Three Great Bend High School students are one step closer to Wall Street after coming out on top of the Hiss Sherman Investment Challenge.  

Utilizing a software called “How the Market Works,” over 40 participating students started the month of February with $100,000 in virtual cash to invest according to what they have been learning in class and at their own discretion. The online trading platform provides research tools, investment content and real-time trading to simulate participation in the stock market. 

At the end of the month-long simulation, the top three winners were John Szot, first; Trent Stueder, second; and Pablo Martinez, third. Recognized in front of their peers on March 18, students were surprised in class and rewarded for their efforts with gift cards provided by the local investment firm.

“Of the top 10 finishers, nine are students in my Investing class,” said Lacy Wolters, GBHS career/ACT coordinator.

“Most of them followed the stock prices closely and captured investment gains frequently. An unexpected twist was our first-place winner, who is both a freshman and new to investing altogether,” said Wolters. “John Szot invested in one stock and held it the entire time, realizing the largest gain of over 8 percent.

“This was a great opportunity for our students to apply what they are learning in the classroom to a real-life simulation,” she said. “Students were able to experience the movement of the market when returns were both positive and negative.”

“We hope this helped give students a good, real-life foundation in the world of investments and financial planning,” said Matt Hiss, investment advisor representative with Hiss-Sherman Wealth Management. “We’ve had great feedback from this program, nearly doubling the participation from year one to year two tells us we’re offering a program that students both learn from and enjoy. We are happy to partner with the school and give students this experience.”