In the Investing Simulator, you start with a cash balance from your teacher and buy shares of real companies at real market prices. Your portfolio rises and falls with the actual stock market. This guide walks you through every page, how to buy and sell, when your orders go through, and how to read your returns.
Opening the simulator
Tap or click Simulators in the sidebar.
Open the Investing band and tap or click Start Investing (or Continue Investing if you've already started).
At the top you'll see Stock Market Simulator, whether the market is open or closed today, and a search box that says Search a company or ticker. If you're in an investment group, a badge with your group's name appears there too.
Finding your way around
The simulator has four sections. Click a section, then pick a page from the row below it.
Portfolio
Overview: your total value, how much you're up or down since you started, and four key numbers: Total gain, Today's change, Cash to invest and Cost basis. You'll also see a chart of how your value changed, a Diversification check and your Recent trades.
Holdings: every stock you own, how much of your portfolio each one is, and its price now.
Orders: your recent orders under Waiting to fill and Filled, with the reason you gave for each. Cash paid in lists any money that reached your balance without a trade, like a weekly deposit or interest from your teacher.
Performance
Returns: your Total return, how much is Gain banked (locked in by selling) and Gain on paper (what you'd make if you sold now), which stocks drove your return, and how you compare with the overall market.
Analysis: how you've been investing: how many stocks you hold, your biggest position, how much is in cash, your win rate, how long you hold stocks, and how bumpy the ride has been.
Market
Top stocks, Screener, Heatmap and Watchlist: ways to scan the market for ideas, from the biggest movers to a color-coded map of the whole market.
Top stories: market news. A headline isn't a reason to trade by itself. Ask what changed about the business.
Earnings calendar: which companies report their results next.
Forex: how world currencies are moving.
Class
Rankings: the Class standings, with your return, the class average and the best return. You can sort the table by Portfolio value, Total return, Today or Total gain.
Buying a stock
Type a company name or ticker (like AAPL for Apple) into Search a company or ticker and pick it from the list.
Read about the company. The stock page shows its price, charts, key numbers with plain-English definitions, and its financial statements.
In the Place order card, tap or click Buy.
Under Order type, choose Market.
Enter the Number of shares. Whole shares only.
Fill in Why are you making this trade? You can't place an order without a reason, and it needs to be under 200 characters.
Check the Order summary: the estimated total, your cash to invest, and what you'll have left.
Click the green Buy button (it shows how many shares, like Buy 10 shares). You'll see a message that your order was placed.
The button stays grayed out if the order costs more than your cash.
Selling a stock
Open the stock's page from search or from your Holdings.
In Place order, choose Sell and Market.
Enter how many shares to sell. The form shows how many you own.
Give your reason and click the red Sell button.
When your order goes through
Market orders go through right away at the latest price the simulator has. That works even when the stock market is closed: your order uses the most recent price available. The final price can be a little different from the estimate you saw.
Limit and Stop orders don't go through right away. They wait under Waiting to fill on your Orders page and may never fill. Stick with Market orders unless your teacher says otherwise.
Your portfolio values update about every 15 minutes, so don't worry if a number doesn't change the instant you refresh.
If your order doesn't go through
You'll see a message explaining why:
"The stock simulator is not active for your class right now." Your teacher has paused trading.
"Trading is closed right now. Check your class's trading schedule." Your teacher has set trading dates or hours, and you're outside them. Try again during your class's trading time.
"You don't have enough cash to place this order." Buy fewer shares.
"You don't have enough shares to place this order." You can only sell shares you own.
"Day trading is off for your class. You can't sell a stock on the same day you bought it." Wait until tomorrow.
"Your order couldn't be placed. Check the order details and try again." Usually the reason is missing or too long, or the number of shares is zero.
Reading your returns
Total gain is what your portfolio is worth now minus the money you put in. It counts stocks you still own and ones you've sold. If your teacher adds weekly deposits or interest, those count too.
Total return is your gain as a percentage of what you started with. Percentages let you compare yourself with the market and your classmates.
Today's change compares your stocks now with where they closed yesterday. It stays put while the market is closed.
Cost basis is what you paid for the shares you still own.
Investing as a group
If your teacher puts you in a group, you all share one portfolio: one cash balance and one set of stocks. Anyone in the group can trade, so talk before you buy or sell. Your Holdings show everything the group owns.
How you're scored
If your teacher grades the Investing Simulator, they'll look at whether you made trades, how well you spread your money across different stocks, and how your return compares with the S&P 500 over the same time. Your teacher always makes the final call on your grade.
Tips
Research before you buy. Read what the company does and look at its numbers, not just today's price.
Spread your money across several companies. If one has a bad week, it won't sink you.
Write real reasons. Later you can look back and see whether a trade was smart or just lucky.
Be patient. Prices bounce around every day. Checking every hour usually leads to worse decisions, not better ones.
Common questions
Is this real money?
No. The prices come from the real stock market, but your money is pretend, so you can learn without risking anything.
Why did my portfolio change when I didn't do anything?
Stock prices move all the time while the market is open. Your teacher may also add weekly deposits or interest, which show under Cash paid in.
Can I cancel an order?
Market orders go through right away, so there's nothing to cancel. To undo a buy, sell the shares (on a later day if day trading is off).
The page says "We can't show your portfolio right now." What do I do?
Nothing has happened to your account or your trades. Prices are sometimes unavailable for a few minutes. Click Try again, or come back a little later. If it keeps happening, tell your teacher.