Why a Comedian’s Office? Why does charismatic investor “Testa”, who has achieved a total profit of 10 billion yen, appear on TV?

With 3 million yen as a starting capital, he has achieved a total profit of 10 billion yen in 20 years!

Mr. Testa is a private investor who started investing in stocks in 2005 with 3 million yen in his pocket, and in February 2012, he achieved a total profit of 10 billion yen. In recent years, he has been active as an advisor for beginners on investment-related YouTube programs, and has recently started appearing on TV programs.

Furthermore, at the end of last year, he became a TV personality belonging to Nanse, a limited liability company founded by comedian Minamikawa in the “Geisha Press 2024 Year-End Special” (Nippon Television Network Corporation). Why does he actively appear in the media when he has achieved sufficient results with his investments?　We asked him the reason.

Appearing in the media is out of curiosity about “new experiences.

Anyway, I want to do something I don’t want to do.

This was the message from Mr. Testa, a private investor who was chosen to be a member of Nanse, a limited liability company established by Minamikawa, a pin comedian who became independent from Shochiku Entertainments, in the “Geisha Press 2024 Year End Special” (Nippon Television Network Corporation) broadcast at the end of last year.

He has been investing in stocks for 20 years. Even after achieving a total profit of 10 billion yen, he is still active in the media and giving lectures while investing.

The reason why he has been approached by the media is simply because he has been winning in his main business of stock investment for 20 years,” he said in an analysis of himself. He continues with humility, “I am just an ordinary person, just one individual investor. I am truly grateful,” he continues with humility.

In recent years, he has often appeared as a beginner advisor in investment-related YouTube programs, and many people may have the image of a reliable senior advisor and counselor for investment beginners. However, he eventually began to have one question …….

There are many analysts and other professionals in the economic field, and there are also many individual investors who are familiar with fundamentals and sensitive to news. In addition, as a matter of course, jargon is used in such a rigid program,” (” ” denotes Mr. Testa).

With all the jargon flying around, I began to wonder, “This may not be a problem for people who are familiar with economics and investments, but is it being conveyed properly to beginners?” I began to have doubts. In order to eliminate this concern, he says, “I reduced the amount of jargon as much as possible and tried to explain the terms as I came across them, and it suited me very well.

Since then, he recalls, “I started taking on jobs mainly for investment beginners, and as a result, I guess I developed an image as a consultant for investment beginners.

As a result, he has become a navigator for novice investors, but that is not his only motivation for media appearances.

He says, “Not only in media work, but in everything else, the older you get, the fewer “first experiences” you have, and the more valuable they become. I’m the type of person who doesn’t think much about venturing into new worlds or trying new things, especially since I’m a stay-at-home kind of person.

However, working in the media allows me to challenge myself in ways that I wouldn’t be able to if I just lived a normal life. For example, filming on location for a variety show. Of course there is pressure, but there is also a great sense of accomplishment afterwards.

The world is full of “first experiences,” but there are some that can only be experienced through media work. This genuine quest for learning and experience is the reason why Testa is in the media, he says.

The reason for showing his face was “my first magazine shoot and my sunglasses were ……”

Mr. Testa first appeared in the media around ’08. At the time, he was living in the Kansai region and moved to Tokyo to be interviewed by a magazine.

I have been showing my face since I started appearing in the media, but I never intended to do so. I had to wear sunglasses for security reasons, but when I looked at the finished copy, my face was clearly visible through the sunglasses.

Although there have been waves of appearances since then, he has been invited to appear in money magazines, web content for securities firms, and occasionally on television.

For example, when the market was booming due to Abenomics in 2001, there were more features on money and stocks outside of specialized magazines. Conversely, when the market calmed down, the focus shifted back to money magazines, and then increased again when there was an event. Last year, media exposure increased due to the new NISA, and we assume that this may have given the impression that the magazine is often seen.

My entry into Nanse was “by chance.

What made a big impact not only on the investment community but also on those who have known Testa’s activities for a long time was an event at the end of last year’s “Geisha Press 2024 Year-End Special. The guest, Minamikawa-san, introduced Mr. Testa, saying, “We want to scout you for our office.

While Minamikawa-san tried his best to persuade Testa to join his agency under the absurd condition that “the fee is 9:1, or even 10:0 at worst,” Koji Kato of a private agency, Hotohara Toru of Yoshimoto Kogyo, and even Asobi System came forward, leading to a battle among the four companies for Testa’s services. It was like a comedy, but in the end, Minamikawa took the hand of the company and decided to belong to NANSE, LLC.

In fact, Minamikawa and I had been doing a radio show together for some time, and even there there was a flirtation of ‘join or not join an office. The flow of the program is completely natural, and there is no fakery at all. During the program, Minamikawaku would say things like, ‘Our office is strong in erotic programs,’ and I thought during the recording that would be the reason I would have to decline.

He also said, “Even though it was just a spur of the moment thing, I didn’t think it would be right to turn them all down in front of me,” so he chose Nanse because it seemed the easiest to get into.

Despite the response to his affiliation, “nothing has changed for me,” says Testa, who analyzes the reaction of his more than 900,000 X (formerly Twitter) followers as “confused as to how to react.

“I don’t think they know how to say ‘congratulations. Maybe everyone sees this situation as a ‘fling’ (laughs).”

Fun is the Axis of Life

A native of Kansai with a background in comedy, Testa is expected to be more active in the media in the future. When asked what kind of work he would like to do, he replied, “Things I don’t think I would like to do.

I don’t want to neglect investing because it’s what I enjoy the most right now. So I’m trying not to have any hobbies right now, and I plan to do those things when I retire.”

Testa’s conditions for retiring from investing are clear: two consecutive years of negative returns or a 40% drop from the highs. These two things trigger his retirement, he says.

There is a lot of happiness that comes from something other than money,” Testa says. His values are simple, and above all, “fun” is his guiding principle in life. Investing in stocks just happens to be a path that he finds enjoyable, and he says that if another kind of joy appears, he would not hesitate to steer his life in that direction.

Happiness comes in different forms for each person, and what they find enjoyable must be different, and for me, stock investment is just what I am doing right now.