Play Money, Real Victory
Early in the year, when their economics teacher announced the competition in class, the group of friends all knew they needed Tim Hyde on the team. Tim, you see, knows stocks.
On Thursday, Tim, 17, and four of his classmates at Fountain Valley High School defeated hundreds of other students to win the Orange County Capital Contest. It’s a competition that organizers say is a part of a much-needed push to increase students’ understanding of stock markets, finance and the nation’s economy.
For their victory, the tightknit group of seniors will soon take an expenses-paid trip to New York City for a VIP tour of the New York Stock Exchange. Each also received $500.
Dozens of teams from 10 high schools in districts throughout the county entered the contest, organized by the California Council on Economic Education, a nonprofit consortium of education and business leaders.
From late September to early December, teams invested a fictional $100,000 in publicly traded companies. Tim, who has traded his own stocks for years, said he researched possible investments closely and relied on advice from his personal broker and his grandfather. By the end of the 10-week period, the team had made a fantasy profit of about $30,000.
More than just a stock market simulation, however, the competition also required teams to explain the thinking behind their decisions. As Tim led the buying and selling, teammates Nickole Pena, Megan Jones, Phil Brockamp and John Gutierrez did research for the required essay and oral presentation.
Megan said the team spent long hours before and after school writing the essay, in which they had to explain how a host of factors -- including the federal deficit, job outsourcing, oil prices and even the weather -- affected investments and industries.
The work, she said, opened her eyes to the connections between markets and outside influences. Before the contest, Megan said, she would have given no thought to how the hurricanes in Florida this year could raise world tomato and orange prices.
Exactly the point, said William F. Coffin, chairman of the council. Within California, those aged 18 to 25 have the highest rate of bankruptcy, he said, and with a rising college dropout rate because of debt, schools need to do more to teach about finances.
“Kids need to understand that economics is a powerful lever and that there are economic reasons behind most everything,” Coffin said. “If they start to see these reasons, then, when they need to make decisions, they can make smarter ones.”
