Editor’s Notes
The Young Investors’ programme is aired at 1:00 p.m. on TVJ every Sunday during the programme “On a Personal Note” hosted by Mr. Owen James. This game is where young persons are given $100,000.00 virtual money to trade and compete against each other.
The birth of ‘The Young Investors’
– by Owen James
The birth of an idea is often fraught with uncertainty and doubt.
I am happy to say this was not the case with the evolution of ‘The Young Investors’ stock market competition thanks to strong support from the General Manager of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Mrs. Marlene Street Forrest.
I introduced business programming to the then Super Supreme Television (the fore-runner to TVJ) in February 1998 and the success of the two programs that year emboldened me five years later, in 2003 to produce Jamaican television’s first personal financial program ‘On A Personal Note’.
The half-hour program at the outset comprised three segments: Your Wealth – a wealth creation and wealth retention segment; PennyWise – a focus on personal financial issues impacting on young people; and The Achievers – a motivational feature celebrating the successes of businesses and individuals and entrepreneurship in general.
I believe strongly in market forces and so early 2009 when the Pennywise feature began to lose its lustre I knew I had to replace it but with something with a continued youth focus.
It was then that the idea of a weekly stock market competition among young people was born.
On October 5, 2009, I formally wrote Mrs. Street Forrest seeking the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s assistance in my quest to replace the PennyWise segment of On A Personal Note with a feature called ‘The Young Investors’.
She was most receptive of the idea.
I told her in October 2009 that the primary objectives of the program were:
(1) To enhance investor education at the youth level;
(2) To give critical support to the JSE’s thrust o increase investor education on equities;
(3) To increase participation in the JSE at a time when the JSE was working to shore up a Junior Exchange;
(4) To create a buzz among young people about the investment option which offers the best legitimate rate of return; and
(5) To generally disseminate in a well-produced audio-visual format investor education to the general public.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange accepted my proposal to come on board as a co-sponsor and to help select three tertiary-level and high school students to come on board; and to collate the weekly information which would enable my company All Media Services Limited to produce a weekly program.
Our first program was aired on Sunday January 17, 2010 and the response was great. We also aired each episode on our video-driven website businesscontentjamaica.com to ensure that those who missed The Young Investors on TV could view it online.
Members of the public, particularly young people liked the program and made queries about participation via Twitter, Facebook and telephone calls.
Both All Media Services Limited and the Jamaica Stock Exchange contribute quarterly prizes to participants in The Young Investors stock market competition where every participant is a winner.
The Young Investors stock market competition is a truly symbiotic relationship between All Media Services Limited and the Jamaica Stock Exchange – one which continues to grow.
Investors’ Portfolio as at March 24, 2011
Dexter Smith continued to show is dominance in the game inching closer to taking the first quarter prize as his portfolio grew by $2,385.51 to end the week at $150,008.52. He decided to add NCBJ to his portfolio this week.
Portfolio – MIL: 1 unit, NCBJ: 7,504 units
Dexter’s portfolio value is $150,008.52
Kamala saw the largest increase in portfolio value for the week of $3,026.00. This pushed her portfolio value to $111,144.00.
Kamala gained on the sale of CWJA and CAR shares.
Portfolio – PEG: 500 units, SEP 500 units, CCC 4,700 units, MIL 9,000 units
Kamala’s portfolio value $111,144.00
At the end of the week Nackeila’s portfolio value increased by $386.00 to close at $98,281.00-she did not trade this week. She made her gains from shares in GK, LAS, JMMB, SGJ and BNSVP.
Portfolio – GK: 300 units, LAS: 200 units, RJR: 100 units, JBG: 400 units, JMMB 100 units, SGJ: 100 units and BNSVP: 100 units.
Nackeila’s portfolio value Portfolio value $98,281.00
