YouTube’s Andrei Jikh Dispells the Most Common Misconceptions About Investing

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With over 2 million subscribers on YouTube, Andrei Jikh is an investing expert who uses his platform to inform users of the state of finance today. He specializes in investing and financial minimalism and aims to help his viewers spend money scarcely and invest effectively.

Chosen by GOBankingRates as a Top Money Expert, here, Jikh breaks down common misconceptions about investing, and how investing changes depending on your age, goals and personality.

Want to vote for Andrei as your favorite money expert? Click here and go to his expert page.

What’s been your most popular video and why do you think it has resonated with so many viewers?

My most watched video happens to be a YouTube short. I used an example of the MillionDollarHomepage.com, where people could buy a pixel to advertise their business. My video was actually a warning to be careful about investing in trends because the people that usually get rich are not investors, but the creators of those trends. The classic quote of “better to sell shovels in a gold rush” [can be used here].

What topic do you wish people were more informed about and why is it so important to have an understanding of this topic?

I wish people understood how simple money actually is. Here is the secret: buy low-cost broad market index funds and ignore the noise. YouTubers are noise. Money should be boring. In a 20-year rolling period, the stock market always made money, but only if you stayed invested. That strategy will beat over 90% of professional hedge fund managers and traders. Ultimately I try to creatively tie all my videos back to this simple concept. 

What advice would you give to someone who is new to investing?

Investing has rules, and the rules are simple. Buy low-cost broad market index funds. Once you know the rules, then you can start breaking them. Unfortunately, most people start the other way around. When I was younger, I thought there was only one best way to invest my money. As I got older, I realized why the real answer is that it depends on your financial situation, your age, your goals and your personality. If investing was all about the highest returns, we’d all be over-leveraged real estate investors or all in on crypto. Diversification is important. There is a time and place for all assets to shine. First, learn the rules, and then break them accordingly.

There’s a lot of great financial advice on YouTube — but also a lot of not-so-great advice. How can viewers determine what advice they should and shouldn’t follow?

The worst advice is usually one that [tells you that] this is the best thing to invest your money into. There is no best. It’s called personal finance for a reason — it’s personal to all of us.

Jaime Catmull contributed to the reporting for this article.

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