SWANSEA -- Forget the authoritative pronouncements of investment advisers in fancy suits. Maybe those of us who are slaves to the whims of the stock market should be listening to a couple of teenagers from the Stevens Childrens Home on Main Street.
This fall, they developed an ever-shifting stock portfolio that earned a rate of return of more than 29 percent.
And that was in a mere 10 weeks.
If only it was real money.
The duo were the big winners in The Stock Market Game, an online contest in which teams are given $100,000 in fake money and invited to buy and sell stock. Run by The Journal's Newspaper in Education program, it's designed to teach students about investing, and the skills that go along with it.
In the latest contest, 309 teams participated and the two Stevens students took the top prize, turning the $100,000 into $128,958.19.
"You beat PC [Providence College] and Salve Regina economics students," Avis Gunther-Rosenberg, coordinator of the program, told the students late Friday morning during a pizza party to celebrate the win.
The two boys who won, whose last names were not released because the school is for adolescents recovering from emotional disturbances and behavior disorders, did better than any of the high school or college teams.
The win wasn't a fluke for the school. Last spring, Stevens teams placed first, second, fourth and seventh for their age group.
"The only piece of advice I gave them was, 'Buy what you like,' " said Albert Aunchman, of Warwick, a math and science teacher at the school. As part of the learning experience, each of the students had to develop a portfolio and explain the rationale for buying and selling their stocks.
The two teens, 17-year-old Bryon, of Plymouth, and 15-year-old Chris, of Fall River, said one of their best-performing stocks was Apple.
"We knew iPod was coming out and we kept buying more and more shares" as the music player became popular, said Chris.
"Digital music is big and Apple is making a comeback," Byron explained.
They also dabbled in Google and Ebay, even though the Internet search engine and auction site had some ups and downs.
They also invested heavily in United Defense Industries, knowing it had connections to the Bush administration and believing that the company stood to make money from defense contracts as a result of the war in Iraq.
"It went up a lot after he got reelected," Chris said.
"The war in Iraq definitely had an impact," said Byron.
Both teens said they probably would have invested differently if their own money had been involved.
"I wouldn't have gone to more volatile stocks like Netflix," said Byron, referring to the mail order DVD rental service. The duo picked the stock because they know a lot of people use it.
They also made money on overstock.com, a choice made on the theory that the holiday season was approaching and a lot of people might be looking for deep discounts on line.
Did it feel like gambling?
"A little bit," Bryon acknowledged, but also said he endorses President Bush's controversial proposal to let individuals opt out of the Social Security program and invest their own retirement money.
"It will help get us out of the debt we have," he said. "It will teach people to invest wisely and may rejuvenate the stock market."
To contact Gene Emery, phone 508-674-8401 or e-mail gemeryXXXXXprojo.com.
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