I was at a wedding reception. It was a big hall filled with flowery decoration, round table with white cloth and a grand stage. I wasn’t really acquainted with many people in the reception so I had to sit next to one fine young lady. She was a child psychologist and her work involves getting her students to discover their emotions when they feel out of place. The therapy administered by her team is to put children in a room with toys to interact with.
And of course, she asked me what I do for a living and I said
“I run a fintech startup. We help busy professionals in Indonesia invest in Indonesian public market equity (saham Indo)”
Her eyes instantly lit up as she immediately went for it and asked:
“Ohhh keren banget. Jadi, saham apa yg lagi bagus bro?”
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If you are in the investment space, you’ve probably been asked the same. If you are not, you probably would have asked this question to a person who is.
I think it is a perfectly normal question to ask in a casual context, wedding included. Unfortunately, I have this tendency to overthink simple questions.
What does good mean here? GCG? Cheap stock? Something that people talk about a lot?
All these things were running in my head while she was just trying to have a conversation. And I doubt that she wants to know about how I think about her investment portfolio in the middle of a wedding toast.
So this question sits with me. Why is it such a commonly asked question?
The moment people know a financially savvy person or a person who works in the industry, you would be missing something if the question is not asked.
One candidate answer is that a person just wants a quick buck. The thing about accepting this answer is that our minds would immediately associate this person as financially illiterate, impatient, speculative, short-termist, and so on.
But that feels like a lot to conclude from one question.
Well I’ve heard this question being asked from business owners, professional consultants, and people who spend years building their careers. Out of all people, they understand that building worthwhile things, like wealth through investments, take time.
So I am not at all satisfied with that answer. It is very easy to explain a behaviour by finding something wrong with the person doing it.
Instead of finding faults in other people, how about we ask: what makes the recommendation from me (or any other person) so appealing?
Jajan: yang enak apa mas?
Think about the last time you went jajan.
You most likely will not have any purchase in mind when you go visit the stalls at the canteen. You might walk past some stalls to see what is available, what captures your eyes.
Usually plenty would look appetising. And honestly, if you are in Indonesia, you’d likely experience a huge degree of choice paralysis. Maybe you spot a nice looking risol or a beautiful and fresh iced latte. Or maybe you weren’t feeling hungry at all until you see that siomay with saus kacang.
You can’t make a decision. So you have no choice but to ask the food stall owner:
Yang enak apa mas?
What’s good sir?
The seller would then say: “orang biasa beli pastel mas”.
“People usually buy pastel”
So pastel it is and that’s usually good enough to satisfy your midday snack cravings.
I wonder if the same is happening in the stock market
I am pretty sure that when the fine young lady goes to a wedding reception, she was not looking to buy stocks. She probably is not into stocks at all, I don’t know. But when you are at an event and you happen to sit someone who’s into the stock market, suddenly the option appears.
“Saham apa yang lagi bagus?”
I don’t know if this is correct, but seeing this behavior in the jajan lens feels more helpful to explain the phenomenon.
But what does an investment tip actually give us?
Imagine you are a normal working adult with:
a 9-5
bills to pay
household to manage (kids, pets, in laws)
and you are looking for a side gig or an alternative source of income. And stocks might happen to be an interesting option. So you set aside time in the weekend to open up an account and you finally have some time to think about it.
But what to buy?
There are so many companies to choose from. Where do you start?
Until you meet someone who’s in investing and they mention a company they find interesting. And suddenly the task is scoped better.
Initially when you are all alone “Learn how to invest” sounds very abstract with no end goal in sight. I am still learning how to invest to this day and probably will for the rest of my life.
Now when you receive a tip “Have a look at this company” sounds more achievable. You could at least study its business and management.
So saham apa yang lagi bagus?
Can mean a starting point through someone else’s confidence. That feeling right there is pleasant.
But it does not end there
Suppose we exchange contacts and the person does take the tip. She researched it, but only half heartedly thinking: “Ah Toby has looked into this stock, it should be fine”
A month later, the price falls.
The follow up question will be: “Bro ini masih oke?”
Perhaps the answer is “Yes masih oke”
But two months later, the price might fall even further.
And now the person who helped you begin becomes the person you keep returning to for direction.
With the pastel, you get your answer quite quickly. You eat it, decide whether you like it, and perhaps buy it again tomorrow.
With a stock, that same jajan feeling of buying starts a relationship that might last longer. There will be new information, changing expectations, and periods when you’re unsure whether your original decision still makes sense.
A stock name is easy to pass along. The reasoning you need to navigate takes a much longer conversation.
So there is nothing strange about needing help. We rely on other people’s expertise in many many areas of life. But passing a tip contains a pitfall that can leave a lot of the help we need unspoken.
Back at the wedding
I still overthink.
And then I begin my bouts of reflection, overthinking, and then writing a Recompound article haha.
But at least I do understand the appeal of the question now. A recommendation or a tip, makes a field that is largely unfamiliar with plenty of uncertainty and randomness, into something that is immediately actionable. Especialy if there’s a “trust me bro” at the end.
Although for me, the reasoning behind the stock name that is mentioned matters more than the stock name. And we usually cannot cover everything: the risks, the unknowns, the prudence etc in a wedding reception.
Which is why when I get such questions, I politely decline to answer or I will simply say “I don’t know”.
And then I become that anti social person 🤐
I really love what I do but it turns out that running a fintech startup isn’t that cool after all isn’t it 😉
Disclaimer
Ide dan analisis oleh tim Recompound. Edit dan tata letak dibantu AI.
Ideas and analysis by the Recompound team. Editing and layout assisted by AI.
Budi Ryan adalah Penasihat Investasi perorangan yang berizin dan diawasi oleh Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (Keputusan Dewan Komisioner OJK Nomor Kep-1/PM.021/PI/2025). Recompound adalah platform; nasihat investasi diberikan oleh Budi Ryan selaku Penasihat Investasi berizin OJK. Recompound tidak mengelola, menyimpan, atau menerima dana klien. Dana tetap berada di rekening sekuritas atas nama klien sendiri. Saham adalah produk berisiko tinggi. Nilai investasi dapat turun dan modal dapat berkurang (capital loss). Lakukan analisis pribadi sebelum mengambil keputusan. Layanan ini tidak sesuai untuk seluruh kalangan investor. Bukan ajakan membeli atau menjual efek tertentu.
Budi Ryan is an individual Investment Adviser licensed and supervised by the Financial Services Authority (OJK Board of Commissioners Decree No. Kep-1/PM.021/PI/2025). Recompound is a platform; investment advice is given by Budi Ryan as an OJK-licensed Investment Adviser. Recompound does not manage, hold or receive client funds. Funds stay in a securities account in the client’s own name. Not a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Shares are high risk and can lose value; do your own analysis; not suitable for every investor.