Indicator	Sample	What it means
Interest rate	4.25%	The price of borrowing money. Higher rates make loans cost more.
Inflation	3.1%	How fast prices rise. Your savings need to beat it.
Unemployment	4.4%	Share of people looking for work but without a job.
Stock index	5,200	One number that tracks a group of big companies.
Gold	$2,350	Often rises when people feel nervous about the economy.
Oil	$78	Moves petrol prices and costs for almost every business.

See market analysis

From students

Latest articles

All articles

Investing basicsWhy I Started Investing at 16 (And What I Wish I Knew)Grade 11 MarketsWhat Actually Happens When the Market “Crashes”?Grade 10 Money habitsThe $20 a Week Challenge: Small Money, Big HabitGrade 9

Questions

Quick answers

Yes. The lessons, videos, simulators and articles are free to use.

No. Everything here uses pretend money. You learn first, and any real investing is a decision to make later with a parent or guardian.

No. Finance Bro is for learning only. We explain how things work and never tell you what to buy or sell.

Yes. Write your article in Google Docs and submit the link through our Google Form. See the Articles page for the template.

Join the crew

Add your name to the board

Add your name and see the crew grow — everyone visiting the site sees the same live count. Just a first name, nothing else.

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The Founder

About Me

Rudransh Das

Founder, Finance Bro — Mumbai, India

I'm Rudransh Das, a student-athlete, competitive goalkeeper, and football enthusiast from Mumbai, India. Football has been a major part of my life, and playing competitively has taught me about pressure, discipline, decision-making, teamwork, and taking calculated risks.

Away from football, I've developed a strong interest in finance, economics, and mathematics. I enjoy analysing numbers, identifying patterns, understanding how markets work, and exploring how financial decisions translate into real-world outcomes.

That interest led me to create Finance Bro — a platform designed to make the stock market and financial literacy more accessible to teenagers.

Finance can often feel intimidating when you're first introduced to it. Stocks, indices, valuations, dividends, market movements, and financial terminology can seem like an entirely different language. I wanted to create a platform that breaks these concepts down in a simple, engaging, and relatable way.

But Finance Bro is about more than just explaining the basics.

The platform also connects young people with advisors and professionals who actually work in the finance industry. By learning from people with real-world experience, teenagers can gain insight into what finance looks like beyond textbooks — from how professionals analyse markets to the different careers and opportunities within the industry.

I'm not here to tell teenagers what stocks to buy. I want to help them understand how markets work, how financial professionals think, and how to make sense of the information around them.

Finance Bro is built around one simple belief:
Financial literacy shouldn't have an age requirement.

Welcome to Finance Bro.
Learn finance. Hear from the experts. Understand the market.

Ready?

Make your first move.

Pick a lesson, play a simulator or write an article. It takes five minutes and costs nothing.

Start Finance 101 Try a simulator

This is for learning only. Nothing here is financial advice — always double-check with a trusted adult or advisor before investing real money.

Courses

Pick your level. Start your climb.

Two courses, one goal: make the stock market make sense. Start with the basics, then level up to thinking like a real analyst.

Beginner course Advanced course How it works FAQ

Courses

Modules

Simulators

Cost to learn

Choose your path

Which course is right for you?

New to investing? Start at Beginner. Already know what a stock and an ETF are? Jump to Advanced.

Level 1

Finance 101

The beginner course — zero experience needed.

Learn what stocks actually are, how the market works, why diversification matters, and how to avoid the mistakes most new investors make. Everything is explained in plain English with quizzes and simulators after each topic.

8Modules

~4 hrsTotal time

FreeCost

Understand how stocks, ETFs and the market work
Know how compound growth builds wealth over time
Place practice trades in the virtual simulator
Spot the 5 most common beginner mistakes

Start the course

Level 2

Finance 301

Equity Analysis & Valuation — the advanced course.

Go beyond definitions. Learn how professionals value companies, read financial statements, understand interest rates and the economy, build a portfolio, and write a real investment thesis. Includes live calls with our advisors.

8Modules

~10 hrsTotal time

FreeCost

Value a company using P/E, revenue growth and margins
Read an income statement, balance sheet and cash flow
Understand how interest rates and inflation move markets
Write and defend your own investment thesis

See the modules

Level 1 · Beginner

Finance 101: the 8 modules

Open a module to read the full lesson right here, take the quick quiz, then mark it complete. Your progress bar tracks the rest.

Your progress

0 of 8 modules complete

Finish all 8 modules to unlock your Finance 101 certificate.

01MODULE

What is a stock?

