Stocks to many seem like a hard concept to grasp, but the initial look can be deceiving. The Stock Market System is heavily reliant on how a company can perform over time. Stocks can scale from $5 to $250, which can be sold and a profit is made from what you originally bought it for. If you pay for a stock at $45, then that said company you had stock in either can have their overall profits increase, thus increasing their stock market price or the company may have the profit decrease in turn lowering said stock market price.  

An individual can buy the stock after opening a brokerage account which is meant for investments only with a brokerage firm. They will then directly link to your bank account which will need to exist for you to even begin to buy stocks. Most high school students will have to create a custodial account. Your parents or guardian will have to monitor and pay fees when stocks are bought on the custodial account to a broker. Once a person decides to sell their bought stock, the price can be radically different from its original price when initially bought. Profit made from this will be the new stock price subtracted by how much it was originally obtained for, regardless if it went up or down in value. 

Stocks are also traded between countries to allow for economic flow. Each country has its own stock trading center to allow them to see how a country performs in terms of their economic situation and if they can trade well between other countries. For example, in the United States, stocks are traded within the Stock Market located in NY while in Frankfurt, Germany, the DAX (Deutscher Aktien Index) tracks Germany’s economy just like the US’s system for economic tracking. This allows one to know if a stock investment is a smart choice whenever it is used as a reliable reference when considering an investment. 

When investing in stock it is always best to invest in what seems to be the safe option, but Economics teacher Jessica Popham advised instead to invest in stock and to “Do what you know” with personal investments to the Stock Market and which companies to invest in. Popham also mentions an economic podcast The Ramsey Show that she listens to hosted by an expert known as Dave Ramsey. Ramsey advises to “never invest in single stocks and don’t put all your eggs in one basket” as one of many pieces of advice he gives when on his show. 

It is not just about investing in the popular names for stocks, you could also attempt to “predict what’s going to do well” as stated by Popham. It will allow you to strike a good profit if your said prediction occurs and the stock’s pricing shoots up for what you originally bought it for. Stocks are not a short term investment. They are always shifting with their prices for both buying and selling. “Hold onto it, all stocks go up and down,” Popham mentioned. Holding onto the stock can help ensure that you are able to get a good selling price when the stock is at its highest price. 

A company that shows both good business and knowing how to increase stocks is Disney. Disney makes large sums of profits from big areas of land like their amusement parks, their success making them a household name. Popham mentioned that she had invested in Disney stock due to her being a fan of their work and mainly pointed to its good position in the stock market toward the fact “that they’ve been dropping movies to direct to Disney+”. Even with their main profits being affected by the pandemic, they still manage to stay afloat. Good management can completely change a company’s stock prices. 

Stock investment is a waiting game in order to sell it right. If you are too impatient and do not wait for the stock’s price to increase you can come out of a deal with little to no profit gain. With this in mind, always keep a good eye on your current stock investment prices, and if you have any more questions visit your local economics teacher.