Market Mentors

The Market Mentor program began when members of the University of Illinois Finance Club offered to come into the classroom in local area High Schools. The University students answer questions about how to enter a trade into UISES (click on that link …), investment decisions (investing in Caterpillar because your father works there is a great way to begin …), university life (well, when I was looking at universities I was looking for ... ), and a few things they won't tell us about.

Every semester our undergraduate students run in-class simulations of the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The High School students buy and sell shares as brokers on the floor of the exchange while the University students act as specialist, chalk up bids and asks, and maintain fair and orderly markets.

We use i>clickers. Students enter bids and asks on the i>clickers to fullfil trade orders passed to them from 'clients'. As the trading continues students see that stock prices are not the product of some black-box computer at the NYSE, but reflect buy and sell decisions that each shareholder, and potential shareholders, makes about his investments.

We bring the trade orders, the i>clickers, the laptop, and the projector. We do need a room with a screen or a plain white wall on which to project the trade board. We have enough i>clickers for 30 students at a time.

It's a good idea to watch the NYSE cartoon explanation of how the stock market works on YouTube before you bring the Market Mentors into class.

The Market Mentor Program has generated some favorable local press. Take a look ....