The fall session of the South Dakota Stock Market Game (SDSMG) concluded its 10-week trading session on December 9. The SDSMG is operated by the Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education.
For the fall trading session, 494 students from 19 South Dakota schools formed 237 teams of stock market investors and received 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. Teachers receive free online training via a series of webinars conducted in the weeks prior to the start of the each trading session.
The largest division was the High School division with 186 teams. The winner of the High School Division was Rapid City High School with a final portfolio value of $119,979. Teacher Darren Paulsen used the program in his Economics class.
The winner of the Middle School division was Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls with a final portfolio of $112,757. Teacher Todd Stever used the program in his 6-8th grade Gifted class.
The winner of the College division was BHSU student Brittany McGrady, business administration-accounting major from Rapid City. Her final portfolio value was $138,923, the highest portfolio in the state with a 38.9 percent return on investment for the 10 week trading period. For comparison purposes, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.4 percent over this same time period. Brittany participated in the program as part of her Advanced Accounting course requirement where students must select an Industry to invest in, then select stocks in that industry after performing fundamental financial analysis on the companies. Her big winners were in the Airlines Industry with American Airlines (AAL) and Alaska Airlines (ALK) up over 34 percent.
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 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 is sponsored by the Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education, the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the South Dakota Council on Economic Education. The South Dakota Council on Economic Education oversees two Centers for Economic Education in the state: Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD and the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD.
The Spring 2017 SDSMG session starts on Monday, February 13. Registration begins on January 2. To register, go to http://www.stockmarketgame.org.
For more information, contact Professor Don Altmyer, BHSU Center for Economic Education Director and South Dakota Stock Market Game Coordinator at donaltmyer@BHSU.edu