My son, aged 16, is showing interest as he sees me managing the family's portfolio, looking at charts, reading market data, etc. I have tried teaching him the basics of trading and macroeconomics, but I am just not a talented teacher Can anybody recommend any introductory educational material (books, courses, video programs, etc) to handhold a teenager with zero preliminary knowledge into the world of trading and macroeconomics? I have browsed some educational books but they are too dry, so I fear he'd lose his interest fast. For that reason, I am looking for something specifically geared for youngsters. Thanks in advanced!
Have him watch the movie Margin Call, and then play Cramer's rant on CNBC 15 years ago. Aug 3rd, 2007. That should light a fire under his ass.
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Yeah, invite him to sit when you are doing your thing to watch. If he doesn't have any questions, he would rather be elsewhere. If he has questions, have him write 'em down, date it and hand it to you. You take no less than 24 hours to answer the questions in writing. Rinse repeat. Is he still interested?
Just my suggestion since, you are trying to teach a 16 year old. Have him read How I made $2,000,000 in the Stockmarket by Nicolas Darvas. It is an older book but, shows the struggle of being a good trader. It is also, inspirational. Then, have him read Stan Weinstein's Secrets of Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets. Again, it is an older book however, it is chockful of trading information for anyone. I consider it a classic. Mark Minervini gives Stan Weinstein credit in his books as being his inspiration who help mold him into a great trader. That should be more than enough. The books you can get at Amazon. They are pretty cheap too and worth the price.
My generation was a stupid one, nothing about money was taught in the school (I mean to blame the parents, but mostly the stupid education system of the state). They rather preferred, IMO, such crap things like art and sociology. I much later in life learned the hard way that money is the basis for everything in life. So then money, ie. the basics of economy, should be taught as early as in the elementary school, IMO. My advice for you: motivate your kid to play in a paper trading account with real market data, to gain experience... This is IMO better than any other computer game. Let him do his own research, tell him that failures are not always that bad, as they are good teachers...
Make sure that he loses on the first trade he makes, so he'll be careful and probably successful his entire life. There's nothing worse for a trader than to win big on the first trade.
@angrytrader, it's dangerous b/c what if he discovers that his attempt was manipulated, then even by such a close relative! This could harm more than it ever can be useful. So, IMO, be very careful with any such "help"... as it can badly backfire... leading to the exact devastating opposite of the intended...
It can be done by letting him to trade on a very volatile market. He will never know that it was set up.