Dear nieces and nephews,

                 As you may know, I was quite interested in the stock market for many years. 
          Over the years my investments did quite well.  I hope you will also become 
          interested in the stock market and will be able to make some good investments.

                 To help get you started, I am leaving several investments to be divided 
          among the five of you.  There are some strings attached, however.  The details
          are spelled out below and on page 2.

                 Here are the rules for each of you to receive your inheritance.

                 Aunt Helen will sell the stocks, keep 10% of the proceeds, and divide
          the other 90% evenly among you. Then you are to reinvest your share of the 
          money in the stock market, and your Aunt Helen must approve your choices. 
          She will be expecting you to do some research into the companies you plan to
          buy and provide her with information. 

                Do your homework researching the companies. There are many websites 
          which should help you learn about the stock market and research your companies.
          Keep track of the companies you pick for at least 6 weeks.  Then make a graph 
          of the stock prices for each company and write a paragraph explaining why you
          chose that company.  You can send Aunt Helen  your research on graph paper, 
          or you can create a spreadsheet and send it to her on a disk, or she would really
          be tickled if you could put it on a web page (you know how she loves to use 
          the Internet).
 

                 In your planning, here are some guidelines that should be of help.

                        Diversify:  don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
                        Select four or five different types of stocks.
                        Buy companies you can understand.
                        Find out as much as you can about the company—
                             Who is in charge?  How long has he/she been there?
                             What do they make or do?
                        Is their product or service in demand?
                        How is their business doing compared to competitors?
                 Check their stock prices for the last 5 years and for the last 6 months. 
                 Is there a good chance that the company will continue to do well for 
                    at least the next 5 years?

                 The last 10% which Aunt Helen  keeps will be divided equally between 
             the two of  you who show the biggest profit on your investment after 1 year.

                 Here is a list of the stocks which I am leaving to you:

                            Company                    Amount Invested      Purchase Date
                       Advanced Micro Devices       $10,000                May 1, 1992
                       Dominion Resources Va         $12,000                March 15, 2000
                       WalMart                                $15,000                January 10, 1996
                       Quaker Oats                          $10,000                January 6, 1995
                       Lilly (Eli)                                $15,000                May 1, 1991

                 You can find out how much these are worth by going to Stockmaster.com at 
           http://www.stockmaster.com.  Type in the name where it says “name or symbol” 
           at the top.  Then use the “What if I had invested $10K” tab.  You can enter the 
           date and amount and then click “draw”. 

       Good luck on your research and have fun.

          Love always,
          Uncle Otto