North teenager takes victory in our trading game

Aug 25 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A SCHOOLBOY has fought off competition from hundreds of would-be investors – including his own father – to win The Journal’s fantasy trading game Taking Stock.

Over the last two months, 400 wannabe market traders invested their virtual £100,000 kitty on real companies for real prices on our business website, nebusiness.co.uk

And now, as the dust settles on what has been a frantic eight weeks of buying and selling in offices throughout the North East, 15-year-old Alex Beal from Mitford, near Morpeth, has been crowned champion. Alex finished the game in top spot with a portfolio of almost £170,000, with his father Alan a close second with around £160,000.

Speaking to The Journal from a family cruise in the Mediterranean, Alex said the secret to his success was to keep a close eye on the shares which had plummeted to rock bottom.

The teenager who attends Nunnykirk Centre for Dyslexia in Netherwitton, said: “I was watching the shares when they went right down and then I was putting money on them.

“I invested in Northgate (a North East vehicle-hire company), Yell (an online search engine) and Lloyds. I did the competition when it was on the first time but didn’t do as well as this.”