大學生理財:餘額寶到底是不是個"寶"
Over the past nine months, Lian Lingling, 20, has acquired a new daily routine – checking her Yu’ebao account. The online financial product not only helps her and other students to save money, it also cultivates in them a sense of financing and investment. But scholars warn that online financing has its risks and students need to have a more comprehensive understanding of financial products.
在過去的九個月裏，20歲的連玲玲（音譯）養成了每天查看餘額寶餘額的習慣。餘額寶這款網絡理財產品不僅幫助她和周圍同學存錢，還培養了他們的金融投資意識。但專家學者提醒，互聯網金融有風險，學生羣體需要對這些金融產品全面瞭解。
Spare investment
課餘投資
Lian Lingling, a computer information management major at Shanghai Normal University, was among the first users of Yu’ebao. The financial product provided by Alibaba Group allows users to directly invest in the private Tianhong funding company using spare cash from Alipay accounts. As Lian uses Alipay frequently, it’s convenient for her to invest. “With the cell phone app, I can make real-time transfers between the two accounts,” she said.
就讀於上海師範大學計算機信息管理專業的連玲玲是餘額寶的首批用戶之一。餘額寶是由阿里巴巴集團推出的金融業務，用戶可以將支付寶賬戶中的閒置資金直接投資到天弘基金。由於連玲玲常常使用支付寶，所以她可以輕鬆投資。她說：“通過手機應用，我可以在兩個賬戶間實時轉賬。”
Yu’ebao offers a seven-day annualized yield of 5 to 7 percent. “Though it’s decreasing, it’s still higher than the interest rate provided by banks,” Lian said. “Besides, I can see money coming in every day.”
餘額寶七天的年化收益率是5%到7%。“儘管該收益率正在下降，但還是高於銀行利率，”連玲玲說。“另外，每天我都可以看到賬戶中新增的收益。”
Good match
學生理財好搭檔
Similar to Lian, many other college students are also interested in or enjoy such easy ways of financing. According to a recent survey, 70 percent of respondents showed interest in online financing products, with most having a preference for Yu’ebao.
和連玲玲一樣，很多大學生也對這種網絡理財方式頗感興趣，有些人甚至還樂在其中。根據人人網的一項最新調查顯示，70%的參與者表示對互聯網理財產品感興趣，其中大多數人偏愛使用餘額寶。
“This trend fits their behavior,” says Suo Lingyan, an associate professor at Peking University’s School of Economics. She says college students rely heavily on the Internet, “therefore they can easily accept online financing products”. Moreover, Yu’ebao caters to students’ needs. “Their investment is small and they require a high degree of liquidity,” she said.
北京大學經濟學院副教授索玲燕（音譯）說：“這種趨勢正好符合學生們的習慣。”她說，大學生十分依賴網絡，“因此他們更易接受互聯網金融產品”。此外，她還表示，餘額寶能夠滿足學生們“投資少、資金流動性高”的需求。
Now, Lian is quite addicted to Yu’ebao, and it is having a good affect on her. Since she started putting money in her Alipay account, she has cut down on shopping expenses and is investing more money in Yu’ebao.
如今，連玲玲十分迷戀餘額寶，而這也確實爲她帶來了一些益處。自從她把錢放在支付寶中後，她便減少了購物支出，而是把更多錢投到餘額寶上。Not risk-free
非零風險
But Suo warns that students should be cautious about online financial products. “In essence, investing in Yu’ebao equals investing in a monetary fund. Though Yu’ebao lowers investment barriers and costs, the risk levels are the same,” she says.
索玲燕副教授提醒學生們對待網絡理財產品要謹慎。“事實上，投資餘額寶相當於投資貨幣基金。儘管餘額寶降低了投資的門檻和成本，但兩者的風險程度相當。”
Li Daokui, a professor of economics at Tsinghua University, pointed out that the biggest risk of Yu’ebao may be the lack of information transparency. “High-risk credit products are the supporting asset of Yu’ebao. These risks are not revealed to individual investors,” he said during an interview on CCTV. “This may result in a squeeze of investment if some investors lose confidence in Yu’ebao,” he added.
清華大學經濟學教授李稻葵也指出，餘額寶最大的風險在於缺乏信息透明度。“餘額寶的背後實際上是高風險信用產品，而這些風險並未披露給個體購買者，” 李稻葵在接受中央電視臺採訪時表示，“如果一些投資者對餘額寶失去信心，就可能導致資金縮水。”
The solution for student investors, Suo believes, is to gain more financial knowledge and understand how financial services operate. “Grasping some basic financing principles can help students in avoiding or mitigating some risks and make wise investment choices,” she said.
索玲燕認爲，對於學生投資者而言，解決問題的辦法是獲取更多金融知識，弄清金融服務是如何操作的。“掌握一些金融理財的基本原則可以幫助學生在投資時做出明智之選，從而規避或降低風險。”她說。
