Teens Tackle Wall Street

by Lindsay Meyers

Money. It's what runs our society, and everybody needs it, including young kids, adults and teens. After school jobs, baby sitting and lawn mowing tend to be the more popular routes for teens seeking to make money, but, there is another efficient and educational way to multiply your money without any of the physical labor: Investing. Although it isn't a sure-fire deal, there is advice that can be taken which will offer benefits beyond the green.

"You don't need to be an experienced stock broker to invest in the stock market," Layla Jafar, a junior at Greenwich Academy told me. Part of an new investment group at her school, Layla and 12 other students have raised money through bake sales and car washes in order to invest in the market. They intend to give half of their anticipated profits to charities, and the rest they will reinvest. Admitting that investing is an interesting career opportunity, Layla spent last summer working at Merrill Lynch in order to learn more about how the market works.

Wow The Dow is a new book written by Pat Smith and Lynn Roney and published by Simon & Schuster. Cashing in on the interest teens seem to be developing in the market, Smith and Roney feel that there is more to gain from the stock market than just money. "Investing is a learning experience where even the youngest investor has to take an avid interest in where their money is going," said Pat Smith "They will learn skills they are going to need for the rest of their life in an unpressured and fun environment," she added. "Making money is an exciting and empowering experience that also teaches new investors about real life money issues while helping novices in the market become financially literate," Lynn Roney stated.

Roney's initial investment of $100 grew to $33,000 over the course of several years. She did so by investing in blue chip stocks. Blue chip stocks are almost guaranteed to go up over time, and at worst, will fluctuate only slightly with earnings and losses. Investing in blue chip stocks tend to be a long-term investments, ones that don't offer quick gains or quick losses, but enable investors to enjoy growth over a period of time. Lynn Roney and Pat Smith both agree that Blue Chip stocks are a good way to start out because the risk is minimal. Investing just a small amount of money in a quality stock is gratifying in the long run.