My Classroom Investor, a free Vanguard simulation, gives students in grades 9-12 a 30-year investing horizon they can work through in a few class periods. Students step into the role of an investor with career and personal goals, build a portfolio from more than 100 securities, and watch three decades of market cycles play out.
Four Principles Students Practice
Vanguard built the experience around four investing principles
- Goals: Students name what they are investing for before they choose anything.
- Balance: They see firsthand what concentration does to a portfolio when one sector turns.
- Cost: Fees compound quietly over 30 years, and the simulation makes that visible.
- Discipline: Market events tempt students to sell. Staying invested is a scored behavior.
The Highest Balance Does Not Win
My Classroom Investor scores decision-making, not just ending portfolio value. A student who gets lucky on a concentrated bet can finish with the biggest number in the room and a lower score than the classmate who diversified, kept costs low, and stayed the course. Built-in reflection prompts ask students to explain their thinking as they go.
What You Can Customize
You control how the simulation runs, including:
- Difficulty and the length of the timeline
- Which investment products students can buy
- The characters students play and the market events they face
- Which standards-aligned lessons from Vanguard’s learning library you assign
Sign up for My Classroom Investor to bring it into your classroom, or watch the two-minute demo first.
Looking for more ways to let students practice before real money is on the line? Have them try ou the STAX in the NGPF Arcade or the NGPF Investing Simulator to practice managing a brokerage account.
About
the Author
Yonathan Tadesse
Yonathan is a Dallas-based Curriculum Designer at NGPF with 12 years of experience as a high school math, college transition, and financial literacy teacher. An award-winning educator, he has a track record of launching innovative programs at the high school level that expand access and opportunity for students. He is a graduate of Emory University and is passionate about advancing financial education for all students. Outside of work, Yonathan loves spending time with his wife and two kids, working out, playing chess and poker, and learning new things.
More posts
by Yonathan 
Discussion about this post