Introduction
Investing in the stock market can be an intimidating and complex task for many new investors. Investing brings a considerable amount of rewards, as well as risks. So, before putting your hard-earned savings on the line, why not practice with a virtual account?
Our Simulator uses real data from the stock markets in order to reproduce the experience of using a real online brokerage account. Users are provided with a virtual cash balance and can place virtual trades using real market data. The simulator is used for a variety of reasons: educators use it as a tool to introduce students to the stock market, some employ it to test new investing strategies, and others use it to experience what it "feels like" to place a trade. Regardless of your current level of financial knowledge, the Simulator can help make you a better investor.
In addition to the educational aspect, we think the Simulator is pretty fun as well!
The User Interface
Let's first examine the four tabs located at the top of the simulator's user interface. By accessing each of the different tabs, you will have the ability to navigate through different areas of the simulator. Once you click on the desired tab, you will additional navigation links related to the topic.
- Portfolio provides a summary of your current portfolio holdings, your performance history, and your trade history.
- Trade contains the part of the simulator that you'll need to input your trade orders and review any outstanding open and failed trades.
- Research contains tools for researching and selecting the companies you want to trade, such as a research section, a ticker symbol lookup tool and much more.
- Games allow you to create, manage and review the games you're participating in and also join existing games. You'll find the leaderboard/rankings in the summary section of this tab. By default, users are invited to join an Investopedia game. We recommend you complete this how-to guide within the "Investopedia Competition (no end)" game.
On the top right side, you'll see a person icon. If you click into it, you'll see the following options:
- Account Settings provides a quick look at your Investopedia account. You can update your email notifications here
- Log Out allows you to sign out if you are using a public computer to use the Stock Simulator
Don't worry if you don't understand all of the tools at your disposal. Our how-to guide will explain the details of each component as you go.