The Spectator ● December 9, 2013
Page 13
Features By Ariella Kahan If you’re a chemist, gold is Au, number 79 on the periodic table. If you’re a historian, gold is a symbol for power and prestige. And if you are a trader, gold is something sold on the commodities market, the market that deals with raw materials. For junior Mohammed Islam, who was recently selected from a pool of teen traders across the world to be named one of the Business Insider’s “20 under 20” teens in finance, gold is one of the primary materials he trades. Besides in gold, he invests in crude oil and stocks in companies. Islam is a passionate and extremely successful trader and has even begun paving his way to a career on Wall Street. Islam started trading stocks when he was only 11 years old. While most of his peers were concerned with the woes of starting middle school, Islam, after making simulated trades with fake money for nearly eight months, made his first appearance on the stock market with money he had saved from tutoring. Islam became interested in trading after his older cousin introduced him to penny stocks, which are stocks that trade for under a dollar. “I was always at his house and saw him [trading], and from then on I was interested. I have always been a business-oriented person, so it made sense for me to go into this field,” Islam said. Though his cousin, who now works at Goldman Sachs, initially gave him some tips, Islam primarily taught himself how to operate on the stock market. “If you want to work in this field, you have to do it yourself,” Islam said. Islam has been successful in balancing his “do it yourself” method of trading with school, making a profit from $1,000 to $2,000 every day. Unlike most traders, Islam has to work around the fact that he must be in school for the majority of the day. Because the hours of the equities (“regular” stocks)
market overlap with school hours, Islam places orders the day before, which enables him to buy and sell stocks without being present. However, he still attempts to keep up with the market during the day. “During free periods, I look the [stocks]
“My dad doesn’t work now and I tend to help out with things, and futures gives me that incentive.” —Mohammed Islam, junior over, but I can’t really trade during school,” Islam said. Islam also devotes a lot of time to analyzing and strategizing on the equities market, which he puts to use over the summer when school no longer inhibits his trading. However, because the commodities market, which deals with raw materials rather than companies, is open all day long, school hours do not present a problem. Islam still has to deal with completing his homework, which he does promptly. “If I don’t do it now, it will never happen,” said Islam, who spends the rest of the night trading. Trading is such a timeconsuming activity for Islam because he keeps very close tabs on the stock market. “I do press action trading and I read the tape, which gives me a better advantage because I know what is going on,” Islam explained. “I base [my trades] on what bigger players in the market are doing. People that actually control the
market are investment banks, hedge funds, the government, the Federal Reserve, and we’re just small players, a couple hundred thousand dollars is not much. So we just try going behind the bigger players.” Islam is more interested in the equities market because it offers more opportunities than the commodities market does. “There is more liquidity in [equities], as in, there is more volume and there are always opportunities,” he said. “There are some hedge funds and banks that take commodity traders, but it’s not as common as equity traders, and I want to have more opportunities later.” Though Islam prefers equities, he spends more time trading on the commodities market because he makes more money from futures, which are agreements to buy or sell a certain stock on the commodities market at a fixed price. “My dad doesn’t work now and I tend to help out with things, and futures gives me that incentive,” Islam said. Still, Islam’s parents are not very enthusiastic about his interest in trading. “My dad doesn’t like [finance] that much. He says he is okay with me trading, but my mom is skeptical about the market,” Islam said. “But they see it as, if I am good at it, then why not?” Despite Islam’s dedication to trading, he has had his fair share of setbacks. “I once lost $1,400 in a day, and I got really scared,” Islam said. “So I spoke to some of my friends and they just told me to chill. [...] And from there, I started building up more courage to trade more, and trade more strategically.” Fortunately, Islam made up for the loss by making $3,200 the next week, but it persuaded him to stop trading penny stocks and shift his focus to investing in raw materials, primarily crude oil and gold. This decision has proven to be a beneficial one, but Islam, like any other trader, has continued to suffer from setbacks. Islam has learned how to minimize his losses by selling his stocks
the moment they start declining and quitting for the day after losing over $1,000. Islam has also learned to value his failures more than his successes. “Losses are terrible, I don’t like them, but I learned a lot more from my losses than from my gains,” Islam said. Islam has even begun sharing his knowledge of the stock market with Stuyvesant students as the founder of the Stuyvesant Investment Club, which meets one to two times a week. This club accepts both experienced traders and novices, and Islam teaches the
“My favorite part of this entire institute is risk. [During] my first trade, my hands were shaking. Every day is a new experience, and you never get used to it. It’s an exciting day, every day.” —Mohammed Islam, junior members about the stock market as well as how to strategize and trade well. Furthermore, Islam puts the members’ skills to test at investment competitions among the members of the club and between schools. Some interscholastic competitions the club participates in are the Ithaca High School Investment Competition and the upcoming Wharton High School Competition. Islam also
Courtesy of Mohammed Islam
The Golden Boy
Junior Mohammed Islam, who was recently named one of the Business Insider’s “20 under 20” teens in finance, aspires to build off of his current recognition and pave a long, successful career in business.
