Oakdale Patch Whiz Kids: Tartan Stock Market Game Team

Oakdale Patch Whiz Kids: Mai Thao, Cné Wheaton, Gaonou Xiong and Nick Schaffer (The Stock Market Game Team)

School:

Key to awesomeness: In this economy, making money in the stock market can be an elusive feat. If it’s something you’re trying to do, maybe you should consult with a team of Tartan High School students who achieved the seemingly impossible. The team had three months to increase their imaginary portfolio, and they ended up raising its value from $96,000 to $109,912 in one day by putting all their money into one key stock, team member Nick Schaffer said. Most of the teams actually lost money during the spring Allianz Life and BestPrep Challenge, so with their gain, Tartan’s team ended up placing second in the high school division. To assemble their portfolio, team members looked at the alpha and beta, upside/downside ratio, average P/E ratio and growth history of their stocks. They originally focused on agriculture and energy stocks. So, after their experience, would they invest their own, real money in the stock market?

“It’s risky, but you’ve got to take a risk if you want to get somewhere,” said team member Cné Wheaton. Schaffer echoed her sentiments, “Higher risk, higher reward.”