'Perseverance the key to success'
published: Sunday | March 5, 2006

Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter

IF AT first you don't succeed, then, try again. That seems to be the philosophy of the winner of the 2005 Alliance Stock Wizard Challenge competition, Calvin East.

East, who was encouraged by a co- worker to enter, had previously tested his skills in the competition and placed 11th. But, this time around, he took the big prize

"I improved on my own weaknesses that I had from the first time around," he told Sunday Business. "Then, I never had a stock loss and purchased stocks in low volumes [but] these never moved. This time around I was a little bit more aggressive ... I purchased stocks in more volumes and in industries that were more volatile, for example, in the energy and pharmaceuticals sectors," he elaborated.

SUPPORT

East, who is 21, is a junior officer in the operations section of the Treasury Department of Pan Caribbean Financial Services (PCFS). "I provide support for the traders. Whenever they make a deal ... I am the one who puts the trades on the system," he said of his job.

In the competition entrants were given fictitious funds of US$25,000 each to invest on the U.S. Stock Markek. At the end of the three-month competition in December last year, East's portfolio had quadrupled to just under US$100,000.

"It was a learning experience. It was good competition because it broadened your knowledge not only of the Jamaican market but also the U.S. market. And it also offered the opportunity for us to test that market for investment opportunities," he reflected.

He gave additional insights into his winning strategy. "I used the Internet very closely to watch what was going on in the U.S. before I made a deal and sometimes I would look at the reports of analysts to see what they have to say, whether a stock is buy or a buy and hold and then make my decision whether to buy, go long or go short."

Commenting on the lessons learned from the competition, he told Sunday Business, "I have learned that in the States, results do not necessarily drive stocks nor are they the biggest contributor to their performance. For example, a company might have a good quarter market but because of dip in consumers' confidence in the products, like pharmaceuticals being recalled, the stock can be affected."

He is a graduate of Oberlin High School and is currently reading for a bachelor's degree in management studies at the University of the West Indies.