From Lehman Shock to Millionaire Investor: Anri Sugihara’s Keys to Staying Grounded

The first stock I bought was Tokyo Dome stock — the reason being.

The term “Okuribito” refers to investors who have built assets worth hundreds of millions of yen. This time, we talk about Anri Sugihara, a talent, entrepreneur, and individual investor involved in various activities. We asked her about the secret behind becoming an “Okuribito” through a straightforward investment style that anyone can follow.

【Profile: Anri Sugihara — Talent & Entrepreneur】

Born in 1982 in Hiroshima Prefecture. After graduating high school, she pursued a career as a gravure idol. As a talent, she has appeared in numerous varieties shows, TV dramas, and V-cinema productions. Leveraging her experience as a gravure idol, she launched a successful shapewear brand that became a major hit on a leading home shopping channel, showcasing her entrepreneurial side. She started stock investing in 2005, reaching assets of 10 million yen in about five years, and became an “Okuribito” (investor with assets over 100 million yen) four to five years later. Her investment academy and online salon are also well received.

Her basic stance is to invest in stocks that she finds interesting

The featured “oku-ribito” (investor with assets exceeding 100 million yen) this time is Anri Sugihara. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to see talents and idols showing interest in investment and asset management, but she was a pioneer in this field. She started stock investing in 2005 at the age of 23. What was the trigger?

“I moved from my hometown Hiroshima to Tokyo when I was 19 and began my career as a talent. When I was a newcomer, I went to lots of auditions but didn’t earn much from entertainment activities. So, I thought, why not have money work for me to increase it? That’s when I started investing in stocks,” says Sugihara.

She didn’t particularly study before starting.

“At first, I thought it was just about buying shares of companies I liked (laughs). So the first stock I bought was Tokyo Dome (delisted in 2021). Since I’m from Hiroshima and a hardcore Carp fan, I wanted to watch Carp games at Tokyo Dome through shareholder perks. Later, I found out the number of shares I bought didn’t qualify for the perks.”

This stance of buying stocks of companies she likes or finds interesting has continued ever since.

Started serious investment study after the “Lehman Shock”

After starting stock investing, she reached assets of 10 million yen in about five years. At first glance, it seemed like her wealth was steadily increasing, but she suffered significant losses during the 2008 “Lehman Shock.”

“Until then, I thought I could learn stock investing as I went along. But after getting hurt by the Lehman Shock, I realized I needed to take it seriously. So, I began studying company performance and chart analysis in earnest. Looking back, I think it was good to experience a market crash relatively early after starting investing.”

After the Lehman Shock, the driving force behind her asset growth was game-related stocks.

“From around 2009, emerging companies like GREE and DeNA, which were providing games on feature phones, were booming. Since I also liked games, I invested in game-related stocks without hesitation.”

Focused Investment in Game-Related Stocks Led to Becoming an “Okuribito” (Investor with Billions)

This successful investment in game stocks helped her surpass 10 million yen, but after that, her growth accelerated even more.

“When the iPhone was released in Japan, smartphone games became a huge craze. That’s when I started focusing on stocks related to companies like GungHo. Since I still didn’t have much investment knowledge, I referred to rankings based on price increases and TV commercials and chose companies whose games I personally found fun.”

The momentum of smartphone game stocks at that time was nothing short of phenomenal. Especially GungHo’s stock, which soared more than 50 times in less than a year from 2013 to 2014, thanks to the massive hit of “Puzzle & Dragons” (Pazudora). For such small-cap stocks, she actively engaged in short-term trading like day trading and swing trading, while holding large-cap stocks like Nintendo and Sony for the medium to long term.

“I always made sure to lock in profits. It depended on market conditions, but for each stock I invested in, I set a target profit level in advance and sold without hesitation when that level was reached. There were quite a few stocks I thought could go higher if I held on, but even then, I’d take profits at my preset level and if I wanted to invest again later, I’d buy back in.”

By focusing mainly on game-related stocks and steadily accumulating profits, she surpassed 10 million yen, and four to five years later became an “Okuribito” (investor with assets exceeding 100 million yen).

“During times like Abenomics and the Tokyo Olympics bid, the overall stock market was on the rise, but I believe that continuing to take proper risks and invest consistently is what ultimately led to significant returns.”

Regarding the technical indicators she checks to judge the stock market conditions, as well as the roughly 30 stocks she holds, her real estate investments, and specific stocks she is currently focusing on, these details are shared in the paid edition of [FRIDAY Subscription].

[Former Gravure Idol “Okuribito” Anri Sugihara: “You Can’t Become an ‘Okuribito’ Without Continuously Taking Risks” — What Was Necessary] is available here.

■ “Anri Sugihara’s Investment Academy” is here

■ “Anri Sugihara’s Asset Management Room Polish” is here