(Naresh with President Obama, both volunteering at the Houston Astrodome in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina)

Naresh is not your average junior. He has been investing in the stock market for one year, since he was 19. He got his seed money from his father, as a birthday present. Before that, Naresh never accepted birthday presents.

“I celebrated my birthday when I was in the 5th grade,” Naresh said. “I’m turning 21 very soon. Instead of throwing a big birthday bash, I’ll just sit back and take in life as is. Presents are material possessions I’m not very interested in. I’m a pretty simple person, and I’ve always been one.”

Very mature—more mature than I’ll ever be—but even more than mature is the curious nature of his statement, given that his passion is investing in the stock market. If not money, what is Naresh interested in?

The game, the challenge, the movement, the mechanics. And politics.

“I took an economics class in high school. We played a stock market game and learned several ratios and ways to research companies. The introduction got me very interested in the stock market,” Naresh said.

He’s very studious. Since that high school eye opener, he’s been listening to guys like Peter Schiff. “And former guys at TheStreet, James Altucher and Frank Curzio, have given some great advice. My bosses, current and former, Daniel “The MoneyMan” Frishberg of BizRadio, Mike Norman of Pitbull Economics, and Dan Cofall of Noram Capital Holdings have had the biggest influences,” Naresh said, rattling off his sources.

Do any stand out as the biggest influence?

“This is still premature, but my finance advisor, mentor and professor at school, Dr. Fernando Diz, will likely be the biggest influence in the shaping of my worldview,” Naresh said.

Good thing he knows that at age 20, calling a most profound influence could still be premature. But maybe not. That’s what so important about a financial education early on. Most of our inspiration and influences are locked in by age 21.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the market is never to look back,” Naresh said. “It’s like that ex-girlfriend you broke up with. You make decisions and move on. Otherwise you’ll always be thinking ‘what if?’ and find yourself in misery.”

Sounds like Naresh may have gotten burned a time or two when he started out loving the adrenaline rush of the stock market. At first he invested on a daily basis.

“I bought Aflac, Microsoft, Apple and Ebay on my first day because they were near their 52 week lows,” Naresh said. “I sold them the next day and made more than $500 by 11 am.”

Easy to see how he’d get hooked on day trading. Naresh admitted that his short-term victories didn’t last, even though he was shy about those details.

“I quickly learned, as a beginner, that is not the best way to trade,” Naresh said. “At this time, I’m concentrating on the longer holds, six to eight-month intervals. I have developed the patience and discipline to buy and hold and not look at the markets on a daily basis.”

Interesting that to a 20-year-old eight months for an investment is a long time. Everything is relative, and for his age and risk tolerance, it makes sense. Still, instilling longer term thinking as he goes forward will important, something his trusted advisors are probably watching closely.

It turns out that Naresh himself is thinking about it. He is certainly thinking about his long term future.
“I’m now part of an elite group at Syracuse University called the Orange Value Fund,” Naresh said. “Approximately 10 students are selected. We take MBA-level finance classes and learn the philosophies of bottom-up, value investing. The research reports we’ll be doing will be integral to my own investment methods.”

In addition to being a full-time student, Naresh works in the financial media industry as a producer of two financial talk shows for CNN Radio in Dallas/Fort Worth. B

“Being in this business for more than a year, I developed a grasp of the economy and financial markets. I thought the beginning of this year was a great time to enter the market since everything was so cheap. I had also taken several economics and accounting classes throughout high school and early in college, so I had a basic understanding of things,” Naresh explained.

Naresh emphasizes that teens get started in high school, to learn the financial markets. And anyone can keep up with Naresh on Twitter as he looks forward to October.

“I think October will be a great time to buy individual stocks, after the Third Quarter earnings come out. As a result, for short-term trading, SKF (Ultra Short Financial) is a good pick,” he said.
Hmm. He still likes those quick buys.

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