The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 101

101. Noon Sun (3)

Henri Arnault, the head of JP Securities, temporarily filled the vacancy left by Neil Hamilton, the representative of JP Morgan Investment Bank.

As his name suggested, he was of French descent.

“What? You’re withdrawing $100 million?”

John Pier, who was in charge of the fund section at JP Securities, raised his right hand and replied,

“I’ve put a hold on it, saying that we need to consult with the representative first.”

“So, who’s trying to withdraw $100 million?”

“Charlie Jung.”

Henri Arnault thought of a young man who had been frequently mentioned in the media recently.

‘That fellow?’

He narrowed his brows and raised his voice at the end of his sentence.

“Victoria Corporation?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It seems they’re trying to pull some tricks to withdraw money from our company’s account.”

Henri Arnault was a figure caught between Neil Hamilton and Edmund Norman.

In terms of group ranking, he was below Edmund Norman at fifth place, but after being deemed too small for Arthur Morgan to entrust with significant tasks, he was never mentioned as a successor to the chairman.

He seemed to harbor more animosity than goodwill towards Jung Hyun-woo.

“What should we do?”

Henri Arnault rolled up his sleeves and replied,

“I’ll handle it.”

“Understood. Then I’ll connect you to the representative.”

“No, I’ll call from here.”

Henri Arnault summoned his secretary and instructed them to contact Jung Hyun-woo of Victoria Corporation.

Beep. Beep.

After a brief ringing, the other party answered the phone with a ‘click’ sound.

“This is Jung.”

Henri Arnault pressed the button on the phone and said,

“Mr. Jung, this is Henri Arnault from JP Morgan.”

Jung Hyun-woo didn’t know who Henri Arnault was. However, he could easily guess that his position was not low.

‘The man who answered the phone earlier said he was the fund manager. The person calling now must be someone higher up.’

He lowered his voice and said,

“Mr. Arnault, I believe this is regarding the matter I mentioned.”

“I’ve heard your request, Mr. Jung. However, I have a question, which is why I contacted you.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head.

“What question is that?”

“I heard that you’re trying to withdraw $100 million from our fund. May I ask what it will be used for?”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly at his question.

“Haa… The thing is, JP Securities rejected an investment I wanted to make. So, I was going to withdraw the money.”

This was a story that John Pier hadn’t shared.

Instantly, Henri Arnault narrowed his brows.

‘John hid something.’

He smoothed out his brows and spoke in a gentle voice.

“What was it that JP Securities rejected? Could you perhaps tell me?”

“It’s nothing difficult. I simply wanted to invest in a Japanese company. But they refused, saying they didn’t have a Japanese investment program.”

Henri Arnault nodded as if he understood, and echoed his words.

“Ah, Mr. Jung wanted to invest in a Japanese company.”

Jung Hyun-woo slightly raised the tone of his voice.

“I was trying to move my investment because it was a good opportunity, but since they refused, I had no choice but to withdraw the money.”

In other words, it wasn’t his fault.

Henri Arnault made a new proposal to resolve the issue.

“Then, if JP Securities changes its policy to allow you to invest in Japanese companies, would you not withdraw the money?”

Jung Hyun-woo replied briefly.

“Of course.”

Henri Arnault always maintained a low profile when dealing with VIP clients. Arthur Morgan, the chairman of JP Morgan, didn’t particularly like this low profile.

However, Henri Arnault knew that he didn’t like his attitude, but he didn’t change it.

‘Someone born as the heir of the Morgan family, who has only looked down from above, wouldn’t understand why I’m doing this.’

He believed that his attitude was correct.

“Ah, I see.”

Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t help but tilt his head while talking to him.

‘Hmm, his attitude and tone are like those of an information or AS [After-Sales] center consultant.’

He had never met an executive of an American company who was so flexible.

He cleared his throat and said,

“Mr. Arnault, you need to make a decision within an hour at the latest. I believe today is the best time to invest.”

Henri Arnault nodded and echoed his words.

“Understood. We will contact you again within an hour.”

Click.

He hung up the phone and turned to John Pier.

“Mr. Jung said that you stopped him from investing in Japan?”

John Pier realized that things had gone terribly wrong the moment he approved of Jung Hyun-woo’s investment in Japanese companies.

“W-Well, Representative, that’s… As a fund manager, I couldn’t recommend a reckless investment, could I?”

“Reckless investment?”

“Didn’t the Ministry of Finance release an official press release today?”

Henri Arnault had also read the U.S. Treasury Department’s press release.

“What does that have to do with this?”

“If a fund manager doesn’t stop someone from putting money into the collapsing Japanese market…”

If a fund manager doesn’t stop a reckless investment, then who will?

