If you are trying to get a handle on the volatility of the stock market so far this year, you might want to consult a group of third graders who recently placed first among elementary teams in the Stock Market Game in Tennessee.

On the last day of trading, they dumped everything and bought new stocks. The result vaulted them into the top spot. This team of four calls themselves the “Millionaires:” Grant Simmons, George Simpson, Zohayr Memon and Gus Goudelocke.

The Stock Market Game in Tennessee is operated through Middle Tennessee State University. The game was established in 1977 to teach students about economics, the financial markets and good investing. Math Academy teaching Diane Kemp organized the students, who met Thursday afternoons this winter and spring.

The students were given a hypothetical $100,000 to invest in the stock market. Their simulated portfolio gained and lost money based on the real ups and downs of the stock market.

Among all the teams in Tennessee (elementary, middle and high school), the Millionaires placed 18th out of 138 teams. They finished with total equity of $102,977.21. Another Bright team, the Marketeers, placed third in the elementary level. That team was fifth grader Kennedy Doan and fourth graders Sarah Jackson, Hannah Jones and Mia Forato.

Thank you to fathers David Simmons and Jason Doan, who volunteered to attend meetings and advise the students.

2018 Participants

Fifth Grade
Kennedy Doan
Strobe Hill
Prescott Hampton
John O’Brien

Fourth Grade
Sarah Jackson
Hannah Jones
Ben Boehm
Davis Bartow
Piper Ryan
Jim Bradshaw
Mia Forato
Zain Rifai

Third Grade
Grant Simmons
George Simpson
Zohayr Memon
Gus Goudelocke
Hank Mossburg
Carlos Baleeiro
Alyssa Pashley
Reese Finlay

Stock Market Game 2018