The Stock Market Game

Hey all,

I'm a high school sophomore and completely new to this forum (I'm not some high school IB pre-cum) and was told to look into WSO by my older brother who now works at some small IB shop. I'm trying to win my regions stock market game, it started yesterday and basically, it's a competition where you invest in the stock market with fake money. I've already made a few trades based off of famous investor portfolios like Bill Ackman, but I was wondering where to go from there. If you all have any investment suggestions or ways to go about correctly analyzing some stuff for my own, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

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I've never participated in something like that and am unfamiliar with the rules, but I would imagine you would want to shoot for high risk / high reward over a very short time period-- things like impending catalysts that might occur within the game's timeframe-- assuming that's no more than a quarter or so long, Ackman is not going to help you. This is not at all how I invest in real life, but if the goal is max returns in a short amount of time with no repercussions on the downside (you obvi must be okay with the good chance of losing), I'd plow money into 1) high spread near-term merger arb (CPRI or ACI), where the price will either shoot up soon or crash down and not recover, 2) political catalysts- think of stuff that will boost if Trump or Harris wins (honestly, DJT if you think trump will win might actually work, stuff like solar energy for harris), 3) screen for highly leveraged companies under $500m market cap. Can get more complex, but probably the best simple route for a student  

 

Ok this is really helpful, thank you. I have a few follow-up questions. When you say CPRI or ACI do you mean the companies Capri Holdings and Albertson Companies? If so, how would you got about finding similar companies/situations? Is there any way to set a filter on google finance or something similar to find companies under the $500m market cap? How should I then research these smaller companies? Thanks, and sorry if these seem like stupid questions. All I know about finance I learned from Wall Street and Liars Poker lol. 

 

Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some suggestions to help you with your stock market game:

  1. Read Up on Stock Analysis:

    • Utilize resources like SeekingAlpha to read up on stock analysis.
    • Focus on industries you are interested in, such as Tech Media and Telecom (TMT).
  2. Books and Resources:

    • "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" is a recommended book to get started.
    • Other useful books include:
      • "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings" by Philip A. Fisher
      • "Trading Options Greeks" by Dan Passarelli
      • "Dead Companies Walking" by Scott Fearon
      • "Deep Value" by Tobias E. Carlisle
      • "Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation" by Stephen H. Penman
      • "Investment Valuation" by Aswath Damodaran
      • "The Dark Side of Valuation" by Aswath Damodaran
  3. Online Courses and Resources:

    • Consider free resources like Breaking Into Wall Street or Wall Street Prep for financial modeling and valuation.
    • WSO offers discounts on some of these paid courses.
  4. Investment Strategies:

    • Explore different investment strategies and philosophies.
    • Look into the "Dogs of The Dow" strategy for a simple, yet effective approach.
  5. Practical Experience:

    • Start with paper trading to test your strategies without real financial risk.
    • Analyze famous investor portfolios but also try to develop your own analysis skills.
  6. Forums and Discussions:

    • Engage in forums like WSO to ask questions and learn from experienced investors.
    • Participate in discussions about market trends, investment strategies, and stock analysis.

By following these steps, you can improve your knowledge and skills in investing, which will help you perform better in your stock market game. Good luck!

Sources: I want to get into investing., Aspiring Wall Street Student: Where do I start???, I Want To Get Into Investing. How To Improve Your Knowledge Of Markets?, Helpful Resources For Breaking Into Equity Research, Best Books to Help Your Investing Skills

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

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