Show me the money: 5th-graders pick winning stocks

[May 27, 2009]  NEENAH, Wis. (AP) -- If your stock portfolio isn't performing as well as you'd like, maybe you could hand it over to these fifth-graders. Four students at Tullar Elementary School in Neenah won the recent Wisconsin Stock Market Game, turning $100,000 of hypothetical money into more than $203,000 in 10 weeks.

The winning team of Annie Czech, Bailey Morton, Jen Sagehorn and Sam Weiler invested exclusively in 15 financial stocks, of which 13 proved profitable.

"It felt amazing," Bailey said. "It felt like I was getting a quick sugar rush."

"I was really excited," Annie said. "I wanted to scream."

Tim Hopfensperger, a teacher at the school and adviser to the young investors, also had teams finish second and fourth in the competition, which is sponsored by the nonprofit EconomicsWisconsin.

"I am really pleased," Hopfensperger said. "I am waiting to see what they will do in the future. A number of them will get involved in the financial industry."

[Associated Press]

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