CALABASAS : Students Receive Some Stock Advice

Economics students at Calabasas High School received some sage advice Friday: invest early--there are no quick fixes. About 50 seniors were given a chance by a Woodland Hills stockbroker to participate in a mock investment project, in which each student will “buy” $100,000 in stocks and monitor the investment for several weeks. The student with the best record wins a prize to be determined later.

In these tough economic times, stockbroker Rick Binder told the applied economics students that it’s never too early to set up a portfolio of investments for long-term goals.

“Planning for your retirement right now is not a bad idea,” Binder said, drawing a few snickers from the assembled teen-agers. Binder said he had set up retirement and college funds for his daughter when she was 4 days old.

The project is especially appropriate for students in Calabasas, an area with few low-income residents, because no one will feel left out, economics teacher Ellen Pesavento said.

“This is realistic for them,” Pesavento said. “A lot of them already own stock. And if they don’t, their parents do.”