a bear market, the overall sentiment

play07:16

is fear.

play07:17

People hate losing,

play07:18

and think positive upswings are unlikely in the short term,

play07:21

so they underestimate their likelihood.

play07:24

His strategy was Contrarian Trading.

play07:27

BNF found when traders are fearful

play07:29

about the overall bear market.

play07:31

They will often oversell falling stocks

play07:33

to avoid the pain of losing,

play07:34

or in BNF’s own words:

play07:36

‘When going for short-term rebound,

play07:38

what you should focus on is the Moving Average Divergence.

play07:42

In the bear market of ’01,

play07:43

I would only look at stocks

play07:44

deviating at least 20% off the 25-day moving average,

play07:48

with 35% being somewhat a safe level to buy.

play07:51

The price would then

play07:52

surge and I would close the trade in a profit.’

play07:55

But it wasn't that simple.

play07:57

Even after stumbling upon this revelation,

play08:00

a lot of BNFs trades were losses.

play08:03

With more losers than winners.

play08:04

It was painful to see his hard-earned savings shrink.

play08:08

To him,

play08:08

it seemed like some sectors of the market

play08:10

were trickier than others.

play08:12

Despite the pain,

play08:13

he knew it was unrealistic to expect overnight success.

play08:17

Instead, he decided to focus his mind

play08:19

and double down on analyzing his losers.

play08:23

From studying the losing charts.

play08:25

BNF had realized his losers

play08:26

were repeatedly the same sectors,

play08:28

and each of them had different repeating deviations.

play08:32

He concluded the divergent percentages

play08:34

were different per sector,

play08:36

or in BNF’s quote from his old 2-channel posts:

play08:39

‘For the service sector stocks, the range of deviation

play08:42

from the 25-day moving average

play08:44

was between 22 and 30%.

play08:47

For the post-dot.com crash IT stocks,

play08:50

The ranges were 25 to 45%,

play08:52

and for emerging stocks, it was 28% to 60%.’

play08:56

Applying different numbers

play08:57

per sector

play08:58

allowed him

play08:59

to find greater entries to the temporary upswings.

play09:02

BNF had learned

play09:03

he first had to develop a feel for the sector

play09:05

before being able to make a trade.

play09:07

With this intense focus,

play09:09

he was producing more wins than losses.

play09:12

But by December 2001, the bear market got even more insane.

play09:15

There was a massive crash in penny stocks.

play09:18

It looked like a market wide

play09:19

Black Friday sale.

play09:21

BNF saw 20% deviation opportunities everywhere.

play09:24

These were companies with strong brands

play09:26

and often liquid war chests.

play09:28

A lot of BNF friends he met on 2-channel

play09:30

started buying in.

play09:32

It looked like the perfect buying opportunity.

play09:35

But to BNF’s instincts,

play09:37

he felt there was a problem.

play09:39

When everything is on fire sale,

play09:41

is it even a sale?

play09:43

So he passed.

play09:44

Having learned that different sectors

play09:46

have different points of rebound.

play09:47

Now was no different.

play09:49

Instead of stocking up on the fire sale,

play09:51

he only focused on the extreme cases.

play09:53

Stocks that had dropped

play09:54

significantly greater than the market average.

play09:56

Stocks closer to 65% deviation.

play09:59

off the 25-day moving average.

play10:01

He made the right call.

play10:03

All of his stocks rebounded after only 1 to 2 days.

play10:06

A lot of them jumped up 50%.

play10:08

Some even doubling after 2 to 3 trading days.

play10:11

Remaining calm

play10:11

and applying his self-developed

play10:13

feel for the market had paid off.

play10:15

If he had bought it

play10:15

the typical levels

play10:16

like his friends, his losses would have been catastrophic.

play10:20

Instead, by the end of 2002,

play10:22

BNF had grown his account to 1 million in US dollars.

play10:26

He had become the great bear of Japanese day traders.

play10:29

The high was exhilarating.

play10:31

He was finally living off his trades.

play10:34

But then a tragedy happened

play10:35

to BNF that turned his whole worldview dark.

play11:00

Yup.

play11:02

The whole world went on a massive bull run.

play11:04

You heard that right.

play11:05

That's the tragedy.

play11:06

Well, the whole world was ecstatic.

play11:08

BNF was stressed.

play11:10

See, BNF’s strategy only worked in a bear market.

play11:13

He needed the fear sentiment.

play11:15

But now the market has flipped.

play11:17

He was facing a whole different opponent.

play11:19

To continue making a living trading.

play11:21

He had to figure out how to beat this new bull market.

