For students who participated in TCU’s Investment Challenge, the six-day camp was only the beginning.
This year, 40 high schools participated in the Neeley School of Business camp. Each built a $100,000 virtual investment portfolio. They are expected to track the portfolio, investing, trading or selling as needed, through 3 p.m. March 31, 2017.
“I came into this class not knowing very much,” John Truett Pittman. “I learned how to look at their finance status to determine if it’s a fair price on the value. I still have no idea how to do trends at this point, but that’s something that’s going to come with experience.”
The program is tied to the TCU Educational Investment fund which is managing a real money portfolio for the Neeley School.
“There is some help there so it gets them interested in the aspect of a potential career so it helps them,” said Barbara Wood, program coordinator. “I think on a personal level at some point, they are going to have to invest money because they are going to earn some money and need to save for retirement.”
The students took classes in economics, presentations and accounting – to learn how to wisely invest in the virtual stock market. They also managed a practice portfolio. They bought specific stock, but also had their freedom to choose others.
“I tried to do stuff in different industries to apply the whole diversification theory to where you don’t have everything in technology and everything in consumer items,” Abigel Chaves said.
The challenge spans eight months and students are expected to create a stock report at the end of each month tracking their investments.
“I’m going to make a stock report for the stock that I am wanting to invest in or what I’ve already invested in,” Kiana Abrigana said. “I’ll just be keeping an eye out for things that sound interesting that I might want to invest in or that I should probably sell.
TCU offers the students a chance to live in college dorms and spend a week on campus so they know what it is like going to college. It’s also an opportunity for the students to become familiar with TCU.
Barbara Wood, program coordinator, said one student, who attended the camp last year, settled on TCU after going through the program.
“He had said that he was going to go to USC for college and after our banquet in April, he changed his mind and he is coming to TCU,” Wood said.
