TOP FIVE TIPS

Here are essay winner Jack Alexander's five tips for budding investors:

1. Start early.

2. Reinvest your dividends.

3. Pick stocks you know a lot about or are interested in studying.

4. Look for long-term trends. "You just need to read the news, just kind of step back, take a look at the world and say, '30, 40 years down the road, what's going to be in high demand?"'

5. Diversify. His dad always told him not to put all of his eggs in one basket.