This is our March 2019 update for our practice stock trading series where we are doing a stock simulation and documenting how we are doing.
We started with $25,000 in each virtual account and are tracking our progress using two different stock simulator apps: Virtual Stock Market Game App for the hand-picked stocks and Best Brokers Stock Market Game App for the mutual fund.
We had another good month in February with both portfolios, despite some declines in a couple of stocks. As of March 1st, 2019, here are our portfolios:
The stock portfolio stands at $27,392.56, which is a 1.6% during the month of February and a 9.6% gain from our initial January 1st investment of $25,000. Investments in Exxon (+17.32%) and Bank of America (+18.95%) are carrying the portfolio while the small investment in Tesla is down 11.42% and United Health Group dropped about 9% in February. The individual stock performances are shown on the graphic from the app (which has an annoying graphic directly over the Tesla numbers – this link takes you to a screen where you can buy in-app purchases):
The mutual fund portfolio stands at €28,940.80, which is a 16.3% gain from our initial January 1st investment of €25,000 and a 5.7% gain in the month of February. The mutual fund app graphic is below:
Overall the Vanguard fund continues to perform better than the individual stock portfolio. The continued volatility in Tesla is a warning for Tesla investors, and United Health Group is showing investor uncertainty as private healthcare may be threatened by a “Medicare for all” bill in the US House of Representatives.
We will continue our monthly updates to our practice stock trading portfolio and mutual fund comparison throughout the year, so be sure to check in with our stock simulation next month!
