DEPUTY DAN CRISTIAN POPESCU: "Using money that you don't need - one of the secrets of investing on the stock market"

Reporter: How did you get started investing on the stock market?

Dan Cristian Popescu: I had begun buying shares on the stock market one month before the collapse of Lehman Brothers (ed. note: in September 2008), upon the advice of some broker friends. I started off with a relatively small amount, but after one month, I was only left with half of, amid the abrupt crash at the time.

But I did not lose my nerve and I actually added 50% to the amount that was left, and after one month, my assets had shrunk by half again. This made me think that perhaps it would be better to give up on the idea of a discretionary account (ed. note: where the operations are made by a broker) and to make the decisions myself. I once again invested in stocks the amount I still had left, and within a few months I had managed to break even.

Reporter: What shares did you invest in?

Dan Cristian Popescu: In the most liquid shares on the BSE. All of my investments are on the BSE. The DCP Investitii Fund also trades a bit on the Forex market.

On June 30, the fund had an annualized return of 27%, being ranked second among the mutual funds.

The fund currently has assets of approximately 5 million lei. But the amount I actually invested is less than half of that. The rest is organic growth. In the coming months, I will allow some of my friends to join the fund as well, with very small stakes.

Reporter: Why did you create DCP Investiţii?

Dan Cristian Popescu: Because of fiscal and bureaucratic reasons. When I was an individual investor, I had to draw and file all kinds of papers and personally go and wait in line at the offices of the tax administration, regardless of the size of my profit. These are things that discourage you when you want to enter the stock market. As an investment fund, even if you have some overhead costs, at least you get rid of the bureaucracy.

Reporter: How much money should anyone that wants to follow in your footsteps invest?

Dan Cristian Popescu: Any amount that they do not need. It is one of the secrets of the investments in the stock market - using money that you don't need. This relieves the pressure. You are no longer forced to make a decision at a certain time. The market fluctuates, you can buy low and sell high, but in order to do that, you need time and patience.

I've had one experience, two years ago, when the markets were dropping, I lost one billion (100,000 RON) per day, for a whole week. But I kept on buying.

Reporter: Could the authorities do something to facilitate the population's entry on the stock market?

Dan Cristian Popescu: Of course. First of all, it should stimulate the investments by reducing the taxation of such gains. Also, cut the bureaucracy.

The stock market will rise anyway. We are increasingly connected to the foreign markets, Romania has begun to matter in the region, as it was a member in the European Union. Also, the drop of the interest rate on deposits stimulates investments with higher returns.

Investing on the stock market means investing in the Romanian economy, far more directly than through the banks, as the state should pay more attention to and stimulate the capital market.

Reporter: Especially as the European Union is preparing the "bail in" procedure (saving banks with the depositors' money), which was implemented in Cyprus.

Dan Cristian Popescu: I am very familiar with the < bail-in > procedure, because I have become a shareholder of Bank of Cyprus myself, once that procedure began. Still, I don't think that the European authorities will decide the application of the "bail-in" at the level of the European Union. It's possible for a bank to default, it's a situation you can theoretically expect. Then, as a depositor, you go and take whatever is left, meaning the shares. But it is inadvisable to do it as a European policy, because there will be serious capital outflows away from Europe. That is precisely why I don't think it will happen, because if several banks were to default, the countries themselves would default.

Reporter: What is your opinion on the cap on guaranteed deposits - of 100,000 Euros?

Dan Cristian Popescu: I would go for the American model. Over there, after the crisis, the cap was raised to 250,000 dollars. If you want to play with macroeconomic policies, the way that you were previously talking about, then at least raise the cap, give the middle class some room to breathe.

Reporter: Where should Romanians keep their money?

Dan Cristian Popescu: They should place it on the stock market rather than in deposits. The returns can clearly be higher.

Reporter: How much time do you spend every day on stock market investments?

Dan Cristian Popescu: To me, it's more of a hobby. I check them on my phone, when I have time. I spend very little time studying details about companies, I am not that interested in what happens to them. I think that perception comes after reality and therefore, is far more important. When you work with your own money you have the advantage of being able to make decisions based on instinct or intuition.

Reporter: Do you have investments on the foreign markets as well?

Dan Cristian Popescu: Not at the moment. It is easier for me to make investments here, where I've been watching the stocks longer. I have more information about the Romanian market. If you read the press, you can predict how certain events will affect stocks.

Reporter: What do you think it would be worth investing in?

Dan Cristian Popescu: Agriculture. I've always wanted to invest in land, but I didn't do it because I didn't have the time. Any kind of project in that area requires involvement, and my activities so far have not allowed me to take that step.

Reporter: What is Romania's chance for development?

Dan Cristian Popescu: Agriculture.

