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NEWBURYPORT — Investing in Bitcoin-related industries earned the Newburyport High School Investment Club a first-place finish in the high school division in the latest round of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation’s Stock Market Game.
“When you have a community rallying around supporting education, it’s clear that it pays off,” said Carrie O’Donnell, a supporter of the team and executive director of the Newburyport Education Foundation.
O’Donnell’s nonprofit sponsors high school clubs and has been in the market, literally and figuratively, for about three years. It is hoped that the team will be able to defend its title this spring, when the next game will be played.
The stock market game highlights the importance of equipping local students with practical financial skills and knowledge. In the fall, teams of elementary, middle and high school students from across the state competed by virtually investing $100,000 in the real-time stock market.
The winners were announced in early January, with Newburyport High School taking first place and Boston College High School taking second place in the high school division.
“We’re so proud of these kids because they’ve only been doing this for about three years,” O’Donnell said. “It’s even more amazing that we’ve had so much success.”
Faculty advisor and physics teacher Sean McCarthy said his group placed third in the stock market game last year and was thrilled to learn that about 40 members took first place this time.
“To have 900 or so schools participate and beat every school in Massachusetts is really impressive,” he said. “Everyone received a medal and a certificate.”
The investment club will focus on Bitcoin this time, and McCarthy said students will invest in publicly traded companies related to the Bitcoin industry, including Coinbase Exchange, Nvidia, Marathon Digital Holdings, and microchip maker AMD. It is said that he did.
The Investment Club speculated late last year that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would approve an exchange-traded fund to track Bitcoin, but the federal government’s action in January may end up seeming prophetic. It looked like.
“Some people would say that’s a risk, but to us it seemed very obvious,” McCarthy said. “Bitcoin has been growing explosively for 15 years and is now the market priority. Anything attached to it is on fire right now.”
The investment club is also involved in real-world trading and has invested approximately $10,000 of NEF’s endowment annually.
The transaction was overseen by retired investment professional Jed Petty, and O’Donnell said it was the only transaction of its kind in the state.
“This is so important to our kids that we thought we could put a unique spin on this and allow them to actually invest some of our money,” O’Donnell said. “That way, the more successful they are with our giving, the more money we can funnel into the school system.”
Mr. O’Donnell thanked the savings association for recently donating $20,000 to the investment club to bring it to market, and Bank President Michael Jones, who has invested his time as a community leader.
Jones said in an email that he was excited to learn the club took first place in the statewide competition.
“Giving our youth important real-world financial knowledge and experience that they will use for the rest of their lives is critical, and I commend our students, advisors, and Newburyport High School for this opportunity.” ” he said.
McCarthy said the donation program has been a great asset to the students.
“They meet about three times a year and present their views to a board made up of NEF and savings association officials,” he said. “We also have local investors who just come to help. The kids suggest where they want the money to go, and then they think about it and suggest it again. Then we invest it.”
But McCarthy said NEF’s endowment investments are often in more conservative stocks, such as Apple.
“Banks don’t want to take big risks with things like Bitcoin,” he said. “They prefer to be more conservative.”
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for the Daily News. You can reach me by email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
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