Virtual Investment Game
JOIN the SIFE UAS Virtual Investment Game at:
http://vse.marketwatch.com/Game/Homepage.aspx
Username: UAS SIFE (case sensitive)
Password: sife (case sensitive)
Game Begins: January 21, 2008
Game Ends: February 21, 2008
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How it works: Every investor will start with $5,000 in their portfolio. You may invest in any stock you would like. The specific fees for commissions and other specific details are listed on the investment game website.
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Remember, to participate and be elgible for a prize in the virtual investment game, you must either contribute somehow to the virtual investment game or to another SIFE project as well as fill out the "Join Us" page with your information. If you don't know how you can contribute or would like some ideas, please email us at sife@uas.alaska.edu or visit the "Join Us" page for more ideas.
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Prizes will be awarded to those with the greatest gain in their portfolio by the end of the investment game. Occasional emails (no more than once per week) may be sent out or messages posted on this website to inform you of stock investing hints and tips and help you to succeed in the game. Good luck!
Prizes:
1st Prize: a PalmOne PDA and a SIFE pen
2nd Prize: a PalmOne PDA and a SIFE pen
3rd Prize: a SIFE pullover jacket, a business magazine subscription - Business Week, Young Money, etc, and a SIFE pen
4th Prize: a SIFE pullover jacket and a SIFE pen
5th Prize: a SIFE winter hat and a SIFE pen
6th-10th Prize: a SIFE pen
Project Name: Virtual Investment Game
Project Manager: Elizabeth Stickel – elizabethanne.s@gmail.com or eastickel@uas.alaska.edu
Project Description
This project works to educate University of Alaska students about investing, how to have a finally stable future, as well as learn more about the corporate world.
Needs Analysis
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Describe the need that was addressed by your project.
This project addresses the need for college students to gain investing skills to succeed in life after college. Saving money and investing it into stocks, bonds, and real estate can help students save for big purchases like a home or a car as well as save for retirement. Many students do not even know the basics of investing, so this virtual investment game provides them with those basic essential skills.
Describe who your target audience was.
The target group for the first round of the virtual investment game is University of Alaska Southeast students. These students include business students but will also include students in other majors that have had no introduction to business or investing. Topics range from where to invest, how to pick an investment, how to properly budget your money, and other related topics. In the future, there are plans to expand this campaign to a round for Alaskan natives in Angoon to assist with the Angoon Small Business Center project. Other rounds will be developed as prizes allow (and more prizes will be requested from donors as needed) and more investing skills needs are identified and analyzed.
Describe why you chose to focus on this need.
UAS SIFE has chosen to focus initially on University of Alaska Southeast students because it is so prevalent in the their everyday life and research has proven that students that graduate from college often do not know the basics of budgeting, finance, and investing to survive. This project allows students to learn and experiment their ideas without placing their money at risk. In the end, this will increase their confidence as well as their skills relating to investing and finance.Project Analysis
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Describe the project your team created and implemented to address the above need.
UAS Virtual Investment Competition. The project that has been created is a virtual investment game where university students create an online account at a virtual investment game site and log into the UAS SIFE investment challenge. As an incentive to get students to participate, prizes benefiting college students, including PDAs, are being awarded. In addition, this is doubling as a SIFE recruitment program whereby students that sign up for the investment game are then sent emails about the needs of SIFE to encourage them to join UAS SIFE and assist the programs that UAS SIFE stands for. Students enrolled in the investment competition receive weekly emails that include investing advice as well as updates on the SIFE program in general to update them on further opportunities to get involved with SIFE. At the end of the project, success will be measured by success of the student's stock portfolio. We realize that stock portfolio success does not always represent a student's full comprehension of investment knowledge, but it does represent a good majority of the skills needed to invest money in the stock market.
Describe why this project best fit the needs of the target audience.
UAS Virtual Investment Competition. The project that has been created is a virtual investment game where university students create an online account at a virtual investment game site and log into the UAS SIFE investment challenge. As an incentive to get students to participate, prizes benefiting college students, including PDAs, are being awarded. In addition, this is doubling as a SIFE recruitment program whereby students that sign up for the investment game are then sent emails about the needs of SIFE to encourage them to join UAS SIFE and assist the programs that UAS SIFE stands for. Students enrolled in the investment competition receive weekly emails that include investing advice as well as updates on the SIFE program in general to update them on further opportunities to get involved with SIFE. At the end of the project, success will be measured by success of the student's stock portfolio. We realize that stock portfolio success does not always represent a student's full comprehension of investment knowledge, but it does represent a good majority of the skills needed to invest money in the stock market. As previously stated, college students need investing skills as many of them do not receive this training in college classes or elsewhere. UAS SIFE believes that college students are one of the best targets for this project because of this need.Success Analysis
Describe the way in which your team measured the success of the project.
Success for the virtual investment game will be measured by the success of the student's portfolios. Students started with $5,000 in their portfolio at the project start date on January 21st. At the project end date on February 21st, the balance in the student's portfolio will be measured. A gain in the student's portfolio will represent success. A loss will represent an unsuccessful attempt. Success will be reported in both dollar and percentage gains and/or losses. Student comments will also be used to portray personal feelings about the event.
Describe why your team chose the measurement tool(s) used for the project.The portfolio amount was chosen to represent success as this is a clear indicator when a student has mastered the techniques of the stock market. If a student is able to properly research companies, understand how much money they should place in a company, and know when to sell their shares of a company, they will most likely gain money. This gain in money is represented by success in our measurement system as well as success in a gain in the student's knowledge. Student comments are also used as we understand that our fluctuating stock market is not always the best indicator of knowledge on the part of the investor. Outline the results of the project based on the measurement tool(s) used.As of February 3rd (which is approximately 1/3 of the way through the competition), the average student gain in their portfolio is at 6.69%. Student comments so far include "This is fun. I'll enjoy investing if I can earn money like this" and "It is hard to learn at first, but it gets easier as you go along" showing that our efforts are proving beneficial to the students
[RESULTS TO COME]
SIFE Criteria Met
Financial Literacy – This project fully represents the SIFE criteria of financial literacy by giving University of Alaska Southeast students the financial skills that they need to succeed. These financial skills include basic budgeting, investing, and research skills. Each of these skills are essential for college students to understand to be able to live and thrive after they graduate from college.