Jake Symons

Professor Jizi
UWRT 1104
31 October 2017
Double Entry Journal

Citation:
Sommer, Jeff. 9 Ways to Help You Become a Smarter Investor. The New York Times, The New York Times, 19
Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/business/mutfund/9-ways-to-help-you-become-a-smarter-
investor.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fyour-money&action=click&contentCollection=your-
moneyion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront.

Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #) Responses

Money wont buy happiness, but it
can help (section 6)
The expression money cant buy happiness
has been a part of my life since birth. I have
always heard it and I always have to discuss
it. In my opinion I do not agree with the
statement. With lots of money I can buy just
about anything that can make me happy. I
already had the strong relationships I need to
get through the rest of my life so all I need is
money and I will be set.

Figuring out what is going on in
financial markets isnt easy, even for
professionals who trade constantly.
(Section 1)
I have quickly realized this while I have been
studying the stock market. What scares me is
that even professionals can struggle and that
means it will never get easy. It may become
easier to predict and understand it but I will
never fully predict every twist and turn. I will
hopefully begin to learn how it all works.

Wall Street has responded to
political turmoil and natural
disasters with barely a shrug
(Section 2)
This surprises me honestly. I assumed that our
economy would take a big hit when
something else in society was taking a hit. I
assumed Trumps election would crash the
market but it actually improved a little bit. I
expected Harvey or Irma to cause a shake up
in the markets but nothing really happened.
Maybe what happens in other parts of society
does not affect the stock market that much if
at all.

