Stock Market

Simulation Assessment





















Kristin Richardson
07.28.2014
BUS-101-701
Ms. Catherine Rust

Portfolios Value
At the beginning of this assignment, I started out with one million dollars and invested a
total of $999,998.06 on June 16
th
, 2014. The total percentage increase of my portfolio was
3.52% with a total profile value of $1,036,490.51 on July 21
st
, 2013.
Sector 1: Consumer Discretionary
The first sector I used to select my stocks was Consumer Discretionary. Consumer
Discretionary is a sector of the economy that consists of businesses that sell nonessential goods
and services (Investopedia, 2014). Within this sector I selected three different stocks which
included Amazon.com Incorporation (AMZN), Under Armour Incorporation (UA), and Starbucks
Corporation (SBUX). I researched all three of these stocks and found there was a gradual
increase throughout the past five years in stock price. All three of these companies seem to
constantly out due themselves and I felt that they would not have a big loss anytime soon.
I bought 330 shares with Amazon at a price of $324. This gave me a total investment of
$106,920.00. I bought 1740 shares with Under Armor at a price of $57.91. This gave me a total
investment of $ $100,763.40. I bought 1300 shares with Starbucks at a price of $74.82. This
gave me a total investment of $97,266.00.
Sector 2: Consumer Staple
The second sector I used to select my stocks was Consumer Staple. Consumer Staple is a
sector of the economy that consists of essential products that people are unwilling to cut out of
their budgets, regardless of their financial situation (Investopedia, 2014). Within this sector I
bought one stock which included Safeway Incorporation (SWY). I selected Safeway because it
happens to be the grocery store I shop at on a weekly basis and use for all my personal and
household needs.
I bought 2890 shares with Safeway at a price of $34.23. This gave me a total investment
of $98,924.70.
Sector 3: Energy
The third sector I used to select my stocks was Energy. Energy is a sector of the
economy that relates to producing or supplying energy (Investopedia, 2014). Within this sector
I bought two stocks which included Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) and Emerson Electric
Company (EMR). I wanted to choose a gas company and an electric company that I felt would
do well. Both Emerson and Exxon have not had any significant losses in the past five years and
have appeared to do well.
I bought 1500 shares with Exxon Mobil at a price of $102.89. This gave me a total
investment of $154,335.00. I bought 2000 shares with Emerson at a price of $66.43. This gave
me a total investment of $132,860.00.
Sector 4: Financials
The fourth sector I used to select my stocks was Financial. The Financials sector is a
sector of the economy that contains firms that provide financial services to commercial and
retail customers (Investopedia, 2014). Within this sector I bought one stock which included
American Express (AXP). I chose this stock because I did not feel the other financial stocks in
this sector (that I knew of) did as well as American Express has done within the past five years.
I bought 1100 shares within American Express at a price of $94.51. This gave me a total
investment of $103,961.00.
Sector 5: Information Technology
The fifth sector I used to select my stocks was Information Technology. The Information
Technology sector is a sector of the economy that contains research, development and
distribution of technology based goods and services (Investopedia, 2014). Within this sector I
bought one stock which included Intel Corporation (INTC). I chose Intel because it is a huge
technology company throughout the globe. They are constantly improving their technology and
are always coming out on top of other technological companies.
I bought 3502 shares within Intel at a price of $30.00. This gave me a total investment of
$105,060.00.
Sector 6: Telecommunications
The sixth sector I used to select my stocks was Telecommunications. The
Telecommunications sector is a sector of the economy that relates to any type of
communication goods or services. Within this sector I bought one stock which included Verizon
Communications Incorporated (VZ). I chose Verizon because it is the phone company I use and
they are constantly making improvements to stay in the lead with their AT&T competitor.
I bought 2029 shares within Verizon at a price of $49.24. This gave me a total
investment of $99,907.96.
Weekly Review
Each week, starting on June 16
th
and ending on July 21
st
, I checked in on my stocks every
Monday morning. Overall, I only lost a small amount during week 3 and week 5, but regained
my loss and gained more throughout the other weeks. I did not sell any of my stocks nor buy
any new ones. I was happy with what I was investing in.
Week 1: June 16
th

Week one started off as my investment week. I bought a certain amount of shares per
stock and invested a total of $999,998.06. All stock information can be found under the
Portfolio Value section above.
Week 2: June 23
rd
Week two started out well. I had an overall gain percentage of 1.07% with a gain value
of $10,777.94. My portfolios value was $1,010,777.85. All stocks gained except for Safeway,
who had a gain of -0.93% that week.

Week 3: June 30
th
During week three, I lost $1,271.91 due to a fall in Exxon Mobils stock price. There was
a gain value of -1.66% with a stock price of $101.21. Overall, I still gained a total value of
$9506.03 with a gain percentage of .094%.
Week 4: July 7
th
On week four, I gained all of what I lost the previous week and had a total gain value of
$21,202.11. My portfolios gain percentage was 2.12%. During this week, Safeway once again
dropped and had a gain percentage of -0.64%. Exxon Mobil also dropped again and had a gain
percentage of -0.29%.

Week 5: July 14
th
During week five, I lost $193.19 from the previous week. However, as a portfolio
overview, I had a gain value of $21,007.07 with a gain percentage of 2.06%. Safeways stock
price increased to $34.64, which gave it a gain percentage of 1.18%. Exxon Mobil was still losing,
and had a gain percentage of -1.13%. American Express also had a loss, with a gain percentage
of -0.04%. Also during this week, Amazon had a gain percentage of 6.41%.

Week 6: July 21
st
On week six I finally recovered from all my portfolios previous losses. I had a gain
percentage of 3.52% with a total gain value of $36,490.51. Exxons stock price increased to
$103.08 and had a gain percentage of 0.18%. American Express still had a loss, with a gain
percentage of -1.75%. Also during this week, Intel skyrocketed to a gain percentage of 11.92%
and Amazon raised to a gain percentage of 9.94%.





Conclusion
Throughout this simulation, I have found that there are far better ways to invest your
money than just saving in the bank. To secure your money and to beat inflation, investing in the
stock market is the best way to go. This simulation has showed me where to start with investing,
what type of sectors there are, what type of investment options are provided, and how to
decipher what type of stocks I want to work towards and stocks I want to stay away from.
I honestly feel that this project would have made a lot more sense if we were investing a
more realistic amount of money. It was hard for me to come up with reasons why I invested so
much money in one particular sector versus another, just because I was working with one
million dollars. I wish I would have put a certain percentage of my money into each sector, so I
could even out the distribution of stocks per sector. I think this would have made it easier for
me to see which sectors come out on top over the others. I would have also liked to buy in on
stocks that all had around the same amount of buy in price. Again, this is so I would have been
able to see which sectors did better than others.
Overall I really did enjoy this project and learned a lot about the stock market. I will
continue to work with this simulator and practice investing, so I can one day invest some of my
savings into the stock market.