Money talks

'Nvesting with 'N Sync.

One of the five members of the pioneering pop vocal group ‘N Sync, J.C. Chasez can expound better than anyone on the subtleties of male harmony. He can also trenchantly remark on the emotional rush that a man experiences when thousands of young girls (and maybe a few boys) are shrieking with delight at the sight, and sound, of his trailblazing ensemble, which some pundits have called “the best thing to happen to harmony groups since the barbershop quartet scene died out,” and “possibly as good as the Backstreet Boys.”


‘N Sync

Tacoma Dome, Friday, April 23

KeyArena, Saturday, April 24


But ‘N Sync’s phenomenal success, with sales of its two albums reaching combined sales figures of 8 million, has made the 22-year-old Chasez and friends—Lance Bass, Joey Fatone Jr., Justin Timberlake, and Chris Kirkpatrick—concentrate less on the adulation than on investing their income wisely. So while they’re singing hits like “I Just Wanna Be with You” and “God Must Have Spent a Little More Time with You” onstage, they’re really thinking, “Should I invest in a no-load mutual fund or convert to high-risk technology stocks?” A couple of weeks prior to ‘N Sync’s sold-out Seattle and Tacoma concerts, J.C. took a few minutes to discuss financial planning with Seattle Weekly.

SW: J.C., what are your investment strategies?

J.C.: That’s kind of down the road. We have accountants and stuff like that. Each guy kind of does their own thing with their money. That’s kind of a personal thing. But yeah, I invest.

SW: Do you invest in stocks?

J.C.: Yeah, sometimes.

SW: What’s in your portfolio? Amazon.com?

J.C.: No, I’m more into mutual funds and stuff like that. I’m not a big risk-taker. Not yet anyway. I don’t have the time to really focus on that, so right now I stay with the safe, long-term investments. Then, when I have more time to really get down on it, I’ll do that in the future.

SW: When you’re 40, will you want to explore other types of investments, such as real estate?

J.C.: Yeah, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll have real estate before then.

SW: What kind of real estate? Office buildings?

J.C.: That’s something for me to deal with down the road. Right now, my focus is music.