Registration is open for The Stock Market Game™ – Summer Session!
The Stock Market Game (SMG) helps students connect classroom content to the real world through an engaging investing simulation. SMG gives Minnesota students in grades 4-12 the opportunity to manage a virtual $100,000 portfolio by investing in stocks, mutual funds, and bonds. The program supports the development of business, math, economics, financial literacy, and critical thinking skills. Students work in teams, research current events, and collaborate to make informed investment decisions, gaining a deeper understanding of the U.S. economic system along the way.
SMG is easy to facilitate; no prior finance experience is required. BestPrep provides teachers with training, a wide variety of classroom resources, and ongoing support. Participating educators also have the option to request classroom speakers from the finance industry to enhance their students’ learning experience.
Across all sessions—Fall, Spring, Year Long, Late Spring, and Summer: top-performing student teams are celebrated with prizes and recognition events. Whether in school or over the summer, SMG offers a dynamic and flexible experience for students to grow their financial literacy and decision-making skills.
The Stock Market Game is offered in classrooms throughout the school year. Thanks to our partner organizations, BestPrep is able to offer The Stock Market Game at no cost to schools, teachers, and students.
2026-27 Session Dates:
- Summer 26: June 29 – August 14
- Fall: September 7, 2026 – December 4, 2026
- Year Long: September 7, 2026 – April 30, 2027
- Spring: January 4, 2027 – April 30, 2027
- Late Spring: January 4, 2027 – June 4, 2027
Each session that BestPrep offers differs slightly, and providing the best experience for your students can be found though choosing the correct session for them:
- Summer Session: The summer session is provided to anyone, free of charge, over the summer. This includes parents, teachers, students, adults, or anyone else who just is interested in learning about investing in a risk free environment. Student portfolios are ranked nationally, with first place being awarded a $500 cash prize and Stock Market Game trophy.
- Fall Session: The fall session of the Stock Market Game is sponsored by RBC Wealth Management. Students play competitively in one of three divisions (Elementary, Middle, and High school). The top five teams from each division are invited to a luncheon awards ceremony at RBC Wealth Management’s headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. The fall 2026 awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, December 17th, 2026 from 11am to 1pm.
- Year-Long Session: The year-long session of the Stock Market Game is intended for classes that run the length of the entire school year, and wish to get a more realistic long-term view of investing. Students play competitively in one of three divisions (Elementary, Middle, and High school). The top five teams from each division are invited to attend a luncheon and awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis. The spring 2027 awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 20th, 2027.
- Spring Session: The spring session of the Stock Market Game is intended for classes that run the length of the spring. Students play competitively in one of three divisions (Elementary, Middle, and High school). The top five teams from each division are invited to attend a luncheon and awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis. The spring 2027 awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 20th, 2027.
- Allianz Challenge: The Allianz Challenge is sponsored by Allianz Life Insurance of North America, and intended for students in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, with a focus on expanding career exploration, forward thinking, and real-world financial planning. Each classroom is guaranteed a classroom speaker, one-on-one assistance with an employee from Allianz Life, and is expected to have their top team attend the award luncheon at Allianz Life’s headquarters in Golden Valley (date TBD).
- Late-Spring Session: The late-spring session is BestPrep’s only unranked session of the Stock Market Game, is intended for classes who want to continue playing into the summer, and don’t need the competitive nature of the game. Students in the top 5 teams will still be sent a digital certificate of achievement.
Typically, it costs educators and schools a small fee to use The Stock Market Game with students. However, thanks to BestPrep’s partner organizations, team fees will be waived for the 2026-27 school year.
The Stock Market Game is a program of BestPrep and The SIFMA Foundation.
Program Partners: The FINRA Foundation, The Charles Schwab Foundation, Allianz Life Insurance of North America, and RBC Wealth Management
Program Sponsors: The Old National Bank Foundation and The Wells Fargo Foundation
The advantage to using BestPrep’s Stock Market Game is the support that is available to you – from classroom speakers and personalized activities to workshops and training.
- 1-on-1 Training: 1-on-1 training sessions are available virtually with BestPrep staff throughout the year, being flexible to accommodate your classroom schedule. These typically take between 20 to 40 minutes, and cover registration, logging in, team management, curriculum, and available resources. Training sessions can be arranged via email at smg@bestprep.org
- Classroom Kickoff: Nervous about the first day of class teaching the Stock Market Game, or just want some extra support? BestPrep staff are available to visit your classroom for the first day of the Stock Market Game and help you and your students get started! This will usually include an intro to investing presentation, assistance in helping the students log into their portfolios, and finally having the students make their first trade. You can set this up via email after receiving your registration information.
- Classroom Speakers: Have a specific topic you’d like a speaker to come talk on, or just investing in general? Our Financial Matters program is designed to make classroom speakers as easy as possible. To request a speaker, fill out our online form 4 weeks in advance, and we’ll be in touch: volunteer.bestprep.org
Looking for a little more information before getting started with the Stock Market Game? We’d be more than happy to talk to you about how this resource could fit in your classroom.
In addition to the resources below, once you are registered for the Stock Market Game, you’ll also receive full access to our curriculum library, with nearly 400 lessons that cover topics like investing, research, risk, and retirement.
2024-2025 Impact Numbers
The Stock Market Game™ makes an impact annually on the students in the program.
13.4K
STUDENTS
272
EDUCATORS
243
SCHOOLS
26
VOLUNTEERS
About the SIFMA Foundation
The SIFMA Foundation is the national administrator of The Stock Market Game and is dedicated to providing financial education for people of all ages through innovative programs that promote financial independence. The SIFMA Foundation also administers InvestWrite and Capitol Hill Challenge programs through SMG. InvestWrite is an essay competition for students participating in SMG in the Fall and Spring. Capitol Hill Challenge is an exciting national financial education competition for junior and senior high schools that connects participating SMG classrooms with a member of congress.
The Stock Market Game and all SIFMA Foundation programs are in compliance with FERPA and/or COPPA. Access the privacy policy here.