Girl With a Purpose (GWAP)

Yahoo Fantasy Finance Game: Worth Checking Out!

Remember the "3 Great Sites That Teach You About Investing!" post we did on March 6, where we informed you of some fantasy stock market games that you could play, to assist your understanding of how to trade on the US stock exchange?

 

Well ,Yahoo Finance has it's own stock market game out called Yahoo Fantasy Finance Game.

 

The game is brand new and its first contest started on March 6,2012 and is slated to end in ten (10) weeks' time, on June, 6,2012.

 

Summary of How Yahoo Fantasy Finance Games is Played

 

In this contest, Yahoo gives you fantasy $100,000 cash to start with. You build your first portfolio with all of this money or a portion of it.

 

They also give away:

1) A grand prize of US $50,000 (real money) to the person having the most valuable portfolio over the 12-week period.

2) Weekly prizes of US $1,000 (real money) to the person with the highest portfolio gain.

 

How Yahoo Fantasy Finance Game is Played

 

You are allowed to choose between 3-10 securities (including stocks, mutual funds or ETFs) to play with.

 

However, when you build your first portfolio, you have to wait until the game starts to change it, so choose your first set of securities wisley.

 

(The game starts when the market is open and you have accepted all the stocks you have added to your portfolio).

 

This game is a bit different from the ones mentioned in the "3 Great Sites That Teach You About Investing!" post, as you allocate percentages of some or all of your $100,000 in start money, to the 3-10 secrurites you choose.

 

You then play against all the other players in the game by trying to either get the higest-valued portfolio or the greatest portfolio gain each week.

 

You can also get to see how you rank against other players, each time that you view your portfolio.

 

Please read the FAQs and Contest Rules for more information.

 

Eligibility Criteria for Yahoo Fantasy Finance Game

You must:

1) Have a Yahoo email account

2) Be at least 18 years old, or at age of majority in State you live in;

3) Be a legal resident of one of the fifty (50) US states and District of Columbia (this game is void in the overseas US territories).

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Please give Yahoo Fantasy Finance Game a spin, see how it compares to the ones we suggested in our "3 Great Sites That Teach You About Investing!" post  and let us know how its going for you.

 

You're free to leave your comments in the comments section below this post!

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

1) Yahoo Fantasy Finance Game, via Yahoo Finance, accesed March 22,2012

2) Post, "3 Great Sites That Teach You About Investing!", by Gillian Campbell, Girl With a Purpose (GWAP) Blog, March 6,2012

3 Great Sites That Teach You About Investing!

It's important to understand that saving your money is wise, but that investing it strategically, is even wiser.

 

The reality is that savings alone, will rarely give  you the kind of returns that will help guard against inflation - i.e. price increase over time.

 

One of the chief ways of increasing your income over time, is including stocks in your investment portfolio. 

 

Over the past thirty (30) years, the US stock market, despite its ups and downs, has given investors on average 709% returns on their investment. 

 

This return also known as the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) was 7.09  from January 1, 1981 to December 31,2011 (taking inflation into account).

 

What this means is that if had you put in $1 in the stock market on January 1, 1981, then as at December 31,2011, it would have grown to $8.36.

 

The sites that we introduce below, give you a great introduction to trading US stocks.

 

They have easy-to-read introductory articles and allow you to invest in the US stock market, risk-free...

 

...In that you don't have to invest real money, but you get practice money (usually around US $100,000 to start with) to use strategies learned from the site and elsewhere, to grow the value of your investment portfolio.

 

Two (2) of these sites give you real money and prizes if you place 1st to 2nd in competitions they have on their sites.

 

These competitions also enable you to play against other players on the sites.

1) HowtheMarketWorks.com

 The site draws on its own resources and that of other top-rated sites, to teach you the fundamentals of trading on the US stock market.

 

To navigate this site:

 

Start with links on left-hand-side of the page, which give you a great introduction to trading and investing.

 

E.g. their Getting started link is a great place to start.

 

Sign up for their Virtual Stock Exchange Game, where you'll practice the strategies learned on the site and you and your friends can compete for prizes of US $25,000.

 

Teachers can even register up to four (4) classes to take part in the Teachers Stock Market - a private classroom stock contest.

 

 

2) The Stock Market Game is sponsored and founded by the Sifma Foundation.

 

It provides students from elementary to High School levels, with an interactive means of learning about savings and investments.

 

The principles taught in the game also allow you to be a better Math, Social Studies, and Language Arts student.

 

Your school has to officially register to take part in the Stock Market Game. (Registration is worldwide).

 

 

3) Wall Street Survivor

Has great tips and video tutorials about investing in stocks, ETFs (Exchange-traded Funds) and options.

 

Tips are available from the beginner to advanced levels.

 

Additionally, participating in competitions on the site, makes you eligible for cash prizes.

 

E.g. for this month, WallStreetSurvivor.com has a Mark's March Contest, whereby which winners win a total of US $2,000, with two (2) winners being declared each week.

 

In all, you can create "dummy" portfolios and " fantasy trade" on the above sites to really learn the essentials of trading on the stock market.

 

My humble advice:

1) Use more than one site to test how well you are applying concepts that you've learned

2) When you feel that you have grasped the concepts (by outperforming other players in the above fantasy stock markets), you can then open a practice account at one of the reputable online brokers.

 

After you've mastered that broker's platform, start trading, using that platform.

 

In the meantime, please let us know how the above sites are working out for you!

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

1) Wall Street Survivor, accessed March 6,2012

2) HowtheMarketWorks.com, accessed March 3,2012

3) The Stock Market Game, accessed March 3,2012

4) Money Chimp's CAGR of the Stock Market tool, accessed March 3,2012

5) Article, "2010 Stock Market Returns - The Numbers", by Allan Roth, CBS MarketWatch.com, December 31,2010

"Lonely is the Night" Jammin' Session. :)

Okay...our Jammin' Session tonight just was lonely! :)

 

So I guess neither the topic, nor the night, resonated with you guys, huh? :)

 

...or are you a little shy to chat? :)

 

Or maybe...just maybe, some of you are Jammin' it away at the Jamaica Jazz n' Blues Festival tonight, instead?

 

...Hmmmmh. :)

 

Ok, I won't beat a dead horse...we'll be moving right along to other topics. :)

 

I'd love your feedback so, please contact me, let me know if the topic or the night was off, so that we can do some shuffling to accommodate you.

 

Should you wish to get the notes from today's session, they'll be available, tomorrow, here. 

 

Many thanks to our sponsors!:

 

 

Gillian