April 20, 1998
CONTACT: Shirley Hulett, (619) 594-2585
SDSU ‘Quest for the Best’ Honoree Offers Stock Tips:
‘Check your Shopping Cart and Do Your Homework’
Looking for a great stock pick?
Ask Paul Astwood, San Diego State finance major, who has just beenselected one of 10 recipients of the Vice Presidential Student ServiceAward, also known as the Quest for the Best Award. The honor is presented to a select number of students who have achieved outstanding academic performance, leadership and service to the SDSU community. Astwood and other "Best" recipients will be honored at a banquet, April 23.
Astwood offers common sense ideas for selecting investments. Check out your shopping cart or your kids’ toy box. Look for a product you know and like. Then do your homework. "It’s very important to learn everything you can about the company that makes it," he says. "And take your time, it’s amazing that people spend more time buying groceries than they do analyzing their investments."
Another tip: "Don’t buy a buy a stock or mutual fund just because it’s getting a lot of publicity," he says. "It could drop just as quickly as the unknowns."
Astwood, 30, has been investing for nearly half his life. "I started as a teenager. Of course, I wasn’t actually old enough to buy stocks on my own. My mom had to do it for me. When it’s your own money, you learn from your mistakes the hard way."
(more)
SDSU Quest for the Best – Astwood
Page 2
Astwood tells fellow SDSU students that it doesn’t take a lot to get started. "If a student is willing to buy one fewer CD a month, he could easily save enough to invest in mutual funds," he says .It’s clear that students respect his financial advice. Last spring, they elected him vice president of finance for the Associated Students. In this position, he serves as chairman of the finance board and he assists in overseeing financial operations totaling $9.4 million.
In addition to his elected position, he serves in the Naval Reserves; is an active member of the SDSU African Student Union, which fosters scholarship and learning; and he has served as the student union’s representative to the student council. Astwood has provided input to SDSU President Stephen Weber on Shared Vision, a campus-wide plan for the future; and has served on College of Business Administration workshops to plan the college’s the future direction. His extracurricular activities haven’t interfered with his studies. He has an overall grade point average of 3.3.
His best advice to future students is to "major in what you love and what you enjoy doing in your spare time."
In addition to finance, Astwood is fascinated by business and the internet. He still exploring his future options, including a possible career in investment banking and/or his own internet business.
(end)