Ownership, shares, why companies sell them, and how you make money from owning one.

Companies, shares and ownership
Why companies go public
Dividends vs. price growth
Famous stocks you already use

By the end: Explain a stock to a friend in 30 seconds · 20 min

Not started

Beginner · 4 min read

What Is a Stock, Really?

⚡ Quick Hits

🍋 A stock = a tiny owned piece of a real company.
💵 Price = whatever people are willing to pay right now.
🏢 Companies "go public" (IPO) to start selling shares to anyone.

Your friend's lemonade stand is doing great. She wants to open 5 more, but needs cash for cups and lemons. So she says: "Give me $10 now, and you own a small piece of my business. If it grows, your piece grows too."

That's a stock. A stock (aka a share) is a tiny slice of a real company — Nike, Apple, a game studio, whatever. Buying one means you actually own part of that business, not just a number on a screen.

📈

Price goes up when...

The company does something people are excited about, and more people want to buy shares than sell them.

📉

Price goes down when...

The company disappoints people, and more people want to sell their shares than buy new ones.

Big idea: You're buying a real business, not a random number. If it does well over time, your slice usually becomes worth more.

How does a company even sell shares?

Most companies start private, owned just by the founders. Once they're big enough, they can "go public" — called an IPO — which means anyone can now buy shares. That's the moment a company shows up on the stock market for the first time.

🧠 Quick Check

If you buy one share of a company, what do you actually own?

02MODULE

How the market works

Exchanges, buyers and sellers, why prices move, and what an index like the S&P 500 really is.

Supply, demand and price
Exchanges and market hours
Indexes: S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq
Bull vs. bear markets

By the end: Read a market headline and know what it means · 25 min

Not started

Beginner · 5 min read

How the Stock Market Works

⚡ Quick Hits

🏬 "The market" = exchanges like the NYSE and Nasdaq where shares trade all day.
📊 An "index" is a group of stocks tracked as one number.
⚖️ Prices move purely on supply and demand — no one sets them by hand.

The "stock market" isn't one building — it's a nonstop marketplace (an exchange) where people trade shares all day. Two of the biggest: the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

What's an "index"?

When someone says "the market was up today," they mean an index moved — a group of stocks tracked together as one number, like a class average instead of one grade.

🇺🇸

S&P 500

~500 of the biggest U.S. companies. The one people mean most by "the market."

🏭

Dow Jones

30 big, well-known companies.

💻

Nasdaq

Leans heavily toward tech companies.

So "stocks fell 1% today" usually means one of these group averages dropped — not that every single stock fell by that much.

Who decides the price?

Nobody. It's pure supply and demand — more buyers than sellers pushes price up, more sellers than buyers pushes it down. This happens thousands of times per second while markets are open.

Good to know: U.S. markets are open 9:30am–4:00pm ET on weekdays. Trading happens outside those hours too, just quieter and jumpier.

🧠 Quick Check

What does it actually mean when the news says "the market was up 1% today"?

03MODULE

Brokers & order types

How to actually buy a stock, market vs. limit orders, and how teens can invest with a custodial account.

What a broker does
Custodial accounts for under-18s
Market, limit and stop orders
Fees and what to watch for

By the end: Know exactly how a first purchase works · 25 min

Not started

Beginner · 4 min read

How to Actually Buy a Stock

⚡ Quick Hits

📱 You need a brokerage app to trade — free and takes ~10 min to set up.
⚡ Market order = fast, no price control. 🎯 Limit order = price control, might not fill.
🔍 Trading is usually free, but check for expense ratios and spreads.

You can't buy a share straight from a company — you need a brokerage, an app or website allowed to trade stocks for you.

Two ways to place an order

⚡

Market order

"Buy it right now, whatever the price is." Fast, but you don't control the exact price you pay.

🎯

Limit order

"Only buy if it drops to this price." You control the price, but it might never trigger.

Watch out for fees

📄

Expense ratios

A small yearly fee some funds charge automatically, taken right out of your returns.

↔️

Bid-ask spread

A tiny gap between the buy and sell price — you pay it without really noticing.

Big idea: Even a small 1% fee adds up a lot over many years. Always check the fees before you invest in something.

If you're under 18: Most brokerages legally require you to be 18+ to open an account solo. You'll need a custodial account instead — opened by a parent or guardian, with you as the beneficiary. Ask them to open one with you; it's the normal way teens get started.

🧠 Quick Check

You want your trade to happen right now, even if you don't control the exact price. Which order do you use?

04MODULE

Risk & diversification

Why putting everything in one stock is dangerous and how spreading money out smooths the ride.