play11:24

And to make things worse,

play11:26

he actually had some money now.

play11:28

He didn't want to lose his freedom.

play11:30

To ensure he didn't blow his account,

play11:31

he had to find a system to minimize this risk.

play11:34

From his past trades,

play11:36

BNF learned the importance of market sentiment.

play11:39

To minimize his risk,

play11:40

he decided he didn't want to fight the bullish sentiment.

play11:42

Instead, he wanted a strategy that profited from it.

play11:46

I mean, we all know bull markets.

play11:48

As long as you hold, you will make money in the long run.

play11:51

But you can't daytrade that.

play11:53

So, instead of holding long term,

play11:54

using his understanding of codependency

play11:56

in the Japanese market,

play11:58

BNF found a new clever way to ride the bull run.

play12:02

When the market strong, core companies

play12:04

tend to rise with the index.

play12:05

What BNF found is,

play12:06

core companies don't go up at exactly the same time.

play12:09

There are always laggers.

play12:11

And that's where he buys.

play12:13

He would ride these laggers up and then sell after a few days

play12:16

or weeks.

play12:17

Since these opportunities didn't

play12:18

appear every day,

play12:19

his trading transformed into a few trades per month.

play12:22

Instead of trying to force his trades,

play12:24

he stuck with this strategy.

play12:26

Through years of experience, BNF had come to view trading

play12:29

not as individual price action,

play12:31

but rather as one global machine.

play12:33

Understanding the relationship between individual

play12:35

parts of this machine and his unemotional discipline,

play12:39

That's his genius.

play12:40

The strategy allowed BNF to maintain profitable

play12:43

returns in the bull run.

play12:44

His account grew by 10 million in two years.

play12:47

And that's when things took a weird turn.

play12:54

It's December 2005, 9 a.m.,

play12:56

another morning on the Japanese Stock exchange.

play12:59

The markets are rowdy as various new tech companies

play13:01

had IPO'd on the market

play13:02

in the last few months.

play13:04

Traders were hungry for that next unicorn company.

play13:07

However, this morning their eyes were on a new stock.

play13:10

J COM Holdings, as it went public on the emerging markets.

play13:14

Within minutes, panic emerged.

play13:17

BNF couldn't believe his eyes.

play13:19

J COM looked to have one of the greatest stock

play13:20

drops in history.

play13:22

Unsure of what was going on,

play13:24

traders were hesitant to buy.

play13:26

Concerns of financial fraud grew

play13:28

and the internet started going wild over the story.

play13:58

Meanwhile, at Mizuho Securities,

play13:59

a man was fearing for his life.

play14:01

He had made an unimaginable mistake.

play14:04

His job was to sell 1 share of J COM at ¥610,000,

play14:08

but instead

play14:09

he sold 610,000 shares

play14:11

for ¥1 each.

play14:13

After it went live, there was no reversing it.

play14:17

Luckily, the Japanese exchange

play14:18

has what you call a limit up and a limit down,

play14:21

meaning there's

play14:21

a limit to how much a stock can move up or down in one day

play14:24

to prevent highly volatile situations such as these.

play14:28

But it wasn't enough.

play14:30

BNF moved quick.

play14:31

In a matter of minutes since the incident, he attacked.

play14:34

He bought 7100 shares at the limit down price,

play14:37

which gave him an unbelievable 49% stake in the company.

play14:41

He put half his entire account size on his trade.

play14:44

And his protegé CIS bought in alongside him.

play14:48

The panic

play14:48

escalates and

play14:49

Mizuho Securities realized that can’t reverse their trade.

play14:52

In a desperate attempt,

play14:54

they tried to buy back as many shares as possible,

play14:56

but they weren't the only buyers.

play14:58

By now, even institutional players

play15:00

have caught wind of this.

play15:01

Everybody wanted a piece.

play15:03

The price started rocketing as the market close approaches.

play15:07

His protegé CIS cashed out his profits.

play15:09

He even withdrew the money from the bank,

play15:11

fearing government drawbacks.

play15:13

But BNF didn't.

play15:15

Instead, he remained calm.

play15:17

He decided to take a calculated risk and sell

play15:20

only a small number of shares.

play15:22

BNF held 6000 shares overnight.

play15:26

Would he lose half of his account size?

play15:28

Or make an ungodly fortune?

play15:32

For most traders,

play15:33

this would be the most stressful night of their life.

play15:36

But BNF was calm.

play15:38

To him, it wasn't about the money.

play15:40

It was a game.

play15:41

And his opponent

play15:42

had just made a huge blunder of a move.

