Congratulations to KCVI DECA Stock Star, Brandon Whitley, who has qualified for ICDC to be held this year in Salt Lake City Utah at the end of April. Brandon will be representing Ontario.
Brandon placed 7th in the North Atlantic Region with a portfolio valued at $118,659. Competitors in the North Atlantic Region include students from Ontario as well as a number of Northeastern States in the US.
“To choose my stocks,” Brandon explains, “I employed three main methods. Firstly, I would look into what industries were displaying the most potential in success. For example, I noticed that in the United States, there is a large development in the healthcare industry, due to a rapidly growing demand (what with aging baby boomers and the increasing toxins in our immediate environment). I decided that it might be worth while to invest in the pharmaceutical drug industry, as companies like these usually have large risk and large potential. I decided to take the risk and invest in this industry, and through this I made a large percentage return. I invested in several industries using this method.”
“Secondly, I would think of a key word that I felt was associated with growth or decay in value (depending if I would be buying or shorting). I would then enter this key word into the financial search section of Google, and look at what companies came up that were affiliated with this key word. I usually choose words that dealt with either certain industries or certain geographic locations.”
“Finally, I would choose companies that I felt would do well, based on my own prior experience and knowledge (as in, companies I knew about financially and before the competition sparked my interest). The most important thing about entering the challenge, thought-wise, was that I entered with the attitude of “light and fun”. I didn’t enter to stick to conventional buying methods, I entered to gain experience as well as test out my own methods. This open-mindedness allowed me not to turn down ideas about companies for the fear of money-loss, and didn’t influence me into making decisions based on what other people advised. The mindset allowed me to explore my own interests, and ultimately, led to my success through a diverse portfolio of growing stock value.”
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Release source: Limestone District School Board
