Stock Optionz ~> Stock `Treps ~> Next Article (Farmboy Financial Forcaster)

Matthew Wolff: Interning for Opportunity

By Lori B. Murray

Wanna learn how to invest your money? Watch TV! That’s what 18-year-old investor Matthew Wolff of Two Rivers, WI suggests.

Of course, just watching The Simpsons isn’t going to cut it. Matthew’s talking about the latest financial shows like Moneycast, Squawk Box, and MoneyLine. These shows give you the lowdown on money matters, so you might want to think about taking Matthew’s advice. He’s been investing in the stock market for three years and plans a future career as a stockbroker or financial consultant. Watching the tube is exactly how he got started.

Anything But a Couch Potato

In seventh grade, Matthew’s class competed in a stock market game. "I didn't do well at all," he says. That's when he started flipping on the stock market reports on TV. By the next year, he felt confident enough to invest in a mutual fund. Last year, he ventured into individual stocks.

Before Matthew buys stock in a company, he asks one important question: Can this company change the world in some way during the next ten years? If not, he puts his money elsewhere. In general, Matthew believes stocks go up because they make an impact in business. He says there are plenty of companies making a huge impact today. "This is probably the most exciting time since the Industrial Revolution."

Knocking on Doors

As Matthew learned more about the world of finance, he felt that waiting to jump into the action until after high school was an extreme waste of time. That's why he knocked on the door of a local stock brokerage firm, Edward Jones, and asked if he could work for free as an intern. There was one obstacle — Matthew’s high school had no internship program. So with the principal's permission, he created his own.

After working at Edward Jones for four months, he was ready to learn more, and the small, two-man brokerage office simply didn't have enough work to keep him busy. Matthew decided it might be cool to work at a different brokerage house every day of the week. He applied at another firm, Raymond James, and a little bit later he applied at American Express Financial Advisors. For a while, Matthew actually worked at all three locations at one time.

Movin’ Up

It wasn't long before Matthew decided to apply for a paid internship at the Merrill Lynch brokerage in Green Bay, a program that is usually open only to college students. But Matthew had experience on his side. After scoring high on the company's tests and an awesome interview, he was accepted for the position of University Degree Intern. His plan is to keep working at Merrill Lynch while he’s in college, which will give him a 6- or 8-year edge over everyone else coming out of school.

So how’s that for a plan — watch TV, make your own internship, and get way ahead in life!

Stock Savvy

Maybe you're thinking about a career path similar to Matthew’s, or perhaps you just want to get into investing. Whatever the case, here are some tips about getting started.

Instead of saving all your money in the bank, put a little at a time into the stock market.
You don't need a million dollars to invest. A lot of brokers will take clients with $2,000 or less. You can even invest in partial shares of stock through programs like ShareBuilder (a service available on YoungBiz.com).
Start today. Even if you don’t plan to be a stockbroker, you’ll someday have decisions to make about investing — savings bonds, a retirement plan, college savings — why not learn the easy way now instead of the hard way later?

Lori B. Murray is a freelance writer and former stockbroker from Columbus, OH.