As technology has made investing in the stock market more accessible over the past few decades, students have grown interested in getting a head start in the lucrative industry. Take a look at these five students who have gone right ahead and started investing.
Ryan Cunningham and Alex Powell
Junior Ryan Cunningham’s interest in the stock market was first piqued when his mom opened a Fidelity bank account for him. “I’ve just been saving all my money in it. I think it’s great to watch your money grow instead of spending it all and going back to zero every time,” Cunningham said.
When Cunningham discovered his friend junior Alex Powell shared his interest in economics, the pair decided to launch the Business and Economics club. “We wanted to make a club to teach people, but then also learn ourselves,” Powell said.
Now, Powell and Cunningham help other students learn about the stock market. Each club meeting, the group votes on what stocks to buy. Despite setbacks from the recent tariffs, they’ve earned a total of $18.26 each, investing in Nike, S&P 500, and, riskiest of all, Super Micro Computer, a company that creates and sells technological servers.
Cunningham and Powell’s advice to students interested in investing: “You have to do your research before you do invest. Just don’t go into investing thinking that you get free money.”
You can join the Business and Economics club by emailing [email protected].
Amy Tram
Every year, junior Amy Tram celebrates Lunar New Year with her family. Receiving money from her relatives annually inspired Tram to open her stock portfolio. “I was saving up red pockets from Lunar New Year and eventually I had enough money,” Tram said. “I wasn’t doing anything with it and so my dad said, ‘you can have this [investment] account.’”
Tram now holds many stocks, including Coca Cola and A.R.M. Although Tram doesn’t frequently check her account, she still adds money into her portfolio every year.
Tram’s advice for students: “If you want to save money, stocks [are] not the only way to go. You can also go into high yield savings.”
Ariya Zahari
When he was in 6th grade, freshman Ariya Zahiri started to take interest in the stock market. Zahiri was motivated by a desire to gain real-world experience and even make a little cash. He and his friends started watching videos to learn how the market moves.
“I think day trading is not stable,” Zahiri said. “It’s a quick way to get money, but it’s very risky.” Although Zahiri does do some day trading, he mainly focuses on more long term stocks, which he hopes to use to pay for his college tuition.
He has started M-A’s Investment Club, which meets every Thursday in D-7. During meetings, Zahiri goes over the different aspects of investing and the stock market, explaining risks and benefits of different methods as well as how to read the stock market.
Now, Zahiri is focused on more in-depth stock analysis, including reading into political and industrial changes to influence his stock decisions.
Zahiri’s advice for future investors: “Don’t invest in day trading. Don’t do options, don’t do any of this stuff. Make a nice portfolio. Hold it and continually add money, and you will be outperforming most people.”
Soham Gupta
Sophomore Soham Gupta was introduced to the stock market by his mom when he was in middle school. “I was so young and investing in the stock market seemed like a really good idea to her,” Gupta said. Gupta and his mom ended up opening an account on an app called Greenlight, which allows even kids to learn and start investing in stocks.
Gupta quickly realized that the way to make money wasn’t off of risky stocks, but rather long-term investments.
Prior to the pandemic, Gupta bought Nvidia stock, and has since seen an increase of 13 fold.
“I think I’ve [made] at least 5x my money in the past six years,” Gupta said.
Gupta is very grateful to his mom for opening him up to the world of investing, as now he has money that he plans on using for college.
Through his experience, Gupta advises students to start investing early and give it a try claiming that now is the best time to invest. “If you want to take risks, do it while you’re this age,” Gupta said.
