Translation to English

“If you’ve already made some money from stocks, it’s time to take some profits” — Advice from a seasoned investor

A leading asset manager serving ultra-high-net-worth clients says: “Now is the time to stay liquid and wait for the right opportunity.”

Su-ji Na for Korea Economic Daily
November 3, 2025

“The global stock market has overheated in a short period of time. For investors who have already generated meaningful gains, this is the time to take some profits and wait for the next opportunity.”

 That was the message from Ohad Topor, Chairman of TCK Investment, in an interview with Korea Economic Daily on November 3. “It’s a time for retail investors to take a step back and reassess.” he said, noting that global equities—including those in the U.S. and Korea—have entered an overheated zone. TCK Investment, headquartered in both Seoul and London, is an asset management firm that handles portfolios for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and corporate clients. Its clientele primarily consists of business founders and controlling shareholders of major companies.

 Topor diagnosed that the concentration in global equity markets has become excessive. “The U.S. market has been driven almost entirely by a single theme—artificial intelligence,” he said. “The S&P 500’s price-to-earnings ratio is now around 23 times, but if you exclude the ten largest technology names, that number drops to 19. This shows just how narrowly focused the rally has become.” He added, “Unlike the dot-com bubble, today’s market leaders are fundamentally strong and profitable companies, and I do agree that AI will change the world — but even a good stock is meaningless if bought at an excessive price.”

 He also judged that the Korean stock market has entered an overheated phase, led by semiconductor stocks that surged rapidly in a short period. “According to the Korean investment adage, ‘buy at the knees and sell at the shoulders,’ the market is already at shoulder level,” he said. “While it could rise a little further, it would be wise for individual investors — who can’t react as quickly — to take some profits.” He noted that TCK Investment, which had maintained a higher-than-global-average allocation to Korean equities since 2022, has recently realized about half of those gains, as Korea’s dollar-denominated stock returns had doubled and the market appeared overheated in the short term.

 When asked about other asset classes worth attention, Topor replied that it is difficult to find attractive opportunities in public markets. He noted that both risk assets and safe assets have risen together in what he called an “everything rally,” pushing valuations to expensive levels across the board. “This is a time to stay liquid and wait patiently for the next entry point,” he said. “For those who are considering entering the stock market now, it’s better to keep funds on the sidelines and look for opportunities rather than chase returns out of FOMO—the fear of missing out.”

 Topor still sees selective opportunities in private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments. “In the past, profitable companies would almost always go public, but today many remain private thanks to diversified funding options,” he said. “However, good private investments are hard to access, and fund performance varies widely, so investors need to be highly selective.”

 He added that global uncertainty has expanded opportunities for private equity funds. “Since COVID-19, with supply chain realignments and growing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, corporate environments have become far more complex,” he said. “This has increased global demand for PE firms with strong operational expertise. In Korea, many wealthy families are selling non-core business units to private equity and reallocating assets toward financial investments to enhance profitability.”

 On gold and bitcoin, Topor maintained a neutral stance. While he acknowledged that both have become recognized asset classes, he said they are not necessarily compelling investments. “Gold and bitcoin don’t generate interest, which makes them difficult to value,” he explained. “Among high-net-worth investors, most take only modest positions that track market trends rather than making aggressive bets.”