Reporter: That's it?

Dan Cristian Popescu: It is in the top ten. It is an important opportunity that not every country enjoys.

Reporter: You are considered "the millionaire deputy". Why is that?

Dan Cristian Popescu: That is gossip... Sadly, part of the media prefers to approach subjects that concern my personal life rather than write about my legislative initiatives or about the projects that the "Dan Cristian Popescu" Foundation is conducting. At any rate, if all of my colleagues in the Parliament were to honestly fill out their assets and income statement, like I did, I am sure I would be in the lower half of the chart (laughs).

Reporter: Do you see yourself as a young wolf in politics?

Dan Cristian Popescu: No, I've already been involved in politics for 24 years now. All I can say is that two years ago, when I entered the Parliament, I moved up to a different level. But politics has always been a passion of mine and I've been involved in it ever since I was in school.

Reporter: What is the most important legislative initiative that you've submitted?

Dan Cristian Popescu: I've had an initiative concerning buildings that are of high seismic risk. I have proposed improvements to the current law, intended to speed up the seismic rehabilitation process, with measures that include the expropriation of individuals that prevent the rehabilitation maliciously. People don't know that every year, the funds allocated from the state budget don't get fully spent, as small as as they may be.

My proposal is to give certain deadlines, and after their expiration those who oppose the rehabilitation receive another home or are paid damages. The law can go as far as stipulating criminal liability for those that have businesses operating in those types of buildings. They are basically deathtraps. People enter those buildings in good faith, because the business in question is licensed to operate and they don't realize that their lives could be in danger.

The draft is now in the Parliament, I've even proposed to the government to issue an emergency ordinance on the matter. I've also had some inspiration from a law in the United States, which stipulates that if you are driving around in a car with a child less than 5 years old, and the child isn't in a seat that protects him, you get sued for attempted manslaughter. That's how I viewed it. Even if no earthquake occurs, if you call me into a building where I am in danger, then you need to answer before the law.

Reporter: What are your expectations from the electoral campaign? Will we have more shocking news, like the Microsoft case?

Dan Cristian Popescu: The investigations of the National Anti-Corruption Department are not or should not be connected to the electoral campaigns.

Reporter: Still, this case has been discussed for a few months, and it blew up precisely as the electoral campaign began.

Dan Cristian Popescu: Talks on this subject so far have been based on "sources", some information was leaked without any official point of view. All this time, the prosecutors have been working on the investigation, they built their case and it just happened that this was the time it was ready. A case like this isn't built over night.

We shouldn't tie actions of the legal system to those of the electoral campaign. They have their own pace. The politicians that have made mistakes should be investigated implicitly, regardless of the time, that is why I don't see the judicial system as an effective player in the campaign.

Reporter: Are you pleased with the work of Klaus Iohannis, as mayor and politician?

Dan Cristian Popescu: In Romania, politicians are very badly perceived and blamed, due to a reflex that we Romanians have to blame somebody else when things don't go well for us.

Politicians are very convenient in that regard, given the blunders that they've been making, over the last 25 years. They get blamed for everything: "Romania is a beautiful country, shame it's got people in it, shame it's badly managed, etc". Amid this lack of moral benchmarks, politicians that have results, regardless of how small, are valued. When we talk about a mayor in a city where things have actually been achieved, we do have a certain guarantee. I understand that people in Sibiu are pleased. This man comes from the "field", he is in touch with people, he knows the local and central administration. How well he is going to do as president, I don't know, and no one could tell right now. But we do start off from the premise that he is a competent and well-intentioned man.

Reporter: Who would you want to be president?

Dan Cristian Popescu: I will support the candidate of the Christian Liberal Alliance. Romanians should vote according to their gut. At any rate, the position of president is overrated. We still have the mentality of searching for the providential person that can save us or destroy us. Again because we're passing the buck. We should think that we are going to do better because of what everybody is doing. Iohannis or Ponta isn't going to come or make me smarter, richer or more successful. A president can create a framework, set a direction, can contribute to improving the way the country is perceived abroad, can help the legal system to be independent, but when it comes to my own backyard, I am still the one that needs to do something. We will continue to have problems, if we fail to understand this.

Reporter: How do you see your future in politics?

Dan Cristian Popescu: When I was working in the pupil organization, my answer to this question was: minister, prime-minister and president of Romania. Nowadays, I no longer see things so simplistically. I've started off by being a Deputy. In 2016, I intend to run for mayor of the second district of Bucharest.

I just want to give an example of good administration, like it's happening in Sibiu, to a certain degree. If some good things happen in a small area, on one hand its sets a concrete example, and on the other hand it creates a competition effect. Other managers, even if they didn't intend to do anything, would be somewhat forced to.