Now that the market is closed for the week, it's time to announce the casual investor's first contest. I will explain the rules:
Each player gets $1000 to start with. Assume that for each stock you buy, the broker charges $7 from your available cash, and that for each stock you sell, the broker takes $7 out of the sale.
To enter the contest, e-mail [email protected] with a list of stocks you are buying. Include the ticker symbol, price per share, and number of shares for each stock you are buying.
The price per share will be considered as the closing price of the stock on 11/30/2007. The number of shares must be an integer. I will check each entry to ensure that the initial investment is less than or equal to $1000, and I will reply to each entry to confirm or reject it. If your entry is rejected, an explanation will be provided, and you will have the opportunity to modify your portfolio and re-enter. Each player has until 11:59 PM US Central time (GMT -06:00) on 12/2/2007 to work out a $1000 portfolio with me.
This contest will officially end at 4:00 PM US Eastern Standard time (GMT - 05:00) on Friday 12/7/2007. At that time, it will be assumed that each player sells all stock they currently own, with a $7 commission taken from each sale. The player with the largest amount of cash at that point will be declared the winner of this contest. The winner will receive a prize of $20.
During the week of this contest, players are allowed to buy and sell stocks as they see fit. All sales and purchases will be based on the closing price of the stock on the day of the trade. For example, if a stock closes at $4.00 on Monday and at $5.50 on Tuesday, and a player issues a buy on Monday and a sell on Tuesday, that player will earn $1.50 per share in total value, minus $14 from the two commissions. If you want to make trades during the week, send me an email at [email protected] and I will effect the transaction.
As an additional rule, this is an investing contest. Your initial portfolio should contain at least $900 of the starting $1000. If you sell a stock during the week, purchase additional stocks. I will disqualify any player whose free cash amount becomes larger than $100 during the contest. However, before the contest starts, players with invalid portfolios may re-enter according to the aforementioned rules.
During the contest, I will not provide advice other than the daily stock picks. Remember, do your homework when it comes to choosing an investment.
After I declare the winner at the end of the week, I will notify the player by e-mail. To receive the prize of $20, please let me know at that time whether you prefer a mailed check or PayPal.
Good luck and happy investing!