play15:45

The next morning,

play15:46

while blood was on the streets,

play15:48

the news came out.

play15:50

The J COM Stock had got halted.

play15:52

Fearing legal implications,

play15:54

Large institutional players

play15:55

returned their shares and profits to Mizuho Securities.

play15:59

But rogue players like BNF refused.

play16:01

As time passed

play16:02

and the government showed

play16:03

no intention of intervening,

play16:05

Mizuho Securities only had one remaining solution.

play16:08

A settlement.

play16:10

Mizuho agreed to buyback rogue trader shares

play16:12

at the expected morning price of the stock.

play16:15

Before halting,

play16:16

That opening price was set at an unbelievably high number

play16:19

of ¥975,000.

play16:22

BNF made a total profit of about

play16:25

¥2 billion.

play16:27

One of the largest profits ever made

play16:28

by a bedroom day trader.

play16:42

Everybody wanted to cover the story.

play16:44

BNF became known as the ‘J COM Man’ in Japan.

play16:48

Niche trading communities

play16:49

started worshipping as a GOD amongst traders.

play16:52

He had even won the attention of billionaire investor

play16:55

Masayoshi Son.

play16:56

Despite the high risk, BNF had come out on top.

play16:59

He had now achieved legendary status.

play17:02

Was it time to go pro?

play17:12

He had finally won a comfortable, regular lifestyle

play17:14

doing the thing he loved.

play17:16

In an interview he did at the time,

play17:17

he said,

play17:18

‘I don't enjoy taking money off the account.

play17:20

Seeing the physical amount of cash

play17:22

makes me fearful of how much I'm

play17:23

putting on the line trading.

play17:25

It makes me a worse trader.’

play17:27

BNF quickly realized

play17:29

he hated the attention.

play17:31

While the money gave him a comfortable lifestyle.

play17:33

He noticed he had no motivation

play17:35

to spend it on traveling the world

play17:37

or living a high society lifestyle.

play17:39

He would rather grab a drink in town with his friends.

play17:42

Spending the money

play17:43

only took away from his love for trading.

play17:46

He only cared about the art of trading.

play17:49

As BNF battled to maintain his humble

play17:51

and comfortable lifestyle.

play17:52

The tide shifted.

play17:54

The markets were changing.

play17:55

A familiar storm had returned on the horizon.

play17:58

But little did he know

play17:59

this would be his toughest challenge yet.

play18:26

As BNF once again faced the birth of a new bear market.

play18:29

He found himself

play18:30

returning to his roots,

play18:32

revisiting his same old strategy.

play18:34

The Japanese news even covered the crumbling banking

play18:36

system of the US.

play18:38

This was a global event,

play18:39

but BNF had been studying it for months already.

play18:42

On September 13, 2008, BNF made a similar bet to J COM,

play18:46

and invested $6.5 million in the Lehman Brothers stock.

play18:51

Lehman's stock had fallen 73% that year.

play18:54

See, Japanese banks were safe and boring,

play18:57

and this was the fourth-largest investment bank in America.

play19:00

It had strong reputation.

play19:02

To BNF, a rebound was inevitable.

play19:05

But he made a critical mistake.

play19:21

BNF underestimated

play19:22

the level of corruption in the US banking system.

play19:25

Even though it met all his bear

play19:27

market strategy deviation targets.

play19:29

He didn't know the U.S. market.

play19:31

He hadn't studied it the way he spent years studying

play19:34

Japanese stocks,

play19:35

and the fundamentals were off.

play19:37

He had broken his own golden rule.

play19:40

His 6.5 million went to

play19:41

0 overnight.

play19:43

After suffering such a painful loss.

play19:45

BNF swore he wouldn't trade the US markets

play19:48

ever again.

play19:52

But the storm wasn't over.

play19:55

The US housing market crash

play19:57

led to a global collapse of the financial system.

play20:00

For bear market traders like BNF,

play20:02

when there's blood on the streets,

play20:04

it's time to go in for the kill.

play20:06

On October 10th, 2008,

play20:08

he smelled blood.

play20:09

The global financial system was collapsing.

play20:13

The Japanese markets were taking a heavy hit,

play20:16

and the Nikkei 225 index was no exception.

play20:20

The Nikkei had dropped.

play20:21

BNF saw an opportunity for a rebound.

play20:23

So we bought in.

play20:24

Following his old principles.

play20:26

But the markets continue to move against him.

play20:29

As the market closed,

play20:30

he faced a decision.

play20:31

Should he cut his losses

play20:33

or hold overnight.

