Financial Services

PoverUp, which launched in April 2011, was named one of Inc. Magazine’s “11 Coolest College Startups,” and founder Charlie Javice, who is 19, was one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business 2011.” Javice, a student at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, spoke with Knowledge@Wharton High School editor Diana Drake about building an online network that lets socially minded students learn, connect and invest in microfinance.

With a sea of stocks from which to choose – close to 9,000 – portfolio managers have a daunting task making investment decisions for individual and institutional investors. While some managers claim to know the secret to stock-picking success -- experts say that, in the end, it is all about choosing lots of modest climbers rather than one shooting star.

Research, research, research: It is the key to successful investing. The SWOT analysis, which looks at a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, is a model to help you examine all angles of a company and understand its strategic position in the market. Says advisor James Early: “A process you can standardize and apply to all companies is useful to most investors.” Other experts call it a “touchy-feely” model. What’s your thought on SWOT?

Emily Z., 17 and a rising senior at Naperville Central High School in Illinois, is intrigued by the idea of becoming an investment banker. She got the opportunity this summer to step inside the financial services industry during a visit to Morgan Stanley in New York City. Zhen shares the day's discoveries in an essay for Wharton Global Youth.