Students stock up for game

     By Sonya Padgett
     View staff writer
      Several Clark County students hope to beat the odds and make a fortune when they invest $100,000 in a bullish stock market Monday, a place where fortunes are made and lost everyday.
      And some of them just might do it; in May, a sixth grade class at Brinley Middle School turned $100,000 into $920,000.
      Of course, none of the money was real. The students were playing the Stock Market Game, a 10-week contest sponsored nationally by the Securities Industry Association for the past 21 years, said Nevada's game coordinator John Mundy.
      The local game, in its ninth year, is sponsored by the Nevada Council on Economic Education and operated by the Barbara Schick Center for Economic Education at UNLV.
      The Secretary of State pays for Nevada student's participation with fines collected from securities frauds, Mundy said.
      "Essentially, the bad guys pay for the good guys," he said.
      Teams, consisting of four or five members in fifth through 12th grade, start out with $100,000 in hypothetical seed money. The object of the game is to invest the money for 10 weeks in stocks listed with the New York and NASDAQ stock exchanges, Mundy said.
      Throughout the 10 weeks, teams check on their stocks daily and decide if they want to buy or sell anything.
      "It's an educational tool as well as a fun thing to do," Mundy said. "They learn the mechanics of the stock market, math, economics, research skills and the real-world application of those things."
      Students play the game on the Internet, where they have free access to financial Web sites that usually charge use fees, Mundy said. Players can get up-to-date information on companies -- such as how and who they do business with -- then make buying or selling decisions based on their research.
      The game has become so popular throughout the state that, for the first time, it will be played in the fall as well as the spring, Mundy said. More than 7,000 students -- approximately 1,200 teams -- played the Stock Market Game in February.
      Nearly half of the players were in Clark County, Mundy said. He expects roughly 4,000 players during the fall game, and more than 7,000 in the spring. Out of the 1,200 teams, only 60 actually lost money.
      Kimberly Hardgrove's sixth grade 11-year-olds at Brinley Middle School made the most money and won the game last year.
      There are no official national records, but Hardgrove's class is believed to be the most successful ever at the game, Mundy said.
      Hardgrove enjoys teaching her students the fine points of being a savvy investor as well as introducing them to real-world finances.
      "It teaches them how to handle real life," Hardgrove said. "I love it; it's so much fun."
      The game teaches students about economics, managing personal finances, math and algebra. Hardgrove said it also exposes some to a potential career, one a student may have never considered had it not been for the game.
      "I've got students who say they want to be stockbrokers," she said.
      The kids gained so much knowledge from playing the game that this year they will have their own Web site offering stock tips, Hardgrove said.
      Potential investors can visit kidzpix.com and choose from a variety of tips, including Reuben's Rubbish, a feature that will identify stocks that people think are hot but really aren't worth the attention they get, Hardgrove said. Other features will include Brady's Bust and Nathan's Nebula, the dark horses of stocks.
      Hardgrove is teaching the district's first-ever stock market class this year and is looking forward to the competition.
      To be competitive, teams don't buy stock in utilities, which are notoriously conservative investments, Mundy said. Many buy volatile technology and Internet stocks.
      Mundy encourages students to diversify their investments, a suggestion they would hear from a real broker.
      "I stress diversification," Mundy said. "The perception in being a savvy investor is the more diversified you are, the less risk you have overall."
      If students don't invest the total $100,000, the computer program sweeps the left-over money into a money market account, which earns about 4 to 5 percent interest, Mundy said.
      Teams can also use equity in their accounts to borrow money to purchase more stocks.
      "The game allows margin," Mundy said. "If you start out with $100,000, you can buy up to $200,000 in stocks." The game charges 7 percent daily interest on borrowed money and 2 percent commissions every time they buy or sell a stock.
      Algebra come into play when students have to figure interest rates on loans and invested money, Mundy said.
      The game has three divisions: elementary, middle and high school. The top five of each category are awarded certificates and given T-shirts that read, "I beat Wall Street."
      The fall game runs through Dec. 3. Though it's too late to play, teachers can contact Mundy in January at 895-3904 or e-mail him at jmundy@ccmail.nevada .edu to register teams for the spring game which starts Feb. 21 and ends April 28.
      Hardgrove said her students will play -- and win -- both games.
      "If any other school thinks they're going to win this year, they're wrong," Hardgrove said, laughing. "We're going to win."