includes a monthly publication that will “give out some general thought tips—what happened before, and what happened after,” he said. Islam has high hopes for the Investment Club, and hopes to get “to a point where we are nationally recognized,” he said. Islam’s future is looking bright, especially after being offered two jobs at investment firms in Long Island and Manhattan. The jobs, which offered him $9,000 and $12,000 per month, respectively, were a product of the publicity he received from the “20 under 20” article. Though Islam is still unsure as to whether he will take these offers because school is a priority, the offers are an indication of the likely successes in his future. In fact, Islam has high hopes for his career and aspires to manage a hedge fund, which is a private investment firm that uses risky methods to make large gains. Luckily, he will not have to worry about pursuing a career he is not passionate about, because he is already confident in his love for business, especially the risk factor and its lack of monotony. “My favorite part of this entire institute is risk,” Islam said. “[During] my first trade, my hands were shaking. Every day is a new experience, and you never get used to it. It’s an exciting day, every day.”
Roving Reporter: Homework—Honestly By Teresa Chen and Emma Loh In this issue’s staff editorial, The Spectator surveyed a range of junior and senior classes about homework. We asked students how much time it took to finish the average homework assigned in that particular class. We also asked the teacher how much time they thought the average homework assigned in that particular class took to finish. The results, which can be seen on page 14, are extremely varied, so to investigate possible reasons for this disparity, we asked students: Do you do all of your homework on a nightly basis? “Actually, no, I don’t do all of my homework because I prioritize sleep. Oftentimes, I do more fun or easier homework. I find that some homework requires a lot of effort, which I don’t do. Like I said, I often find myself too tired to do the more tedious homework. Also, my extracurriculars take up a lot of time, which makes me more tired.” —Alex Hirsch, sophomore “I do all of my homework every night because I feel like I’m obligated to do it. It also helps me study for tests instead of spending two hours the night before cramming. The time it takes me to do my homework varies—some nights, it could be three minutes. Others, it could take three hours. It’s all about luck.” —Mark Dijkstra, junior
“I usually do all of my homework. Usually, I do the easier homework the period before [it is due]. I do the homework because my parents want me to go to a top college and because I want to get a good grade [in the class].” —Sarjeel Zaman, freshman
“Yes, I want to get good grades, but [I always do all of my homework] because of my morals: teachers give you responsibility, and it’s my job as a student to do the homework.” —Nina Uzoigwe, freshman Laura Eng / The Spectator
“I don’t do all my homework at home because it depresses me. It usually takes me two hours to do homework in one night...I do math homework first because I feel that this is the class that least depresses me.” —Mustafa Raja, freshman
“If I don’t take a teacher seriously, I won’t do their homework, or I’ll do it in a different class.” —Jason Dong, sophomore
“I do my homework because it reenhances what I learned in the classroom...I want to be prepared in class and I want to make a good impression on my teachers.” —Madina Radjabova, junior