Wednesday, November 27, 1996
Hooray! I'm a Fool!
by Michaelabc

Hello, my name is Michael. I am nine years old. My dad's screen name is MF Cormend. At the end of last year my dad wrote a Fribble that talked about my investments (Investing for the *Really* Long Haul). I want to tell you how my stocks did this year.

I bought one share of Intel, one-half share of General Electric, and one whole share of America Online. I bought my stocks from my dad who gave me certificates instead of the real stock. My dad gave me a list of stocks that he had bought and let me choose what I wanted. I chose Intel because I like computers and the company made our computer chip which works well. I bought General Electric because it made our stove, our microwave, and our refrigerator. All of these work well also. I also liked the Olympics on TV and my dad says they were made by General Electric, too. I bought America Online because my sister and I like using it and a lot of other people I know do, too.

At the beginning of the year my stocks were worth 130 dollars and 25 cents. I think my stocks did pretty well this year. Intel was worth $56.75 and now it is worth $122.50! General Electric was worth 36 dollars for my half-share and now it is worth $50.50. America Online was $37.50 and now it is worth $31.13. BOO-HOO! I also made $1.12 in dividends, especially from GE. Altogether this year my stocks are worth $205.25. This comes out to a gain of 57.58% this year.

I think I did pretty well. My daddy says the overall stock market gained 21%. My dad's system (see the Fribble Beating the S&P) did pretty well. It gained 40% this year, but not as well as me! I even beat the Fool. It was up only 54%. My dad showed me in the paper, under the mutual fund section, how two of the biggest mutual fund groups have done this year. They're called Fidelity and Vanguard and only three of all these funds that invest in American stocks have even gained 25% this year.

I think doing well in stocks is easy. I chose some of the biggest companies. These companies are also popular and lots of people buy things from them. For most of my stocks, I'm in for the long haul. Even though America Online has lost money, I won't sell it yet because I think it will do well in the Christmas season which is a time for communication. I bought Chrysler very recently because our van is made by Chrysler and I think it is comfortable. I think my next company will be Dow Chemical because I like chemical science. I might have to make it a half-share because I don't have enough money for it right now.

I am investing in stocks because it earns money more quickly than a bank account. I've had my bank account for about a year and, starting with about 50 dollars, it's only made about a dollar and a half. I know a bank account is safer than stocks, but I think stocks are worth the risk. Daddy showed me with Quicken that if my stocks do as good every year as this year, and I add $100 each year, in 25 years, when I'm 34 years old, I'll have 35 million dollars. I can't wait!

Transmitted: 11/27/96 10:05 AM (friball)