Tech Is King; Now Meet the Prince
A Trader for the Next Generation
Prince Khalid, like his father, keeps a close eye on stocks. Only, he uses E*Trade.
By Andy Serwer
pathfinder.com
Prince Alwaleed's son, Prince Khalid is playing Ping-Pong with a buddy and some of the palace staff when something on a nearby TV screen causes him to grab the ball and interrupt the game. The latest Lebanese singing sensation? A goal scored by the Saudi national soccer team? Nope. It's a business news report on Lucent--one of the stocks the prince is trading right now. Prince Khalid, it turns out, is in some ways just like any other young buck of his generation. He likes the Dallas Cowboys, he favors baggy clothes, and he's been bitten by the online trading bug. He and his father's advisers banter about stocks and trade all the time. We asked the fledgling trader about his approach:
How did you get into the market?
I started watching CNBC two years ago. A year ago I got an E*Trade account. It's basically a hobby for me, sort of practicing for the future. It's not something I have to do. It's fun. I like to watch the market going up and down.
So what's the size of your portfolio?
Right now, it's about $300,000. We started, I think, with $50,000 a year ago.
Not bad! So what do you trade?
Well, I'm trading out the yin-yang today [the market was up 200 points that session]. I'm looking at Intel. I'm in and out of technology stocks like, say, CMGI, AOL, E-Group, theglobe.com, and Lucent.
How do you get info about these companies?
Well, I do my research usually in my bedroom. I've got my laptop, and I do my research over E*Trade. They give you a lot of ways to research a company, whether it's technical, or whatever.
So you like technical analysis? You're one of those chart people?
I like them, I don't swear by them. I got a headache a few times from them.
Oh, yeah? You've been beaten up in some stocks?
I got hit pretty bad. Actually, with a friend in E-Group. We bought it at $64 once, and now it's at $23. That's the worst trade we have, and thank God, that's the only bad trade we have. Now I have a 5% win, 5% loss rule. If I hit 5%, I will sell off and I will take my loss and walk away. Before, you always think, oh, it'll go up, it'll go up. And the next thing you know, it's at $23 and you're hitting yourself in the head.
So you're day trading?
No, no--no day trading. I don't trade every day. Online is very slow here, so I can't really do any day trading. But I stay in a company maximum three weeks.
What kind of hardware you packing?
I'm really into technology. I know that it is the future of the world. I use a Sony Vaio laptop. I don't like to use PCs, they're just a big hassle. I like to use laptops, I can take them anywhere, it's a lot easier. But mainly I use Windows 98 and Sony. Mobile phone, I use Nokia. I used to carry a Motorola pager. I like its technology.
Okay, so why the Dallas Cowboys?
Actually it's weird, because I used to like the 49ers. I liked Deion Sanders a lot. He's amazing. I like the way he plays, like the way he thinks. He can do anything. But when he moved from the 49ers to the Dallas Cowboys, I started to like the Cowboys, and then I learned much more about the Cowboys and I got attached to Dallas.
Better them, I guess, than some tech stocks! Thanks. |
