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By Jill Yesko, University Relations
Contact (336) 334-3890
Posted: 5-5-08
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The stock market may be taking a hit, but stocks selected by Lisa Copeland, a student at the Bryan School, have earned third place at the Barron’s Challenge, an annual contest open to students and teachers at accredited institutions who create hypothetical stock portfolios.
Copeland earned the honor following the five-month contest that ran from October 2007 to March 2008. During that time, Copeland’s portfolio rose 46% while the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell by 15%. She was awarded $1,500.
Alim Shaikh of Dartmouth University was the overall student winner.
“Investing in stocks is very risky,” said Copeland, a master auto mechanic. “It’s not for the faint of heart.” Copeland used her winnings to purchase a laptop computer. “I invested in my education,” she said.
Copeland is a 46-year-old senior majoring in economics. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in economics at UNCG. She credits Dr. Stuart Allen, chairman of the Department of Economics, with encouraging her to enter the competition.
The competition calls for contestants to use a hypothetical $100,000 to trade stocks listed on any of the three major exchanges (S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrials, and Nasdaq Composite). Stocks must be priced at $5 or more when the contest begins and students cannot make more than 75 trades. Each year, more than 2,300 professors and college students across the nation compete in the Barron’s Challenge.
Copeland attributes her success to selling short on various investments such as the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index exchange-traded fund. As the value of her short sales tumbled, Copeland was able to free up more money to sell short other stocks and funds during the market’s rally in February.
Stock picking has long been a hobby for Copeland, who started by picking mutual funds. “Everybody made money in 2000,” said Copeland. “To make money in today’s market you have to be very pessimistic and stick to it.”
For more information visit bryanschool.uncg. edu.
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