One of the most successful old This will be one of the first things I look into
 school stock picking outfits is Dodge
& Cox, which does not advertise or
promote its funds. (Section 5)
Invest in what you know (Section
9)
Citation:
Kam, Ken. Landing Your First Investing Job. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21 July 2017,
www.forbes.com/sites/kenkam/2017/07/20/landing-your-first-investing-job/#7c5730f84227.
Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)
To stand out from the crowd bring a
few time-stamped stock recommendations to
the interview. (Paragraph 1)
It is a myth that investment firms only hire
applicants who have graduated from the top
schools. (Paragraph 2)
If you cannot discuss a stock you have liked
enough to recommend, your interviewers
will question whether you have the passion
to succeed. (Paragraph 3)
when I really start diving into this inquiry. The
different types of mutual funds and index
funds that are generally safer to invest in than
just individual stocks. Dodge & Cox is a quiet
index fund but apparently they are doing quite
well. I will look deeper into them and other
index funds.
This is about the first thing I learned about the
stock market other than it is impossible to
predict. My dad told me this right when I was
going to buy my first shares. That is what
encouraged me to buy Nike and Disney
because I know a ton about both of those
stocks. I will probably always follow this rule
but hopefully what I know will begin to
expand very quickly.
Responses
This kind of information is really useful to
me. If I did not find this document I would be
going into interviews empty handed and I
would not start out with on the top of the list.
This makes me a little more confident because
I figured graduating from UNCC would not
catch anybodys eye. I think graduating from a
better college still gives you an advantage but
I do not think it completely cancels out the
lower colleges.
This is a big deal for any job anywhere. If you
do not show that you have the passion to
succeed then it will make the interviewers
think less of you right away. You want the
reputation that you showed a ton of passion
about the job you were interviewed for.
Citation: Berger, Rob. How To Invest For The Very First Time. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30
Mar. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/robertberger/2015/10/31/how-to-invest-for-the-very-first-
time/#595f1df76a34.
Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)
Investing in stocks is for the long term.
(Paragraph 5)
Most investors should diversify across a
wide spectrum of investments. (Paragraph 6)
Even small costs, multiplied over a lifetime
of investing, will have a big impact on an
investor's results.(Paragraph 7)
A target date retirement fund enables
investors to get instant diversification with
just one mutual fund. (Paragraph 10)
Responses
This is probably the most familiar thing I have
heard while doing this project. Most people
say that you are investing for a long period of
time. To me that means you buy stocks that
you can see still being around in a few years
at least. That is hard for me because I am very
impatient.
Diversity is important because if one industry
tanks and most of your money is in that
industry you can lose a lot a money. But if
you diversify than you can avoid losing large
chunks of money because of the failure of one
industry.
This makes perfect sense to me. I used to buy
a soda from a vending machine every day and
I would think oh it is just a dollar but after a
long time I became broke because of said
dollar. The company people go through to buy
and sell stocks take a certain amount of
money out every time and over time if you
keep paying that fee you will probably end up
losing money.
I should start thinking about my retirement
fund already. If I get started on it now then I
will be living lavishly when I turn 45. Also
that fund will keep some stability in my life so
that is a good way to go.
Citation:
Clarke, Paul. 10 Of Best High Paying Entry Level Jobs in Finance. EFinancialCareers, Efinancial, 1 June 2017,
news.efinancialcareers.com/us-en/181008/nine-best-high-paying-entry-level-jobs-finance/.
Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)
Entry level front office jobs in investment
banks tend to pay the same regardless of
which division you end up in. (Paragraph 5)
our sources in New York suggest that
average compensation is closer to $125k for
first year analysts in IBD. (Paragraph 4)
entry level salaries come in at $90-125k,
with a potential bonus of $90-170k.
(Paragraph 2)
The path to becoming an actuary is a
grueling one, with training typically taking
anywhere between three to six years and
which is usually provided by employers to
the best and brightest math
graduates.(Paragraph 11)
Responses
I have been looking at becoming an
investment banker since the 6th grade. For
some reason that has been my plan since I
could do any kind of upper level math.
Investment banking contains everything I
want to do and it generally revolves around a
big city and I love big cities.
This is the other reason why investment
banking caught my eye and kept me interested
in it. The entry level pay is insane for
investment bankers. That is how some of the
richest people alive have made their money.
Investment banking and investing in general
can make people very wealthy.
This is the entry level for hedge funds
businessmen. The fact that I could have the
potential to be making 6 figures out of college
is just plain stupid. I love money and I believe
it is a key to my happiness and that is why I
am here doing this.
This is a job I truly never want to even think
about getting. I mean I am willing to put in
the work to make good money down the road
but not when I am not that interested in a job.
Being an actuary sounds miserable and I will
do my best to stay away from that route.
Citation:
Wasik, John. Warren Buffett's Single-Best Piece Of Advice. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Mar.
2017, www.forbes.com/sites/johnwasik/2017/03/01/warren-buffets-single-best-piece-of-
advice/#5c3358eb41b9.
Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)
Last year his company's stock price rose
23%, which is about double the return of the
S&P 500 stock index. (Paragraph 3)
For most people, active fund investment
management is a losing bet. (Paragraph 4)
I explained that the massive fees levied by a
variety of helpers would leave their
clients again in aggregate worse off
than if the amateurs simply invested in
an unmanaged low-cost index fund."
(Paragraph 6)
When trillions of dollars are managed by
Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will
usually be the managers who reap outsized
profits, not the clients. (Paragraph 14)
Responses
This is just a ridiculous statistic. His company
increased more than 500 of the best
companies in the world combined. That may
not sound that impressive because some
companies could have tanked within that 500
but should not have been enough to take away
from all the companies that increased in the
last year.
I have heard this several times. People who
check their stocks every day and trade more
frequently than they should generally do not
do well. The pressure and anxiety eats them
alive. The other reason is in the square below.
Warren Buffett made a bet that amateur
investors that purchased stocks for the long
run would make more money than the
professionals trading frequently. That is
because of the constant fees they have to pay
to trade stocks so frequently. The total of
those fees at some point becomes greater than
the total amount of money made off of the
investments.
This is the main reason I want to work as an
investment banker or stock broker. If the job
is done correctly then they can make so much
money. The only problem with that job is you
kind of have to be heartless because you care
more about your commission than their profit
at the end of the day.