Lacey 'Smart Stock Kids' Capture Gold in Stock Market Game

captured first place in the Southern New Jersey Division of the Stock Market Game.

Fourth-grade gifted and talented students Emma Harken, James Mitchelli, Ryan Price and Jenna Strifler joined forces as the “Smart Stock Kids” and competed against 35 other teams in grades four through eight.

“This is an extraordinary group of students with tremendous talent and potential,” Principal Rosemarie Bond said. “I have every confidence that these students will continue to accomplish great things. We are very proud of them.”

The Stock Market Game is a free program offered by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Foundation. Teams begin with a virtual cash account of $100,000 and strive to create the best performing portfolio using a live trading simulation, the website says.

“In building a portfolio, students research and evaluate stocks, and make decisions based on what they’ve learned,” according to SIFMA.

Teams trade stocks and mutual funds, earn interest on cash balances, pay interest if buying on margin and pay a commission on all trades, SIFMA says.

“To determine why certain stocks perform the way they do, or why the broader market has moved up or down, students need to understand how the economy works, and to calculate the returns they need to do the math,” the company says.

Teacher Darlene Price, who said the program taught students “cooperative learning” directed the “Smart Stock Kids”.

“They had to work together in deciding what companies to invest in,” she said.

As a fourth-grader or even in high school, Price was never exposed to such a program, she said.

“I think it’s marvelous to be exposed at such an early age of how to save money,” she said. “They learned basic finances and how to save money. They could save it, put in the bank or invest. They learned that it’s risky.”

There were two teams from Lanoka Harbor Elementary who participated. One team invested in Apple, she said. Through research, the team knew the company was coming out with a new product that would do well with the holidays.

When Steve Jobs died, their stocks plummeted, she said.

“Consumers lost confidence and the stock dropped considerably,” Price said. “They learned how current events really play a role in the global market.”

“It’s a wonderful and practical way for the students to learn how the financial sector works and what they can do as young investors,” she said. “It was a wonderful experience for the kids and I was happy to guide them.”

The “Smart Stock Kids” will attend an award ceremony in June where they will have to present all that they learned to the SIFMA Foundation.