Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
ALLIANCE INVESTMENT Management Limited's Stock Wizard Challenge held between September and December 2005 offered a simple proposition - take US$25,000 of virtual money and buy stocks on the U.S. stock market to see how much you could make.
And although it was 'virtual' US dollars, when a 21-year-old treasury officer nearly quadruples it within 12 weeks, you have to take notice.
On Tuesday, Robert Chin of Alliance gave out prizes to winners at their Belmont Road offices.
The top prize went to Calvin East a treasury officer employed to Pan Caribbean Financial Services (PCFS) who took his US$25,000 and turned it into US$92,404.76.
Mr. East explained to the Financial Gleaner that, "My focus was on taking advantage of opportunities in the U.S. economy. I bought oil stocks, pharmaceuticals, companies that were about to announce their third quarter results and companies that brought out new products because that signified growth."
Mr. East said, "I relied heavily on technical analysis and followed news releases closely."
And if he were to put in real money into the U.S stock market now, Mr. East said, "I like pharmaceuticals and energy stocks."
The second runner up, 24-year-old securities administrator Denise Gallimore, also from PCFS, took her US$25,000 and ended up with US$62,261.65.
Still in the PCFS camp, 34-year-old Donovan Powell, assistant treasury and operations manager ended the competition with US$57,605.68.
Guest speaker at the function, financial analyst Karen Fitz Ritson of Fitz Ritson and Associates spoke on managing in turbulent times.
WISDOM
"Let me share the wisdom of the late business guru Peter Drucker. Fundamentals do not change. The fundamentals of survival and success in the existing business are liquidity, productiveness and the management of costs of the future," she said. "Therefore the balance sheet in turbulent times is king. This tells of the productivity of the company - the receivables, the debt, the inventory, all speak to the direction the company is taking."
Ms. Fitz Ritson then spoke of the concept of KISS or Keep It Simple Stupid. "Don't recreate the wheel! Strengthen those core values that have made you who you are today. Your clients won't leave you and they will entrust you with more of their wealth."
As the festivities closed, Alliance marketing manager Jennifer Mendes announced that, "our next Stock Wizard Challenge is scheduled for September 2006, at which time competitors will vie for the Jamie Lue Memorial Trophy in honour of our colleague who lost his life tragically at the end of December 2005."
