Why you shouldn't average down on losing stocks... The break-even mentality eliminates account profit opportunities

Why you shouldn't average down on losing stocks... The break-even mentality eliminates account profit opportunities | Myeong Min-jun, Park Ga-young, Lee Ji-hwan [Stock Beginner Rescue Team]
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  August 04, 2026 at 13:30  |  49:43  |  3PRO TV (삼프로TV)
Speakers
Lee Ji-hwan — CEO, Aurora Investment Advisory
Park Ga-young — Host

Summary

Lee Ji-hwan, CEO of Aurora Investment Advisory, delivers a psychology-focused lecture on why investors should not average down on losing stocks. He explains how break-even mentality and loss aversion trap capital, causing investors to miss profit opportunities. While the KOSPI appears to be bottoming, he advises holding semiconductor stocks and avoiding leveraged ETFs in this volatile period. Host Park Ga-young shares her own experience cutting a Hyundai Motor loss to rotate into robot names.

  • Lee Ji-hwan explains why averaging down on losing stocks is destructive, locking capital that misses profit opportunities.
  • He stresses cutting losses and letting winners run to achieve a positive skew in trading.
  • He assesses that KOSPI appears to be forming a bottom, with volume patterns suggesting support, and advises holding through volatility.
  • He specifically advises not to sell Samsung Electronics and other semiconductor stocks when they return to breakeven, expecting a strong breakout.
  • He warns retail investors to avoid leveraged ETFs and margin in the current high-volatility environment.
  • Host Park Ga-young shares her decision to sell Hyundai Motor at a loss and rotate into robot stocks.
  • The session emphasizes developing a positive mindset and adhering to a manual over emotional decisions.
Ideas
Lee Ji-hwan CEO, Aurora Investment Advisory 1:03
KOSPI bottoming, hold through volatility
Lee believes the KOSPI is in a bottoming process. The recent low is likely to hold, and even if volatility causes a dip, as long as the previous low is not violated, the market will stabilize. Declining volume on the pullback supports a technical rebound, and investors should hold through the volatility rather than panic-sell.
Lee Ji-hwan CEO, Aurora Investment Advisory 34:45
Avoid leveraged ETFs now
In the current high-volatility regime, using leveraged ETFs or margin trading severely reduces an investor's capacity to endure whipsaws. Lee warns individual investors to avoid leveraged ETF positions because the daily swings make it extremely difficult to hold through, increasing the risk of large losses.
Lee Ji-hwan CEO, Aurora Investment Advisory 40:02
Hold semiconductors, breakout likely
If semiconductor stocks return to breakeven this week or next, investors should not sell. Historical patterns show that large-cap breakouts from bottoms often trigger two-day sharp rallies. Selling at breakeven may miss the breakout, so holding and watching for strong upside is recommended, especially for Samsung Electronics and the broader Korean semiconductor sector.
Up Next

This 3PRO TV (삼프로TV) video, published August 04, 2026, features Lee Ji-hwan discussing EWY, Korean Leveraged ETFs, 005930.KS, Korean semiconductor stocks. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Lee Ji-hwan  · Tickers: EWY, Korean Leveraged ETFs, 005930.KS, Korean semiconductor stocks