Virtual Stock Exchange Portfolio Management Project
Purpose
The purpose of using Virtual Stock Exchange is to give you a better understanding of trading
strategies and portfolio management. You will also learn a variety of financial instruments and
their risks and rewards as they apply to asset management.
Project Overview and Goals
Acting as a prospective portfolio manager for clients, your potential clients have entrusted you
with $200,000 to invest at your discretion for a period of approximately four weeks.
They are expecting you to invest their money wisely and profitably. While your clients desire a
high rate of return, their tolerance for risk is considered low.
Additionally, your prospective clients are considering other asset managers (your classmates)
and will be ranking each according to the success of their portfolio management. You will be
able to track how you are measuring up throughout this exercise.
At the end of the trading period, if your clients are satisfied with your performance managing
their portfolio, they will extend their relationship with you.
Registration
To register your account, go to http://www.marketwatch.com/game/gallucci2015
Password: stansberry
Registration is free. Enter the login code above. You will need a valid email address to play.
Disclaimer: You are responsible for your own username, password, and account.
Schedule
Date
Event
Intro
Group Strategy, Philosophy, and meeting with Teacher
Week 1
Join Class Game [Gallucci2015]
Week 1-4
Virtual Stock Exchange trading: Grading Points at the conclusion of
Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4
Page 1 of 3
3/23/2016
Virtual Stock Exchange Portfolio Management Project
Week 1
Initial Progress Report due (see below)
Week 4
Final Portfolio Management Debrief Paper due (see below)
Portfolio Management Constraints
The purpose of this game is to invest money. If you are not invested, your name will disappear
from the rankings. If your name disappears from the rankings, I cannot award you a grade.
Initial Progress Report:
This report should be between 1-2 pages, double spaced. In addition to your philosophy and
ideas at the start of the game, please discuss how your initial stocks performed for your
portfolio and why you believe you are currently ranked where you are, as well as indicate and
strategies you plan to implement for the rest of the game to improve/maintain your ranking.
Final Virtual Stock Exchange Debrief Paper
A two page, double-spaced paper about your Virtual Stock Exchange experience will be due at
the end of the semester. Please address the following:
 Which positions exceeded your expectations? What conditions caused this?
 Which positions underperformed for you? What factors created the performance gap?
 What are the key things you learned from your Virtual Stock Exchange experience?
 How will your Virtual Stock Exchange experience influence your personal investing in the
future?
 Please include an exclamation as to why you believe you finished in the position you
finished in comparison to your classmates.
Sources of Information for Portfolio Managers
Sources that you may find to be particularly valuable for your research include:





MarketWatch: http://www.marketwatch.com/
Wall Street Journal: www.wsj.com
Yahoo Finance: finance.yahoo.com
Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates: http://www.treasury.gov/resourcecenter/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=yield
Walker Management Library: Walker Management Library Research Links for
Managerial Studies Students
Page 2 of 3
3/23/2016
Virtual Stock Exchange Portfolio Management Project
Grading:
This will vary from class to class. You will receive 6 project grades for this
assignment. They are provided below, along with the appropriate weights:
Intro: Group Strategy, Philosophy, and meeting with Teacher. Weight = 1.0
Week 1: Initial Progress Report. Weight = 1.0
Week 4: Final Portfolio Management Debrief Paper due. Weight = 1.0
Grading Checkpoints (based on your ranking in the game):
Week 2: Grading Checkpoint: Weight = 0.25
Week 3: Grading Checkpoint: Weight = 0.25
Week 4: Grading Checkpoint (Final): Weight = 0.5
Please note: The only way to “Fail” the Grading Checkpoint assignment is to NOT play the
game. As long as you are invested, you will receive a grade greater than a 70%.
Please also take note: Although the checkpoints do reflect your learning and understanding of
the stock market, I recognize there are factors out of your control that may influence your
portfolio. This is why the grading checkpoints, combined, only count for 25% of the overall
stock market grade. The reasoning behind this is simple: It is important that, if you are not
doing well in the stock market, that you UNDERSTAND why you are not doing well. Therefore,
your written assessments are weighted more heavily than your actual performance.
Page 3 of 3
3/23/2016