Stock Market Simulation Game
I was searching for a stock market simulation game in the web and in iTunes. The search was good as I discovered plenty but with different quality. Before I tell you what I found , I would like to talk about stock market games and what they can do for us such as advantages and benefits.
Stock market simulation is an educational tool used today for educational purposes. The main users of this technology are professionals who are involved in investments. They practice their own techniques and strategies in order to improve their skills. Some schools and universities do use them to teach their students stock trading. The simulators mostly follow real market data in real time, they give you the feeling of being truly in the market.
Some organisations and schools organise stock trading competitions. Students are encouraged to manage virtual stocks portfolios and the winner of course is the one with more money or higher money return. My college for example—Bangor business school participates in a national event annually called “stock market challenge” .
Advantages of stock market simulation:
1- Learning by doing :They can teach you how trading and investing works by showing you the basics.
2- Familiarity with industries and companies: You can also get familiar with company names and industries.
3- Portfolio management: You will also learn how to work on your portfolio and manage it.
4- Wisdom and expertise: No one can succeed without making mistakes , learn from your mistakes and apply what you learn in real money
Disadvantages:
Risky behaviour: You are investing virtual money, so you might act with overconfidence and you get lucky with profits because the market trend is your friend (for now). You might think you are ready for the real world and your strategy is superb, you take your wallet and foray some real stocks , BOMB ! You lose money. What happened ? your current strategy don’t work this time. So to protect your self from being caught in this kind of situation, don’t rush into real money, take your time and keep practicing.
Experience bias: I think you know some people who have been driving cars for many years but still bad drivers. Either their skills are not good or they have developed bad habits. The same case goes for investing. No matter how much time you have invested playing stock market game, that does not necessarily make you a good trader. You must learn the rules of the game. Read books , attend seminars and interact with experts- share with them your experience and ask for a feedback. Investing my friend is a group (team) activity and should not be done alone.
My personal advice : Its OK to make mistakes that’s what the simulation is for. However, if you want to learn best , then pretend that the virtual portfolio is a real one.You can act serious by doing what most successful investors do before buying stocks. I wont mention their habits or the process they go through here in this post because its lengthy and worth to be explained properly in separate posts. I will consider it in the future.
There are plenty of simulators out there, I have tried 3 and here they are :
iPhone: Go to iTunes and type “itrade”.
Web :
1- Virtual Trader: based on the UK market “FTSE”.
2- Investopedia Stock Simulator : based on the USA market
