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South Dakota Stock Market Game announces top teams for the spring trading session

18 May 2018

The spring session of the South Dakota Stock Market Game (SDSMG), operated by the Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education, concluded its 10-week trading session on recently with 453 students from 23 South Dakota schools participating.

The students formed 196 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 and receive weekly newsletters on economic, business and personal finance topics to use in the classroom.

The largest division was the High School division with 142 teams. The winner of the High School Division was Philip High School with a final portfolio value of $ 109,575 and a 9.6 percent return on investment. For comparison purposes, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.6 percent over this same time period. Teacher Brigitte Bruchlacher used the program in her Family & Consumer Sciences class.

The winner of the Middle School division was St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Pierre with a final portfolio of $ 111,497. Teacher Steven Rounds used the program in his Social Science class.

The winner of the College division was BHSU student Raven Jorgensen, business administration-management and public accountancy major from Kadoka. Her final portfolio value was $ 121,722, the highest portfolio in the state with a return on investment of 21.78 percent in ten weeks! Raven participated in the program as part of her Advanced Accounting course.

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 and the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

The Fall 2018 SDSMG session starts on October 1 and registration is underway. 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

South Dakota Stock Market Game announces top teams for the spring trading session

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