Monday, January 12, 2009

Business Academy Stock Project

Today, I was a guest of the Melbourne High School Academy of Business and Finance where the students presented the results of their stock project. They researched and picked 10 publicly traded companies on the NASDAQ and/or NYSE to invest a hypothetical $50,000. They tracked the price of their stocks from the middle of November and concluded in the middle of December, and 2 groups of students that I saw made money.

The goal of the project was to introduce the students to the stock market, how to research publicly traded companies, and sell an investor on their recommendations. They learned how to look up stocks, quotes, ticker symbols, diversification, how the state of the economy will effect certain stocks.

Each group did a great job of diversifying amongst the different sectors and allocating their money depending on the perceived risk of a stock. Obviously, I would have liked to see them invest in index funds, but that will be in another lesson.

I am encouraged that the markets will thrive now and in the future because people are learning at younger ages about stocks, bonds, and other investment choices and how they can benefit their long term financial goals. I was proud to have helped these Mel High students learn some basics about investing.