'My friends are getting rich from stocks — what if I'm left behind?' Woori Financial Group plays MZ adviser at Herald Money Festa 2026

"My friends have made a lot of money investing in stocks, and I feel like I'm falling behind. How can I get better at investing?"

At 2 p.m. Saturday, a group of college students wandered into the Woori Financial Group booth at the Herald Money Festa 2026. They had come for a weekend outing and were drawn in by a reflex-test game at the booth — a contest to see how quickly visitors could catch a magnetic rod after it dropped from a frame overhead. Mid-game, one student spotted a Woori Investment Securities advertisement on the wall reading "Let's invest, together" and turned to a Woori Financial Group employee to ask about getting started in investing. An impromptu consultation was underway.

The group settled in at a table on one side of the booth, and the session began in earnest.

One student said she was afraid of being left behind while friends around her were posting strong returns. The Woori Financial Group employee started with the concept of tax savings. "With the National Growth Fund, investing 30 million won ($22,100) qualifies you for a 40 percent income deduction," the employee explained. "Returns matter, but so does cutting your tax bill. If you use it well, you can effectively save more than 10 million won in one go."

The employee added that it also helps to set a clear, unsentimental threshold for how much loss you can absorb relative to your income.

Another student said she was unsure whether to put her limited funds into individual stocks or gradually accumulate ETFs.

The employee advised her to consider portfolios designed by professionals as a starting point. "You can look at how much weight to give riskier assets and what kind of returns to expect from that allocation," the employee said.

Woori Financial Group used the Herald Money Festa 2026 to heavily promote the individual retirement pension (IRP) system, one of its core banking products.

The group also offers expert-designed model portfolios through its banking website. Each portfolio is built around three to four core funds selected with the investor's risk profile, life stage and market conditions in mind, and the bank continues to monitor and manage the portfolio on an ongoing basis.

Now in its third year, the Herald Money Festa ran Friday and Saturday at Art Hall 1 of Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul under the theme "Money Rebalancing: Recalibrating the Weight of Your Assets." More than 30 companies, including commercial banks and construction companies, took part to showcase their flagship products and services.