Nathan finally did it.  He bought his first shares of a public company.  Not the company he was orignially looking at.  That was Pacsun and those shares have tripled in value in the few months he waited. No, instead, he bought several shares of Walmart.  He likes how environmentally conscious they are and believes that they can have a big impact in this area.

I like that he’s given serious thought to his investment.   And I like that it is in concert with his value system.  He’s concerned about the environment and sees that Walmart has taken climate shift seriously.  Although, no doubt, the bottom line plays a role here, we still all benefit.

Buying his first shares was a big deal.  He’s a pretty conservative investor because he works hard for his money.  And we all know that on the risk continuum, stocks are at the risky end.  It’s all about how much risk you’re willing to take on.

Mutual funds are less risky and the boys have been steadily adding to their Vanguard 500 Index fund since 2005.   But after one of my money classes last year, they have both been interested in testing the stock market waters.   The trick is to decide the balance. 

Since the boys are still in their teens, their time horizon is longer than it is for me and John.   So they can take bigger risks than we can.   Although Ryan’s company stocks take up 13% of his portfolio and Nathan’s only takes up 8%, they both only recently began investing this way so they are taking it slow.  

But, as Nathan learned, taking it too slow can mean lost opportunities.  What they need to do now is decide how much of their portfolio will be in individual stocks and begin the balancing act.  This will give a pretty clear picture of where each sits on the risk continuum. 

But what a great position to be in.  Teenagers armed with information that can shape their financial life 30 years from now.  If only I knew then what I know now…