Trade – Commonly asked Trading Questions About our Stock Market Game

Stock Market Game Questions And Answers

We get tons of questions about our stock market game, so this is where you can find the answers!

If you have technical questions, like how to make a trade or create a contest, check out our virtual trading FAQ. This covers the basics of the basics, and where you can look for more beginners investing information. You can also click here for a list of glossary terms with in-depth explanations, or look in to our Beginners Investing Course to get everything you need to know to start investing on your own in one neat package.

What is a stock?

A stock, at the most basic level, is a piece of a company that you can buy. For more information on the basics, click here.

What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund is a collection of stocks, bonds, currencies, and other securities that are collected into a large, ‘mutual’ portfolio that you can buy in to. To learn more about mutual funds, click here.

What is an ETF?

An ETF is like a mutual fund, but trades on an exchange like a stock. It usually follows a major index, like the S&P 500. To learn more about ETFs, click here.

What is an Index?

An index is a benchmark that is used to measure the market as a whole, or one particular industry. An index is made up of a collection of stocks. For more information, click here to read about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or click here to read about the S&P 500.

What are the NASDAQ and NYSE?

These are “stock exchanges”, or places were stocks are listed for the public to buy and sell.

What are Bid and Ask prices?

When you want to buy or sell a stock, there is not one giant body that will buy or sell at a given price; there are millions of other people that are also looking to buy and sell, and an agreement must be reached. The “bid” and “ask” prices are the differences between the people who currently want to buy “bidders” and people who want to sell “askers”. For more information on bid and ask prices, click here.

What do I need to get started investing on my own?

Very little, you could start today if you wanted! Discount brokerages will open trading accounts with very little initial investment that you can use to buy and sell stocks as you wish, usually charging $5-$10 in commission. However, it is always a good idea to practice before you risk your investment, so we recommend using our free paper trading game to try investing fake money in real US and Canadian stocks and mutual funds before entering the market.