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.

在过去的九个月里，20岁的连玲玲（音译）养成了每天查看余额宝余额的习惯。余额宝这款网络理财产品不仅帮助她和周围同学存钱，还培养了他们的金融投资意识。但专家学者提醒，互联网金融有风险，学生群体需要对这些金融产品全面了解。

Spare investment

课余投资

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.

就读于上海师范大学计算机信息管理专业的连玲玲是余额宝的首批用户之一。余额宝是由阿里巴巴集团推出的金融业务，用户可以将支付宝账户中的闲置资金直接投资到天弘基金。由于连玲玲常常使用支付宝，所以她可以轻松投资。她说：“通过手机应用，我可以在两个账户间实时转账。”

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.”

余额宝七天的年化收益率是5%到7%。“尽管该收益率正在下降，但还是高于银行利率，”连玲玲说。“另外，每天我都可以看到账户中新增的收益。”

Good match

学生理财好搭档

Similar to Lian, many other college students are also interested in or enjoy such easy ways of financing. According to a recent Renren.com survey, 70 percent of respondents showed interest in online financing products, with most having a preference for Yu’ebao.

和连玲玲一样，很多大学生也对这种网络理财方式颇感兴趣，有些人甚至还乐在其中。根据人人网的一项最新调查显示，70%的参与者表示对互联网理财产品感兴趣，其中大多数人偏爱使用余额宝。

“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 caters¹ to students’ needs. “Their investment is small and they require a high degree of liquidity,” she said.

北京大学经济学院副教授索玲燕（音译）说：“这种趋势正好符合学生们的习惯。”她说，大学生十分依赖网络，“因此他们更易接受互联网金融产品”。此外，她还表示，余额宝能够满足学生们“投资少、资金流动性高”的需求。

Now, Lian is quite addicted² 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，连玲玲十分迷恋余额宝，而这也确实为她带来了一些益处。自从她把钱放在支付宝中后，她便减少了购物支出，而是把更多钱投到余额宝上。

Not risk-free

非零风险

But Suo warns that students should be cautious about online financial products. “In essence, investing in Yu’ebao equals investing in a monetary³ fund. Though Yu’ebao lowers investment barriers and costs, the risk levels are the same,” she says.

索玲燕副教授提醒学生们对待网络理财产品要谨慎。“事实上，投资余额宝相当于投资货币基金。尽管余额宝降低了投资的门槛和成本，但两者的风险程度相当。”

Li Daokui, a professor of economics at Tsinghua University, pointed⁴ 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 investors⁵,” 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.

清华大学经济学教授李稻葵也指出，余额宝最大的风险在于缺乏信息透明度。“余额宝的背后实际上是高风险信用产品，而这些风险并未披露给个体购买者，” 李稻葵在接受中央电视台采访时表示，“如果一些投资者对余额宝失去信心，就可能导致资金缩水。”

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 mitigating⁶ some risks and make wise investment choices,” she said.

索玲燕认为，对于学生投资者而言，解决问题的办法是获取更多金融知识，弄清金融服务是如何操作的。“掌握一些金融理财的基本原则可以帮助学生在投资时做出明智之选，从而规避或降低风险。”她说。