Wahoo High students participate in Stock Market Game

Each team was given $100,000 to invest from January 9 to April 7. Teams were required to buy a minimum of five stocks, a bond and a mutual fund to encourage a diversified portfolio. Team members were encouraged to take on different roles such as leader, data custodian, and investigator, etc. The team with the most equity was declared the state champion on April 7.

On May 2, seven Wahoo High School students were honored for their performance in the Stock Market Game at the annual Nebraska Council on Economic Educations (NCEE) Banquet of Champions. Barb Shanahan’s economics classes had 20 teams, consisting of three to five students, participating in the game. The game was offered both semesters, fall and spring, with a total of 619 teams participating. WHS students competed in the spring league along with 291 other teams from across the state.

In the spring league, the Stocking Stuffers (Landon Spicka, Audrie Lepore and Jamie Werth) finished first with a portfolio balance of $126,706, finishing 21.96% above the S&P 500. The Money Mammoths (Nash Beasley, Alex Borchers, Landon Brigham and Sawyer Lavaley) finished third with a portfolio balance of $119,913 and finished 15.17% above the S&P 500.

Combining both fall and spring leagues, the Stocking Stuffers finished second and the Money Mammoths finished third out of a total of 619 teams.

When asked about their investment strategy, the Money Mammoths said they picked stocks they knew, then had a majority vote on whether or not to buy the stock.

According to Brigham, the team largely held onto their supplies. But they did sell some stock.

When it started to fall after a big gain, we sold it, said Nash Beasley.

The Money Mammoths strategy ran counter to the state champions, Lavaley said.

The (state champions) had a very different strategy, he said. They bought when prices fell, expecting them to rise later.

An extra activity of the Beursspel is a design competition for t-shirts. Students create a t-shirt design representing the Stock Market Game using only three colors. The designs are voted on by the economics students and then submitted for the competition. This year, McKenna Smiths design was chosen to be on the 2023 T-Shirts. Everyone who attended the Banquet of Champions received a t-shirt featuring McKenna’s design. McKenna also received $50 from the NCEE for her winning design.

The Stock Market Game engages students and improves academic performance, financial literacy, and savings and investment habits, according to the American Institutes for Research (AIR).