What does it take to win the stock market? Cruz Romo knows.
From October to December, Romo participated in the Stock Market Game (SMG), a nationwide stock market simulation that involves players investing hypothetical money into real stocks, as part of a class activity in Mike Parshall’s economics class.
After participating in the two month game, Romo took home a first place certificate and a $100 cash prize.
SMG is an online game students play in which they are given $100,000 hypothetical dollars to invest in a simulation stock market. Participants can play either individually or in teams, competing with other students across regions. Regional winners continue to state, and even national competitions.
Started in 1977, SMG was funded by large companies like Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Participants include students from fourth to twelfth grades.
Parshall has been encouraging his students to play this game for the last four years as part of his economics curriculum. He was inspired by colleague Karen Terry, who had gotten her students involved when she taught economics. According to Parshall, the game helps students “…learn the stock market without, like, learning it the hard way with real money.”
Romo is Parshall’s first student to take first place in the region, which included 860 participants across San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties. Romo’s investments yielded him a whopping $300,000, finishing with $400,000 total.
Students played SMG for ten minutes each day during the participation window. The game helps students not only learn about investments, but also supports improvement in math skills, economic awareness, and a better understanding of current events that impact real stock markets.
The game was tons of fun for Romo, who decided to take his own time at home to learn more about stocks.
When asked why he was so interested in stocks, he replied simply with, “Making money.”
Although Cruz Romo believes he still has areas to improve upon, he definitely sees the stock market in his future.