TPHS students score in national stock game

By: ALEXANDRA MACE - For the North County Times | Tuesday, May 17, 2005 9:34 PM PDT ∞

CARMEL VALLEY ---- Wall Street investors could learn a thing or two from the students at Torrey Pines High School.

About 90 students participated in Wachovia Securities' pilot model of The Stock Market Game, in which students compete to develop the highest grossing stock portfolio using virtual funds.

When the 10-week-long game concluded May 6, Torrey Pines had three of its 20 teams that entered finish in the top 20, including the first place team in the country.

Torrey Pines ninth-graders Ashley McClanahan, Jessica Phung, Irving Ruan and Olivia White took top honors with a final portfolio worth more than $126,000, making a profit of more than $26,000.Ý

Only 102 out of the 558 teams nationwide made a profit, including six from Torrey Pines.

The four- and five-student teams were all students in Carol Carrillo's geometry honors and algebra II honors classes.Ý

At the beginning of the game on Feb. 28, each team was given a virtual cash account of $100,000 with which to invest in real stocks. The goal was to generate the greatest profit at the end.

Bob Wolter, the senior vice president and complex manager of the Carmel Valley branch of Wachovia Securities, said this is an especially remarkable feat considering the Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 3 percent over the 10-week period of the game.

"I think (the winning team) did their homework, had some good research, and had a little bit of luck," Wolter said.

Wolter, the parent of a Torrey Pines junior, served as adviser to the school's teams. At the start of the game, Wolter conducted an orientation session for each class in which he explained the rules of the game and gave them advice on how to perform their own research in order to build their teams' stock portfolio.

Wolter said teams that bought stock in their favorite brands, such as Starbucks, Abercrombie & Fitch and the Gap, didn't fare as well as the teams who used current events and research as a guide to selecting stocks.

Ninth-grader Ivan Sergeev, 15, said his team took the continuing war in Iraq into account and bought stock in United Defense Industries, which develops vehicles, equipment and munitions for the military. His team was in first place for several weeks until they sold their stock in UDI.ÝÝ

"Then we kind of collapsed," Sergeev said.

Olivia White said her winning team invested in just two stocks: Forward Industries, which manufactures leather holders for cell phones, and ChipMOS Technologies, a leading manufacturer of LCD technologies used in plasma screen televisions.Ý

"We did a lot of research and looked for stocks that weren't so mainstream and were reaching new highs," said White, 15, who said she has been investing in the stock market for several years.

White's team was in second place for the majority of the game, then moved into first place when both companies were bought out.

Wolter will present each member of the winning team with a $100 savings bond, as well as a duffel bag of goodies from Wachovia Securities.

"I think this is a good way to educate the kids about the stock market," said teacher Carol Carrillo. "It makes them aware that there are other means of making money other than working yourself to death."

Freelance writer Alexandra Mace can be reached at alexandramace@hotmail.com.