NFV invests times in stock market challenge

 

Representative Rod Blum (R-IA) met with students from North Fayette Valley High School on Thursday, April 9 as part of the SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game. Students who met with Blum are (front, l-r) Brody Woods, Derrick Kuehner, Trystan Riley, Austin DeMuth, Roy Moore, Daniel Imoehl, Nathan Treloar; (second row) Emily Amundson, Val Butikofer, Makayla Kaeppel, Kayleigh Koch, Blum, Madalyn Boehm, Cally Mueller, Karyn Stewart; (back) Ben McIntyre, Tyler Johansen, Jared Bouska, Jesse Matt, Tate Lujan, Russell Pleggenkuhle, Joshua Prentice, Joseph TaFolla , Derek Fenneman, and Johnson Phan.

 

NFV invests time in stock market challenge

 

 

Brian Smith
Contributing Writer
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com

 

 

            “It’s up, it’s down, it’s all around,” is one phrase that can be used to describe the daily movement of the stock market. North Fayette Valley High School social studies teacher Matt Krambeer is providing his students with an opportunity to learn that firsthand by participating in the Capitol Hill Challenge Stock Market Game, which teaches students the importance of saving and investing, as well as providing a better understanding of our government.

            “The basic purpose of participating in the game is to teach the students how the stock market works using virtual money and real stock market statistics. It’s a great way to give students some hands-on experience in a way that would not otherwise be possible,” explained Krambeer, who teaches an economics class that has six teams competing in the Challenge.

            Each team starts with $100,000 in virtual money and has approximately 14 weeks to accrue as much equity as possible by making decisions about how to invest its money in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The competition is sponsored by the SIFMA Foundation, which seeks to foster knowledge and understanding of financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds.

           On April 9, U.S. Congressman Rod Blum (R-IA) visited students at NFV who are taking part in the Challenge. The United States Congress is in its second year of supporting youth financial education through participation in the Capitol Hill Challenge program. With representatives like Blum visiting participating schools, it is hoped that this type of financial literacy activity will help bring learning to life for students.

            The competition began Feb. 2 and is scheduled to end on May 8. Teams consist of three to four students each who regularly check their virtual investments to see what gains or losses may have occurred.

           “They are finding that the old saying of ‘buy low, sell high’ is not always as easy as it sounds. I allow the students the freedom of making their own decisions as to when to buy or sell, hoping that it will teach them some valuable lessons that can be used later in life,” noted Krambeer.

            Senior Alisha McTaggart says that she has learned some things from the Challenge that she believes will help her as an adult with financial planning. One thing she learned was not to purchase long-term investments for such a short period of time.

            “The most interesting thing I have learned, though, is how complex and changing the stock market really is. One day it might be great, and the next day it might be down. You never know for sure,” said McTaggart

           In this year’s Challenge there are 4,420 teams entered in the competition, including more than 75,000 students representing all 50 states. Rankings of the schools and their teams are updated weekly and can be found on line at www.sifma.org/chc/.

            “Our most recent rankings for our six teams varied from 215th to 3,704th. However, like the stock market itself, those rankings go up and down daily, depending on what students have chosen to do with their virtual funds,” added the NFV instructor.

            No matter what the final outcome, it seems that all of the students involved in the Capitol Hill Challenge will come away with a better understanding of how the stock market works and practical information on how to achieve their future financial goals.

 

 

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