That’s what he wanted to say.

Henri Arnault knew what John Pier wanted to say.

However, he didn’t think the world always went according to plan.

“John. It looks like you’re aiming for a technical rebound, aren’t you?”

John Pier raised his eyebrows.

“With $100 million?”

He thought it was too much money to aim for a technical rebound and day trade.

Naturally, Henri Arnault didn’t agree. He raised his right index finger and said,

“If you invest in dozens of stocks instead of just one, isn’t it a plausible story?”

“Representative, but we don’t offer direct investment in Japanese companies to our clients.”

Henri Arnault’s face hardened at his words.

“Create an exception.”

“Within an hour?”

“Is it impossible?”

“Well, it’s not just about creating an exception, is it? We also need to hire new personnel to manage the funds.”

Instantly, Henri Arnault’s voice turned rough. It was a completely different voice from when he was talking to Jung Hyun-woo.

“What more personnel do we need to hire! You trade directly!”

John Pier paused and asked,

“M-Me?”

Henri Arnault unleashed a storm at him.

“He’s a VVIP client who has invested a whopping $500 million! We should be creating funds that didn’t even exist, what’s with the regulations and management personnel! Do you know how hard it is to attract $500 million? If $100 million is withdrawn because you said it couldn’t be done, even if you sell everything you and your family own, you won’t be able to fill even 1%!”

John Pier had no choice but to lower his head at Henri Arnault’s scolding.

“I-I’m sorry. I will trade directly.”

John Pier sighed briefly.

“Haa, you call him directly.”

“Understood.”

“And trade directly.”

John Pier had no choice but to answer that he would.

Thud.

After he left, Henri Arnault lightly tapped the desk.

Bang!

“He doesn’t know what’s important at all.”

He thought that the reason JP Morgan was being caught up by other banks was because it had forgotten its unique sharpness.

* * *

“You can invest in Japanese companies as much as you want?”

“The representative has permitted it.”

As Henri Arnault had instructed, John Pier called Jung Hyun-woo and explained the situation.

After hearing his story, Jung Hyun-woo immediately moved on to the investment discussion. He wasn’t particularly interested in JP Morgan’s internal affairs.

“First, I’ll divide the $100 million into $10 million.”

John Pier realized Jung Hyun-woo’s intention in dividing the money.

“You’re planning to invest in ten companies.”

“That’s right.”

Investing in multiple companies.

This was something Henri Arnault had already anticipated.

“Then, which companies are you planning to invest in?”

He was asking for the names of the ten Japanese companies he planned to invest in.

However, Jung Hyun-woo didn’t have any particular companies in mind.

‘I know Toyota and Sony, but I don’t know much about other companies.’

He decided to keep it simple.

“I’ll invest $10 million evenly in the top 10 companies by market capitalization.”

He had created his own ETF [Exchange Traded Fund] product by selecting the top 10 companies.

John Pier didn’t raise any objections. After all, it was Jung Hyun-woo who was investing, and it couldn’t be said that investing in top companies was a bad thing.

“Understood. Then I will invest $10 million each in the top 10 companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But are you going to use all the money today?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to buy now?”

“Well, if you pour in $100 million in one day, the Tokyo Stock Exchange might find it strange.”

He was saying that they might suspect illegal transactions or stock manipulation.

“Hmm, I’m trading with my own money, but there are many restrictions.”

John Pier scratched his head and said,

“It’s because the amount is so large.”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed briefly as if he understood.

“If one day is difficult, how about dividing it into two days?”

“That should be fine.”

Jung Hyun-woo decided to invest $50 million each day over two days.

“Is that all?”

As he asked, John Pier made his voice as gentle as possible and said,

“Mr. Jung, there is one favor I would like to ask of you.”

“What favor is that?”

“If you have plans to move money like this in the future, please give me a heads-up. This is a very large amount of money moving around…”

John Pier’s words were not an exaggeration.

Even for a financial institution as large as JP Securities, $100 million was by no means a small amount.

In the case of the Magellan Fund led by Peter Lynch, the fund was on the verge of collapse with just tens of millions of dollars in redemptions.

“I don’t have any long-term plans. I’m just reacting to things as they come.”

He was saying that he could withdraw the money at any time, depending on his mood.

“Could you at least give us a hint before moving the money? Or let us know what situations to prepare for. We need to prepare for the worst.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought for a moment and then replied.

“If the Japanese stock market falls sharply, I will probably make the same investment a few more times.”

John Pier nodded repeatedly at Jung Hyun-woo’s answer.

“Ah, you’re going in when the Japanese stock market falls sharply. Understood. Then I will prepare for that each time.”

He received Jung Hyun-woo’s words with the lowest possible posture.

