Reflection

When I first began this project, I had a very vague understanding of how stocks functioned and kept the economy running. While much of the economic process remains a mystery, I did gain a better understanding of how the stock market works and why it behaves so unpredictably. I first became interested in stocks when my sister and I discussed the potential behind MetroPCS (we could have earned a bit of cash had we invested), but potential is only one piece to the overly complex puzzle. In my econ and government classes we learned a bit more about what makes a market tick, such as political and world news as well as general public opinion and interests. After meeting with my mentor, Patrick Cross, a financial adviser with Edward Jones, I was able to grasp the concept of portfolio based investments. Having a portfolio can meet the financial goals and needs of any individual who wishes to invest in their future, but much like every individual is unique in their goals and finances, each portfolio is tailor made to suit each person. Among the factors that go into portfolio building are age, income, goals and behavior (risk-taker or conservative). Being a relatively young investor, I decided to focus my portfolio on aggressive growth, which Patrick advised against. In my efforts to meet my growth goals, I neglected to factor in dividend yield when purchasing stock until the very end of this project. Although I did have a net gain in the end, had I begun investing sooner and smarter, dividends from a growth & income based portfolio (mine was mainly growth), would have been paid off around March, giving me a periodic income.Over the course of my research, I noticed the details that went into daily market analysis to determine a stock's strength, including new management, product announcements and rumors, all of which should be taken with a grain of salt until a final judgment can be made either by the investor or their adviser. One thing any investor will tell you, is that there is always risk involved, but there are tools and strategies to help reduce that risk exponentially. The easiest road to take is to make safe investments with companies that are known to perform well and offer dividends, such as McDonalds or Coca-Cola. However, if you do your research and pay attention to key movements, in the market and in the world, including market gaps (which indicate potential growth or downturns) and general public behavior such as Spring cleaning, which could drive up demand for Johnson & Johnson cleaning products, your investment path could be laid out right in front of you, waiting to turn a $5 investment into a $100 profit, if you are patient and/or make the right moves. I feel this experience has taught me a lot about how to manage finances and could be a stepping stone toward a career in the economic field.