Bismarck, ND - Students from Cathedral School in Bismarck, North Dakota have taken first and second place honors in North Dakota for the Fall 2011 Stock Market Game (SMG) for Middle School. The first place winner was Brittany Materi with a winning portfolio of $114,523.46 and the second place winners were Henry Fleischacker & Victor Fleck with a winning portfolio of $108,175.08. Their teacher is Duane Eichele. The goal of the competition is for a team of students to achieve the largest investment gain in their portfolio.
SMG is a free resource, coordinated and sponsored for North Dakota teachers and students in grades 4-12, by the North Dakota Securities Department's Investor Education division. The Stock Market Game was created by the Foundation for Investor Education, an affiliate of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, and is offered in all 50 states as well as foreign countries. North Dakota holds the distinction as the state with the largest number of students per capita playing the game.
The Stock Market Game (SMG) is a ten-week or fifteen-week simulation of Wall Street trading that provides a framework for teaching students about the United State's economic system. Offered in the fall and spring semesters, SMG is available through the Internet and is designed for classroom use as a tool to increase understanding of the stock market, the costs and benefits involved in economic decision-making, the sources and use of capital and other related economic concepts, said Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, Coordinator of the North Dakota game.
SMG is an interdisciplinary teaching tool that allows teachers to create and direct learning in the classroom in a variety of disciplines. During the ten or fifteen-week session, student teams invest a hypothetical $100,000 in common stocks on the New York and American Stock Exchanges and the NASDAQ Stock Market. Teams enter their transactions and monitor daily their portfolios including trades, current holdings, brokerage fees, margin interest and team rankings.
SMG is an opportunity for students to not only learn about the market and how it affects our economy, but also to think about preparing for their financial futures, stated Haugen-Hoffart.For more information on The Stock Market Game, contact the North Dakota Securities Department at 1-800-297-5124 (local 328-2910) or visit the SMG website at www.stockmarketgame.org.