Jung Hyun-woo realized that his attitude had become very low and sighed briefly inwardly.

‘Hoo… His attitude has completely changed. He must have been scolded by the representative.’

As he finished the call with John Pier, Sarah knocked on the door.

“Are you done with the call?”

“I’m done.”

Sarah opened the door and came inside.

“I finished talking to Peter.”

“What did he say?”

“He said it was amazing.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head and asked.

“He didn’t object?”

When John Pier first called, he had stopped him, saying that investing in the falling Japanese stock market was foolish.

“At first, he seemed a little like that, but when I explained it from a different perspective, he seemed convinced.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Jung Hyun-woo learned that Peter Lynch was a surprisingly flexible investor.

‘I thought he only did value investing, but it seems he also does fluid investments.’

He didn’t know, but Peter Lynch sometimes showed an agile side, moving between the bond and stock markets to minimize damage when stock prices fell sharply.

“Shall we go for lunch now?”

“Okay.”

As they came outside, intense sunlight poured down on their heads.

“Ugh, it’s hot even though it’s June.”

Sarah quickly moved to the shade.

“It’s literally June.”

Jung Hyun-woo raised his head and looked at the sky.

“The sun is high.”

“It’s the highest it gets in the year. Plus, it’s 12 o’clock.”

Noon.

The time of day when the sun is at its highest.

Sarah walked ahead and said,

“Come to think of it, I remember what my grandfather said.”

Her grandfather was the brother of the famous Conrad Hilton.

“What did your grandfather say?”

Sarah turned around with a twirl and said,

“You have to be most careful when the sun is at its highest.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the sun, which has risen high into the sky, only has to fall now.”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded at her words.

“Hmm, it means to be careful when things are going well.”

He thought it was a saying that contained the same meaning as “flowers don’t bloom for ten days” or “power doesn’t last for ten years.”

“By the way, what did JP Morgan say?”

“After making calls here and there, they said they would do it after all.”

“Hmm, isn’t it dangerous?”

“Peter said it was okay, and it’s not like the US and Japan have signed an agreement.”

Sarah and Jung Hyun-woo entered a street with shade.

“I was just hearing on TV that they were talking about withdrawing from GATT [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade].”

“The US won’t withdraw from GATT.”

The US’s withdrawal from GATT was an international pressure tactic that they used like a magic card before the establishment of the WTO (World Trade Organization).

“Are you sure?”

“100%.”

“Oh, you’re surprisingly confident?”

“Does Sarah think the US might withdraw from GATT?”

“Depending on the situation. The economy hasn’t been very good lately.”

The US didn’t just have a large trade deficit with Japan. They were also running deficits with other Western countries such as Germany and France, with only differences in the amounts.

Jung Hyun-woo knew how the US had moved to resolve this.

‘The Plaza Accord will be signed soon.’

The Plaza Accord was not an agreement signed only between the US and Japan.

It was a kind of joint agreement signed by five countries, including the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, and France.

“Still, isn’t it better than it was a few years ago?”

“During the oil shock?”

The oil shock that started with the Fourth Middle East War brought inflation to the US, and the Federal Reserve Board tried to suppress it by raising interest rates.

High prices and high interest rates.

It was inevitable that the lives of Americans would be difficult.

“Isn’t it better than it was then?”

“That’s true.”

The US benchmark interest rate was in the process of peaking and coming down.

“Did Sarah just decide to keep the money in the fund?”

Sarah had received $300 million from JP Morgan. And she paid about $50 million of this in taxes.

In other words, she had a huge sum of $250 million in her account.

“I put all the money in the JP Morgan fund, except for the donated money and some living expenses.”

“Is it okay?”

“JP Morgan isn’t a group of people who make a lot of mistakes.”

Unlike the time of the Magellan Fund, Sarah was refraining from aggressive investment.

“And if I move the money too, JP Morgan will hate it, right?”

One of the reasons she didn’t move was to clear the way for Jung Hyun-woo.

“Sarah?”

“That’s right. If I say I’m going to withdraw money too, won’t JP Morgan make a fuss again?”

She wasn’t just saying it.

In fact, John Pier had asked Jung Hyun-woo to give him a heads-up when he was going to move money.

“Hoo… Sarah is a really good older sister.”

Sarah turned around again with a twirl, hiding her hands behind her back. She looked like a Hollywood teen star.

“Who will be the groom of this good older sister?”

Just as Jung Hyun-woo was about to say something,

A person across the street raised his voice and waved his hand.

“Charlie! Sarah!”

Jung Hyun-woo sighed lowly as he looked at him.

‘Haa… Another John.’

The same man named John as John Pier, whom I spoke to on the phone today.

He was none other than John River.