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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 10, 2002

Students try hand at investing strategy

During the next 10 weeks, hundreds of Hawai'i elementary and high school students will be learning lessons about investing in difficult times.

Nearly 200 school teams each will invest a hypothetical $100,000 in stocks to build the best portfolio performance and investment strategy.

Amassing the most money is not the sole name of the game. It's about building value and a long-term investment approach.

The third annual stock market simulation program — sponsored locally by the Hawai'i Council on Economic Education, the Market City Foundation, First Hawaiian Bank and Merrill Lynch — is part of a national competition conducted each fall and spring under the title National SMS.

In Hawai'i, participation has surged from 14 schools the first year to 150 in the last competition.

This semester's contest ends April 12. Advisers will choose winners based on a detailed evaluation of their portfolios, which need to match a suggested national profile in each of three categories: conservative income, moderate growth and aggressive growth.

Over the next few weeks, Advertiser readers can follow the top teams' progress as they learn about everything from investment risk, price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields, and put the lessons into use in the stock market.

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