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By Staff Reports

Escambia County High School’s stock market team is ranked in the top 10 of teams in the state.

The team, which is comprised of seniors D’Andre Richardson, Judah Dennis, Hasten Dean, Darron Nichols and Daniel Gunaca, is competing in the Alabama Stock Market Games, a contest that ends April 15. The games go beyond buying and selling stocks, bonds and mutual funds, according to a release.

Team members learn to research companies and keep up with trends in the economy, using that knowledge to make investments.

The contest is run by the Alabama Council on Economic Education. The five-member team started with an imaginary $100,000 and has built a portfolio totaling $129,000. (During that same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,000 points.) The team ranked number 8 out of 244 teams recently.

“I had an idea what to look for,” Dennis said when he had an eye for Cryptocurrency. “All trades are short term. We look at trends and how to predict them.”

Forbes said he’s teaching the team to make sensible investments.

“Buy low, sell high and take educated risks,” Forbes said.

He wouldn’t be surprised if each team member became financially successful.

“Every one could be a millionaire by 35,” he said. “They should build wealth that is generational.”

The teacher added that all students should learn the basics of saving, budgeting, investing and money management.

The winning team from the stock market games wins $15,000 in real money for their school.

“We are super proud of them, no matter what happens,” Forbes said.