Econ Club: Changing the Future
Written by Jeanette M. ‘27
*Disclaimer: None of the information in this article should be taken as financial advice, and should be used for purely informational purposes.*
On October 25, 2023, SJND’s Econ Club launched the school year’s first stock market competition, and just like the market, the student body’s interest in investing has risen. With more than 100 active participants, it’s clear that the stock market competition has reached quite a large target audience. The reason is quite obvious: a$250 dollar prize on the line, as well as cash prizes awarded all the way down to 7th place. But the real, long-term award of the competition is actually being awarded to every single contestant. What is it, you might ask? To find out the answer to this question, let’s explore the interview of a competitor in the stock market competition who can vouch for the importance of investing knowledge.
Kieran Brown is a 9th grader who joined the stock competition out of curiosity. Kieran, having no past experience in investing, joined the competition based on what he has heard about it from past Econ Club meetings. He currently places 29th, with an overall gain of $8,428.75. Kieran began with a simple strategy for selecting stocks: “What I try to do is pick one-third large and safe companies to invest in, one-third companies that I see on the rise, and one-third random niche companies.” This strategy is a good example of the importance of diversification when investing in stocks, which helps reduce risk.
Kieran has also made his fair share of mistakes early on in the competition. That’s part of what makes the competition so great: it serves as a unique learning experience where you can mess up without suffering any real losses. As Kieran stated, “I’ve learned to just wait it out and see that I can make a long-term profit staying with the things that I invest in.”
In addition, he also found some flaws in the strategy he began with. “I also invested into many stocks that were very random, which were part of that one-third of random niche stocks, and they didn’t do very well,” he said. This emphasizes the importance of doing research before investing in a stock, knowledge that can come in handy when the time to invest in real-life stocks rolls by.
But Kieran has one main lesson that he would like to impart to those who may be interested in joining the stock market competition, or who intend to invest in real-life stocks: “Invest a lot of your money… Don’t let it sit there and waste away. Don’t sit and stagnate!”
As I mentioned earlier, every contestant in the stock market competition will get a prize, regardless of how they place. If you couldn’t tell by now, the true reward is simple: knowledge and experience. Especially today, in a time when so many lack financial literacy, we need more people who are willing to be passionate about preparing for their future. For any high-schooler reading this article, know that the time to invest is now. You have a lifetime in front of you, and there has never been a better time to take advantage of the market’s compounding effect. If you’ve learned anything today at all, let it be that the future is in your hands: you only need to take the reins.