Types of risk
Diversifying across companies and sectors
Risk vs. reward
Your risk tolerance

By the end: Build a mix of investments that fits you · 30 min

Not started

Beginner · 4 min read

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

⚡ Quick Hits

🥚 One stock = risky. Many stocks = diversification = smoother ride.
🛡️ It doesn't stop losses, but it stops one bad company from wiping you out.
⏳ Money you need soon should be safer; money you won't touch for years can handle more risk.

Every investment carries some risk — it could lose value instead of gaining it. That's normal. The goal isn't zero risk; it's a level you're comfortable with, in exchange for a shot at growth.

🎯

1 stock

Put it all in one company and have a bad year? You lose big. All eggs, one basket.

🧺

500 stocks

Spread the same money across hundreds of companies — one bad one barely moves the needle.

That's called diversification. It won't make you risk-free, but it protects you from one single disaster wiping you out.

Keep in mind: Just because something went up in the past doesn't guarantee it'll keep going up. "Markets grow over time" is a pattern, not a promise.

🧠 Quick Check

Why do investors spread their money across many different stocks instead of just one?

05MODULE

Compound growth

The “snowball effect” — why starting at 16 beats starting at 30, even with less money.

Simple vs. compound interest
The rule of 72
Time vs. amount invested
The cost of waiting

By the end: Calculate what a monthly habit becomes · 25 min

Not started

Beginner · 4 min read

Why Starting Early Is a Superpower

⚡ Quick Hits

🔁 Compounding = your money earns money, then that new money earns money too.
🕰️ Time matters more than the amount you start with.
🐢 Starting small and early usually beats starting big and late.

Compounding is one of the coolest ideas in investing. Invest $1,000 and it grows 8% in a year? You now have $1,080. Next year, that 8% applies to $1,080 — not just your original $1,000. You earn more without adding a single extra dollar.

🐣

Person A

Invests $200/mo starting at 16. Stops after 10 years. Money grows untouched for decades.

🧑

Person B

Waits until 26 to start. Invests $200/mo for 20 straight years — way more total money in.

Even though Person B put in way more money overall, Person A often ends up with more by retirement — just because their money had more years to grow on its own.

Big idea: Time matters more than the amount you start with. Starting small and early usually beats starting big and late.

🧠 Quick Check

Person A starts investing at 16, Person B waits until 26 — same monthly amount. Who usually ends up ahead by retirement?

06MODULE

Reading stock charts

Candles, trends, support and resistance, and what charts can (and can’t) tell you.

Line charts and candlesticks
Volume and trends
Support and resistance
Charts’ limits

By the end: Read a chart without getting fooled · 30 min

Not started

A bit trickier · 5 min read

How to Read a Stock Chart

⚡ Quick Hits

🕯️ Candlesticks show price movement for a day/hour/etc.
📊 Volume shows how many shares traded — bigger volume = stronger signal.
📈 Moving averages smooth out the noise to show the bigger trend.

A stock chart is just a picture of price over time — but a few details tell you way more than the line alone.

🕯️

Candlesticks

Each bar shows price movement for that period. Red/filled = ended lower. Green/hollow = ended higher.

📊

Volume

Bars at the bottom show shares traded. Big move + high volume = a lot of people were involved.

📈

Moving averages

A smoothed line averaging price over the last 50 or 200 days — shows the trend, not the noise.

Heads up: Charts show what already happened, not what will happen next. Helpful clue, not a fortune-telling tool.

🧠 Quick Check

A stock jumps in price on unusually high trading volume. What does that usually suggest?

07MODULE

Stocks vs. funds

Individual stocks, ETFs and index funds — pros, cons, and which fits a beginner.

What an ETF is
Index funds explained
Expense ratios
Stocks vs. funds trade-offs

By the end: Choose between stocks and funds with confidence · 25 min

Not started

Beginner · 4 min read

Stocks vs. ETFs — What's the Difference?

⚡ Quick Hits

🎯 Stock = one company. Exciting, but risky.
🎁 ETF = a variety pack of companies in one purchase. Low fees, easy diversification.
🧑‍💼 Mutual fund = similar to an ETF, but managed and priced once a day.

There are a few main ways to invest, and each solves a different problem.

🎯

Individual stocks

Shares in one company, like just Nike. Most exciting, also riskiest — tied to how that one company does.

🎁

ETFs

A variety pack — one purchase gives you a mix of lots of companies. Trades all day, usually low fees.

🏦

Mutual funds

Same mixed-basket idea, but priced once a day and often managed — can mean higher fees.

