ABERDEEN, S.D. (Press Release) – The 2020 fall session of the South Dakota Stock Market Game concluded its 10-week trading session on Friday, December 11. 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 / University divisions.
The second-place winning portfolio value was $124,030.62 which was created by Presentation College student Colton Schusted. Third place went to Hannah Rivero, from Presentation College, with a portfolio value of $114,376.80. Presentation College instructor 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 2021 SD SMG session starts on February and ends on April 16. Registration is now open. To register, go to http://www.stockmarketgame.org and select the Feb 8 – Apr 16 session.