It all started with a hunch for Amer Bin Braik, who first invested Dh200 on the stock market in shares of a local gas firm — based on a news tip. He was 13 years old at the time and the money was a gift he had received from his family on Eid.
Bin Braik, now 19 and a third-year university student, is financially advising senior investors on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). He dispenses his advice for free through a YouTube channel where, until now, he has remained anonymous.
Under the username InvestUAEmoney, he uploads daily videos no longer than 15 minutes containing a technical analysis of the DFM and ADX markets for that day. Bin Braik, an Emirati with Yemeni roots, uses software developed specifically for Middle East markets called TickerChart, which allows him to view live movement on respective stock markets.
New venture
At the end of his daily technical analysis he offers his viewers personal tips for future investments based on his predictions of market trends. All videos are made either from his bedroom in Abu Dhabi or his dorm room at the American University of Sharjah. "I started this YouTube channel just over five months ago because I wanted to educate UAE investors," said Bin Braik. "I developed my own personal strategies from my own analysis to profit from stock investments and simply wanted to share the information."
With over 6,000 videos uploaded on his channel and nearly 2,000 viewers, Bin Braik hopes to turn his videos into a full-fledged online business. He believes that once he gains a significant following he can then launch his own financial advice website, on which he will post his videos, and charge subscription fees. "I would like to take it to the next level and actually start a firm or get the people I consult to be my clients," he said.
Some may wonder what qualifies a 19-year-old university student to dispense such important information and advice that could potentially affect the livelihoods of those who take it, yet the evidence speaks for itself.
"Most of my viewers are people aged above 25 reaching past 60-year-olds," he said. "They don't know how old I am, but they send me emails about their portfolios and ask me how they can cut their losses and improve their portfolio." Bin Braik advises each individual according to their requests and financial portfolios, technically, rendering him as an acting unpaid financial consultant.
"They basically change everything in their portfolios and investment strategies based on my advice," he said. "Some people are retired, others are working; some are expatriates and others are Emirati — I even have people from the US interested in investing in UAE markets, seeking my advice."
Bin Braik admits there have been occasions when he has given the wrong advice but believes it only taught him how to be better.
"I've been wrong a couple of times and learned from my mistakes," he said. "I've clearly stated on my channel that I'm not responsible for people's losses and that it is their job to do their own homework as I'm merely dispensing free advice."
However, aware of the importance of remaining humble, Bin Braik is open to learning and therefore seeks out advice on his technical analysis from industry leaders. "I send my links to bank managers and ask them for their feedback," he said. "I recently had a meeting with one and he was very impressed with my work."
Bin Braik's appetite for the unstable world of money was first whetted when his brother, 13 years his senior, turned him on to finance website www.investopedia.com. "My eldest brother, who was also a finance student at the time, told me about a virtual stock market game you can play online," he said. "From there I slowly started to get interested and then in 2008 I was glued to Bloomberg news and started analysing and hypothetically testing strategies on the US market."
However, before his initial nominal investment at 13, Bin Braik was selling used electronics on barter website www.souk.com. "I had an online business on souk.com and the profit on there was about three per cent; and with such small capital that much profit margin was not a lot," he said. "So I thought if there was a way to make a profit I could increase my capital; when I heard a news tip, I gave my dad some money to invest in the gas company."
Years on, he has now made a 10 per cent profit from his first big investment on the US stock market. "I invested $5,000 my dad gave me after I told him about an opportunity to make some money," said Bin Braik. "He told me to take the money and do my thing, but not to go back to him for any more."
However, his father's initial cash injection, it seems, was more than enough to set him on the path to success, as Bin Braik has clearly carved himself a niche in a volatile market.
Bright future
A world apart from his peers, Bin Braik, when not watching the financial news or dispensing free financial advice, engages in debates with his professors at AUS about profitable investment opportunities. "Most of my friends are not interested in this financial stuff, for them it's all about movies and games, they don't really think about the future," he said. "I do get a lot of feedback from my professors; we share advice and tips about the US markets on what personal investment opportunities we see."
Bin Braik predicts a double dip recession for the US market. "The US Federal Reserve has to do something to save its economy; by the end of the year I believe they will have the tools to give a boost to the economy," he said. "I think there will be a double dip and the economy will collapse again; but there is always a right time to invest and money to be made, be it in bear or bull markets."