Sixth Graders Win State Stock Market Competition

By Jeff White

Having trouble managing your money in the stock market? Zach Russo, Bill Manville, and Andrew Giannettino might be able to lend a hand.

 These three middle school sixth graders recently took first place in their “elementary” division in the Connecticut Stock Market Game, a 10-week investment competition that resembles a version of a program that is played twice a year throughout the country.

Students teamed up in groups of four, and each group had a theoretical $100,000 in funds to invest in the stock market. Although the first two weeks of the game were intensive, as teachers instructed students on how the stock market works, the game broke down into a once-per-week happening thereafter.

Each week, students filled in their bubble sheets, which depicted not only the companies in which they held stock, but any stocks they bought or traded that week. These sheets were sent to the University of Connecticut, which organizes student data throughout the state. The Connecticut Post administers the game.

For Zach, Bill, and Andrew, it is a good feeling to end the contest $26,000 richer than when they started, as they turned in a final monetary tally of just over $126,000.

As a perk of winning the state competition, Zach, Bill, and Andrew got to spend a day on Wall Street recently, where they toured some famous sites and even peered onto the floor of the famous New York Stock Exchange, which Andrew pointed out was strewn with paper.

So do these three burgeoning investors feel like they know some of the tricks of the stock market trade? Each says he has a rule for investment success.

“If a stock is dropping, don’t worry, it might go back up,” advises Bill, concerning the panic that strikes investors when they see their portfolios slipping.

“If you’re going to buy a stock, you want to make sure it’s one that won’t drop, but one that people are interested in,” adds Andrew.

Zach suggests paying close attention to the brands people are buying. He says, for example, that if you see a clothing company that is being worn a lot, chances are its stock might be valuable since it is obvious people are interested in the company. “If there is something really popular, the stock is doing really good,” he explains.

The three students joined their classmates in agreeing that the competition was a fun way of working on such skills as math while simultaneously learning about something often considered to be an adult topic.

Although Zach, Bill, and Andrew concede that it was a good unit, all three hesitated when asked if they would consider entering into the investment industry when they got older. The project did spark a little interest in a potential future career with Bill.

“I think I’d like to buy and create stocks when I get older,” he says.