By Holly Menino

EUGENE, Ore. -- Young entrepeneur Karl Stedman Jr., 25, is the head of his own investment company, called the Stedman Group. Stedman credits his success to studying the great investors of the past 100 years, reading hundreds of books on how to invest since he was 20.

Stedman started his business eight months ago. He began managing other people's money at a time when the stock market was at it's most volatile point, which he found challenging and invigorating.

Since his business has opened, his capital base has grown 400% through client deposits and capital appreciation. Stedman says his strategy is that he looks at the market as a whole, then starts breaking it down industry by industry, looking for broken stock prices, not broken businesses.