There was an annual Investment Conference “Investor Toomas” in Tallinn. The conference gathered over 600 participants. Investors were talking about last year’s profit, the return of investment, crowdfunding, and other topics. Specialists from Estonian company RIA.com Marketplaces also participated as sponsors and spoke with Tallinn Investment Club founder about the background for creating such a club.
Katarina Holm is the founder of the Tallinn Investment Club. She knows everything about the successes and failures of those investing money in one or another business.
How did you get the idea of founding an investment club?
Our club has a narrow focus. Estonian speaking population can choose amongst many clubs, even based on their members’ sex. For Russian speakers, there was no such club existing. We have decided to fill a niche.
Was it planned as a commercial enterprise, or was it based on enthusiasm?
In Estonia, we do most of the things based on enthusiasm only for the development of society. There are people in Estonia who speak no Estonian nor English. They are interested in investing but do not participate in events and have limited knowledge of the topic. We want to help them to expand the vision. It, in particular, considers people who have just moved to Estonia from abroad.
There were more than 600 participants at the conference. Is that a lot?
This conference is the most significant investment conference in Estonia. In last year more than 500 investors participated also.
Do all participants engage in investing regularly, or is it mostly educational project?
The conference likewise is an educational project. The number of participants grows every year, and we should consider that there is some amount of beginner investors who have just entered the investment market. But also, there are some familiar faces every year. Experienced investors who have been engaged in investing for many years are the core of the conference. But there are always new ones also.
Were there any events, i.e., pension reform, which made people engage in investing themselves, without trusting their money to banks or other establishments?
Those people who want to think for themselves will always be interested in trying something on their own. And, for instance, the pension reform could be a positive step towards people learning to invest the money themselves. On the other hand, there will be fraudsters who will try to get into this money.
What would you advise to beginners? What one has to pay attention to, some specific market or financial indicators?
Beginners should invest in those things that they understand. If you do not understand biotechnology, you should not invest in this sector. Better to try the retail industry. People always go to the store and buy some goods.
How to choose the right company?
Usually, we consider known companies. These companies attract more public attention and therefore are transparent.
Artem Umanets, the board member of RIA.com Marketplaces, in turn, speaks that such conferences allow taking a different on investments.
Thanks to such conferences, private investors can look at a business from different angles, learn about hidden risks. Perhaps some presentations have inspired people or even can save from future failures. Says Artem Umanets. Also, I should note that IT-sector has been showing constant growth in the last few years. Already today, it brings over 15% of Estonian GDP, and growth is inevitable. Thanks to e-Residency only, the Estonian budget gets millions of euros of tax money from IT companies. Unfortunately, private investors are very conservative considering the high-tech sector and invest money into businesses, which were popular 20 years ago. For instance, the profit of our company has been growing by 50% every year. Soon we are ready to enter the stock market. But are investors willing? We will see very soon.
