College interns at a stock exchange in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, in May Photo: CFP

With her emotions pretty much tied directly to the sharp rise and fall of stock prices on the Chinese stock market, Ma Yueyi, a new graduate who majored in accounting at a college in Hong Kong, had found it next to impossible to fully concentrate on her studies and prepare for her exams this year. "Especially during those more volatile days. My mind would be completely occupied with stocks and end up failing to hand in some assignments," Ma told the Global Times.

Entering the stock market in January was like opening Pandora's Box. She soon discovered that time and energy that should have been spent on her graduation thesis became dedicated to pondering stock-related questions: Which stock should I buy? When should I buy and when should I sell? Why haven't my stocks improved at all in this crazily bullish market?!

Like many of her peers who began playing the market late last year or early this year, two weeks ago Ma's biggest concern was probably wondering whether to buy a new iPhone or treat herself to a trip overseas with the profit she had earned from the market, but now with the recent market fluctuations she has received her first major lesson in risk-return and, in a deeper sense, an important lesson in life.

Sudden change

Climbing all the way from 2,300 in September of 2014 to over 5,000 in June this year, the index of the Shanghai Stock Exchange dipped suddenly starting from June 12, quickly declining nearly 30 percent by July 3, the last trading day of last week. This abrupt reversal caught many new investors completely off guard.

From earning considerable high profit to suffering losses of 10,000 yuan ($1,611), Ma is not the only fresh college stock investor to suffer. However this time, after leaving and re-entering the market so many times, Ma has finally decided to walk away from it all permanently. 

"It's more meaningful for me to invest in myself," she said. "Stocks used to have a huge impact on my life, but not on my future. I've learned my lesson that there is no such thing as a free lunch."

Although she paid the price for rushing into an unfamiliar high-risk area, Ma has no regrets. "On the whole I didn't feel I lost much, I also learned a lot and think that will help me with my future investments," she said.

Reflecting on the future

While Ma made the choice to say farewell the market, Duke, a junior majoring in finance at the City University of Hong Kong, has decided to get further involved, despite seeing his earnings shrink dramatically this past month. Differing from Ma, Duke entered the market much earlier in 2012 as part of research for his major.

Investing money he had received as gifts during Chinese New Year over the years and convincing his parents to pitch in, Duke became deeply involved in the stock market at the start of this year. "My total profit for the first five months of this year was nearly 50 percent, but that was wiped completely away in the single month of June," he told the Global Times.

Predicting that the Chinese market might experience a huge decline, Duke is annoyed with himself for not following some of the rules he laid out for himself when he first began investing. "This was a huge lesson for me. Sticking to an investment plan is very important and I lost a lot because I bet too heavily on a single stock. However, this lesson will certainly make me a more mature investor in the future," he said.

Discipline and mentality are the two most emphasized words fledging investors use when they reflect on their experiences in the stock market. "Some people are born to be stock investors, but some should never try their hands in this market," said 28-year-old Xu Hao, who quit her job in the jade trade to be a professional stock trader after entering the market in December last year.

One of the few fledging investors that is still calm and bold enough to continue making moves in the currently volatile market, Xu is increasingly confident that she possesses an innate talent for the stock market. "The market is never wrong; only your judgment and decisions are wrong. You have to keep a steady mindset at all times and prepare for different situations," Xu said, sharing her experiences with the Global Times.

Xu and her friends compare their results in the stock market every time they meet. She has also joined several clubs to meet new friends who have similar interests in investing. For Xu, this half-year has been a significant milestone in her life. "I never thought I could cope with a crisis so calmly until I actually did it," she said referring to June's stock market performance. "I collected news from different sources like the media, software and the clubs I joined this year. This helped me a lot in deciding when and what to buy and sell," she said.

However, people like Xu are few and far between. For many fledging investors who wanted to test their investment abilities or earn some pocket money by taking a ride on the bull, they have discovered that while this ride can be an exciting and thrilling roller coaster, it is just too much for them. Luckily they are at an age where these losses will have little impact. More importantly, no matter if they lost or gained money, the bottom line is they have all managed to learn something from their financial adventures.