Want to learn stocks? Learn how with Hewlett's own Joshua Sepe

Hewlett High School junior Joshua Sepe was asked a series of questions by the Stock Market Game: “What would you do if you were given $100,000? Would you spend it all at once? Would you think about putting a portion of it in the bank?”

He did neither of the last two.

With over 5,000 participants across the state, Sepe was victorious in the New York Stock Market Spring Competition.

The contest, sponsored by the SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) Foundation offers students the opportunity to learn how to invest and grow the $100,000  nest egg. It teaches students how to use the skills they’ve been taught in math, English Language Arts, economics, social studies and other subjects.

The competition began in late March and after two months of trading, he finished with $185,000.

Sepe shared he used the strategy of investing in penny stocks for the competition.

“Every single night before the market opened, I would chart out everything with resistance and support points,” he said.

The basics of resistance is when the price level is strong enough to prevent the price from rising further whereas support occurs when the price is strong to prevent the stock from falling further.

The competition was held through the stock market club in his school. Sepe had the option to compete as a team or individually but chose to compete by himself.

“I chose to do it individually because I trust my own instincts,” he said. “I just feel like I know what I’m doing more. It’s easier to work by myself and make decisions based on my own skills.”

Sepe said that he found an interest in the stock market when he was a freshman in high school and opened an account on Robinhood to start trading. Robinhood is an online stock trading app that is commission-free.

His economics teacher, Jared Pittelli, was a big help in collecting the latest news in stocks.

“We always have a time every single morning right before the market opens in our class,” he said. “We like to talk about all the news that happened and we would look at charts together. It’s been fun.”

The competition also taught Sepe time management skills between his studies in school and how to comprehend information he needed for the stock market.

After the win, Sepe is set to embark on his next challenge at Bentley University, where he will attend a Wall Street 101 program for rising high school juniors and seniors who are interested in finance and investing stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities.

Paul Sepe, Joshua’s father, said his son’s motivation is what any parent dreams of.

“The fact that he’s motivated in it makes me very happy,” he said. “I’m glad that he finds interest in it and is actually very good.”

Paul, who is in construction, has learned much from his son about how the stock market works.

Joshua’s interest as a freshman in high school is a sign that there is no age limit for showing an interest in the stock market.

His recommendation to those who want to dive in?

“Trial by fire,” he said. “Many platforms relate to trading with fake money, so I say trial by fire because you can’t just read and see everything without doing it because then you’re never going to be prepared.”