play20:35

Knowing the exact setup had worked for him in the past.

play20:37

BNF decided to hold.

play20:41

But the markets got even worse in Japan.

play20:44

In 2008, Japan was one of the countries hit hardest.

play20:48

With the global financial crash,

play20:49

people were buying a lot less consumer products.

play20:52

And at the time,

play20:53

Japan had restructured their economy

play20:54

around export and trade openness.

play20:57

90% of Japanese export was industrial supplies.

play21:00

Though most of it went to Asia,

play21:02

it was used for Western products,

play21:04

which took a huge demand hit.

play21:06

Further, Japan had been increasing its trade openness.

play21:09

While it helped

play21:09

Japan climb out of its stagflation economy in the 90s,

play21:13

it also meant they were now more prone

play21:14

to shocks in the stock market.

play21:18

The next morning,

play21:20

BNF woke up to nothing but red numbers.

play21:23

His old deviation targets seemed to no longer work.

play21:26

The index kept dropping.

play21:28

BNF was on a losing streak,

play21:31

heading towards greater losses.

play21:33

While most traders would have went on tilt

play21:35

and make desperate attempts

play21:36

to reclaim their losses, BNF remained calm.

play21:39

He found the discipline to cut his losers short.

play21:41

But after the Lehman loss,

play21:43

the hits were starting to add up.

play21:45

He had to go back to the drawing board.

play21:51

Nobody can time the bottom, or else we would all be rich.

play21:55

His strategy of gradually increasing position size

play21:57

based on the 25-day moving average deviations,

play22:00

and differentiating per sector,

play22:02

it had always worked.

play22:04

And after careful analysis of the market,

play22:06

he felt now should be no different.

play22:09

However,

play22:10

he noticed over the years,

play22:12

his deviation targets had become outdated.

play22:14

Markets had grown and rebounds across the Japanese sectors

play22:17

had become quicker.

play22:19

So,

play22:20

he recalculated his deviation targets

play22:22

per sector of the Nikkei index.

play22:25

On October 27,

play22:26

the Nikkei had fallen.

play22:27

BNF went in for another rebound.

play22:30

The market refused to work with him.

play22:32

The Nikkei continued to fall.

play22:34

As time passed, the weight of his trades got heavier.

play22:45

Watching Anime to calm his mind, no longer worked.

play22:48

Had he become too comfortable?

play24:02

That day he realized his greatness

play24:04

didn't come from his strategies.

play24:10

It came from his ability to tune out the noise.

play24:14

And his discipline, to develop his own

play24:16

understanding of the market.

play24:19

BNF stuck to his guns.

play24:22

Instead of doubting himself and his own experience,

play24:24

BNF doubled down on his trading strategy.

play24:27

As the position continued to move against him

play24:29

throughout the morning,

play24:30

BNF went on a buying spree.

play24:32

BNF started taking diversified positions

play24:34

in the lot of the hardest

play24:35

hit companies that formed the Nikkei.

play24:37

His overall position size grew to

play24:39

$ 64.8million

play24:41

with positions in over 90 companies.

play24:44

While the Nikkei had fallen below $7,000.

play24:52

After the Tokyo Exchange lunch close,

play24:55

the game changed.

play24:56

A couple of the top names have begun to rally,

play24:59

slowly bringing the Nikkei back up.

play25:01

As the Nikkei climbed,

play25:02

the positive chain reaction

play25:03

started spilling over

play25:04

to more of BNF’s positions before the market close.

play25:07

Having faith in his understanding of the markets,

play25:10

BNF decided to hold his position overnight.

play25:13

The next morning,

play25:14

the market continued to rally.

play25:15

And that's when BNF decided to start to unload his position.

play25:20

His trade

play25:20

gave him a profit of over

play25:22

$12 million.

play25:26

BNF has regained his godlike status.

play25:32

He was once again

play25:33

a GOD amongst

play25:34

Japanese traders.

play25:40

In the last few years, BNF had diversified his portfolio.

play25:45

He bought two commercial real estate buildings.

play25:47

Commercial properties

play25:48

tend to have longer term tenants,

play25:50

and it offers great tax-cut incentives.

play25:53

Real estate

play25:53

is typically

play25:54

a great place to benefit from

play25:55

during an increase in inflation.

play25:57

He sold one of his properties,

play26:00

but he seemed to stick to his main focus;

play26:03

Trading.

play26:04

With no signs of changing his lifestyle

play26:06

and his God-like growth.

play26:07

BNF is on a mission to become the world's first

play26:10

Billionaire Bear

play26:12

Bedroom Day Trader.

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