By Lauren Silverman

One hundred and eight pages. That's my next reading assignment. No, it's not the last chapters of one of Steig Larsson's novels. It's the "proxy statement" from Morgan Stanley.

Back in August, I went online and put the majority of my savings in Morgan Stanley's "Special Value Fund." I didn't realize Mr. Stanley would soon be asking me for advice on how to manage his company.

Let me explain. Two years ago, I couldn't tell the difference between a stock chart and a seismograph, which you have to admit look pretty similar. Then, the financial crisis hit. And all the talk about bonds, bankruptcy, and billions made me want to learn how markets work. So I started practicing on stock market game websites - like the Investopedia Simulator.

To my surprise, I actually did pretty well. So when analysts started raving about bargain stock deals, I decided it was time to take the money I had saved up from babysitting and selling jewelry out of the bank and invest it. My stock market-savvy uncle Richard nudged me to invest everything. But my dad, who would rather have me walk on cement than eggshells, told me to slow down. So I compromised and kept about twenty percent squirreled away in the bank.

A year later, here I am: sitting on the floor in my apartment with a long letter from Morgan Stanley in my hands.

Okay, I know a reminder notice to cast a proxy vote isn't exactly an invitation to the company picnic or anything, but I am still honored to know Morgan Stanley wants my opinion on his plans for the future of his company.

The only problem is I can't quite figure out what his plans for the future are, or even who's behind them.

(download mp3)

Below is a transcript of this story, which airs on December 4, 2009 on American Public Media's Marketplace.

By Lauren Silverman

I wish my mom or grandma had shown me the ropes so I didn’t feel like investing was such a masculine word.

Growing up, I watched my dad make most of the major money decisions. I remember my mom hunched over late at night at the dining room table sorting through a stack of bills. But she was more of the bookkeeper. It was always my dad checking the portfolio. Rebalancing the assets. Reading the fine print.

So now that I’m investing in the stock market I am happy I have already made progress—not in the way of dollars and cents. I haven’t made a ton of money. More like a percent or two. My goal right now is not just about making money – but understanding it. I want to become a financially independent woman.

Dollars. Moolah. Franklins. Cash. Whatever you call it...everyone has an opinion on money. 

So what do teens have to say about spending, saving, and the economy? Find out by watching Youth Radio's Making Cents--A monthly video collaboration with Marketplace where teens talk money...

Episode 1's question to teens: What financial habit did you pick up from your parents?
 

So you want to do some Real Good, Feel Good investing and need to start tracking that marketplace. Lauren Silverman, the Youth Radio alum who blogs about business at Silverwoman's Slant has you covered in her latest post:

I want to follow up and let you know about the sustainability stock market indexes I use to keep track of my “feel good” investing. Granted, as Grist pointed out in a recent article, just because a company is listed on a sustainability index DOES NOT MEAN they are “green”. It simply means that they are likely to benefit from increased attention on energy, water, toxics and carbon.

It might not be easy being green, but the next generation of financial gurus is making the effort.

The following was originally broadcast on KCBS, San Francisco:

By Arai Buendia
 

Last spring, during my last semester of high school, I read online that “the Dow Jones is down today,” and I thought: What the heck does that mean?

I’m Arai Buendia with a commentary from Youth Radio.

As a college-bound teenager I was scared that my lack of financial knowledge would lead me to make poor decisions with my student loans or develop bad credit – a common problem for undergrads. So over the summer I found a class in the Albany Adult School, called “Investing Strategies with Lilia.”

Most of my classmates were older than me by at least a decade. They’d had financial struggles and many of them lost their 401-K’s at the beginning of the recession. I thought, “Maybe if I get a head start now, I’ll avoid similar money problems.”

So I learned Wall Street’s vocabulary, the meanings of words like stocks, mutual funds and ETFs – that’s exchange traded funds to you. I grew to understand the very important difference between a necessity and luxury.

And most importantly, I learned the earlier you start thinking about money – whether saving it or investing it – the more confident you’ll feel about having enough of it in the future.

Our favorite stock watching alum Lauren Silverman is back with another post about investing. This time out she takes on the perception that being involved with the stock market means trading off one's sense of social responsibility:

Just because I am in love with Wall Street, doesn’t mean I am in love with Bail Outs.

Not all investing is “bad”. In fact, there’s a whole world of socially and environmentally responsible investing that encourages corporations to improve their practices on environmental, social issues. And the world of SRI is growing even while the economy is shrinking.

(via Silverwoman's Slant)

Youth Radio alum Lauren Silverman has taken to investing in a big way. She's tracking trends on her blog, Silverwoman's Slant, and this week her hot tip is all about the fake things that keep our drinks tasting real good. It turns out that there are some proposals in the works to tax sugar laden beverages in order to help fight obesity. Yet the diet versions of your favorite soft drink will be exempt:

The traditional artificial sweeteners are aspartame, sucralose and saccharin, more commonly known as Equal, Splenda, and Sweet n’ Low, respectively. Under the proposals, beverages sweetened with these products would not be taxed, giving them a strategic advantage. However, food consumers have become increasingly wary of these artificial sweeteners, which natural health advocates claim are unsafe. That means producers of natural sweeteners, such as Stevia, will most likely profit the most from a soda tax.

(via Silverwoman's Slant)

 By Lauren Silverman

Aired on American Public Media's Marketplace on September 25, 2009

Months ago, I hardly knew what the NASDAQ was. Today I'm obsessed with the stock market.

The financial crises made me want to learn how markets work. So, I started practicing on stock market game websites. And I did pretty well. When analysts started raving about bargain stock deals, I couldn’t deny my craving to trade in real life any longer. That’s why I opened an online Charles Schwab account. Time to put my money where my mouse is. That is, the money not earmarked for tuition or resume writing workshops.

You see, I’m a senior at the University of Michigan.

My friends vow never to put money in the stock market. And I’m reading Warren Buffet. I even left a party last Saturday before the keg ran dry because I wanted to check my portfolio.