South Dakota Stock Market Game program announces Fall session winning teams

The 2019 fall session of the South Dakota Stock Market Game run by Black Hills State University concluded its 10-week trading session Friday, Dec. 6.  Teams of student stock market investors receive a hypothetical $100,000 to perform online investing in real-time stocks, bonds and mutual funds.  The program’s carefully integrated curriculum lets students experience the financial markets in the classroom as they learn about business, math, economics, personal finance and the importance of saving and investing for the long term.  Student teams compete for prizes in the High School, Middle School and College divisions. 
 
The winner of the High School Division was Philip High School with a final portfolio value of $ 121,930 and a 21.93 % return on investment and the highest portfolio in the state.  For comparison purposes, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 6.0 % over this same time-period. Teacher Brigitte Brucklacher used the program in her Personal Finance class.  
 
The winner of the Middle School division was Edison Middle School with a final portfolio of $ 117,748. Teacher Gretchen Doyle used the program in her 6^th grade Gifted Studies class.
 
The winner of the College division was Presentation College.  The team final portfolio value was $ 120,600.  Professor Brenda Merkel used the program in her Business Finance class.
 
The SD SMG program provides teachers with online support during each trading session and free online training prior to and during each session.  During the 10-week session, teachers receive weekly newsletters on economic, business and personal finance topics to integrate the program into a variety of grade levels and subjects.  The SMG program includes InvestWrite, a national essay competition that is the culminating SMG activity. Students are challenged to think critically about real-world financial issues by preparing essays about long-term saving and investing. Winners receive a paid trip to New York City and a visit to the New York Stock Exchange. 
 
The South Dakota Stock Market Game has been delivered by Black Hills State University through the Center for Economic Education since 1994.  The Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education has an exclusive license to operate the SMG program in South Dakota with the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).  The SMG program is widely identified as the leader in youth financial education and the only program proven in rigorous, independent studies year-after-year to raise math and financial literacy test scores and to change financial behavior for the better for students and teachers.  Over 600,000 students from all 50 states participate each year.  The SDSMG is sponsored by the Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education and the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Foundation for Investor Education.
 
The Spring 2020 SD SMG session starts on February 10 and ends on April 17.  Registration is now open.  To register, go to http://www.stockmarketgame.org and select the Feb 10 – Apr 17 session. 
 
For more information, contact Professor Don Altmyer, BHSU Center for Economic Education Director and South Dakota Stock Market Game Coordinator at donaltmyer@BHSU.edu