Common starting point: A lot of beginners start with a broad ETF for most of their money, then add individual stocks later once they're more comfortable researching companies.

🧠 Quick Check

What's the main advantage of an ETF over buying one individual stock?

08MODULE

Common mistakes

FOMO, panic selling, chasing hype and other traps — and how to avoid every one of them.

FOMO and hype
Panic selling
Overtrading
Ignoring fees and taxes

By the end: Spot a bad money move before you make it · 25 min

Not started

Beginner · 4 min read

7 Mistakes New Investors Make

⚡ Quick Hits

😱 Most beginner mistakes come from emotion, not bad math.
📝 A simple plan — even one sentence — fixes most of them.

Panic-selling. Selling out of fear when prices drop, locking in a loss.

Chasing hype. Buying whatever's trending without understanding the company.

Not diversifying. Putting everything into one stock or sector.

Ignoring fees. Not checking costs that quietly eat into returns.

Trying to "time" the market. Even pros can't reliably predict the perfect moment.

Investing money you need soon. Short-term savings shouldn't be at risk.

No plan. Buying/selling based on feelings instead of clear goals.

Big idea: Most of these come from emotion, not from being bad at math. Having a simple plan — even a one-sentence one — helps a ton.

🧠 Quick Check

Panic-selling right after prices drop is risky mainly because...

Finish line: Complete all 8 quizzes, then run the Virtual Trading Simulator for 30 days. You’re ready for Level 2.

Reference

Word Bank

Tap a word to see what it means.

A stretch of time where prices are generally going up and people feel optimistic.

A stretch of time where prices are generally falling and people feel pessimistic.

Some companies pay out a little bit of their profit directly to shareholders, usually every few months. That payment is a dividend.

The total value of a company, based on its share price times how many shares exist. Used to compare how "big" companies are.

A quick way to check if a stock seems expensive or cheap compared to how much profit the company actually makes.

How much and how fast a price jumps around. High volatility means big swings up and down.

How easily you can buy or sell something without messing up its price. Popular stocks are easy to trade — that's "high liquidity."

All the investments you own put together — stocks, ETFs, whatever else.

How you split your money between different types of investments, based on your goals and how much risk you're okay with.

Shares of a big, well-known, financially solid company with a long track record — think Coca-Cola or Microsoft.

Level 2 · Advanced

Finance 301: the 8 modules

For students who already know the basics. Each module is a recorded video plus a live Q&A session with our advisors.

Launching soonVideo + live calls

01MODULE

Valuation basics

P/E ratio, price-to-sales, and the big question: is a stock cheap, fair, or expensive?

Price vs. value
P/E, P/S and EV/EBITDA
Comparing companies in a sector
Why “cheap” isn’t always good

By the end: Value a company and explain your reasoning

60 min
Video + live

02MODULE

Reading financial statements

Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow — what each one says about a company’s health.

The income statement
The balance sheet
Cash flow statement
Spotting red flags

By the end: Read a 10-K summary without getting lost

75 min
Video + live

03MODULE

Earnings reports decoded

Revenue, EPS, guidance — and why a company can beat estimates and still drop 10%.

Revenue, EPS and margins
Guidance and expectations
Earnings-day price moves
Reading an earnings call

By the end: Predict how the market might react to results

60 min
Video + live

04MODULE

Interest rates, inflation & the economy

How central banks move markets, and how to read the macro headlines like a pro.

What central banks do
Inflation and rates
Bond yields and stocks
The economic cycle

By the end: Explain how a rate decision affects markets

60 min
Video + live

05MODULE

Fundamental vs. technical analysis

Two ways to look at a stock, how analysts combine them, and where each one fails.

Fundamentals: the business
Technicals: price and volume
Combining both
Confirmation bias

By the end: Run both analyses on one stock

60 min
Video + live

06MODULE

Building a portfolio

Asset allocation, rebalancing, correlation, and matching risk to your goals and timeline.

Asset allocation
Correlation and diversification
Rebalancing
Goals and time horizon

By the end: Design a sample portfolio and defend it

60 min
Video + live

07MODULE

Behavioral finance

Why smart people make dumb money decisions — biases, herd behaviour, and how to beat them.

Loss aversion
Herd behaviour
Overconfidence
Building a decision checklist

By the end: Create your own investing rules

45 min
Video + live

08MODULE

Capstone: write an investment thesis

Pick a company, research it, and defend your view to an advisor. Best theses can be published in our student articles.

Pick and research a company
Valuation and risks
Write the thesis
Present to an advisor

By the end: A finished thesis for your portfolio

3+ hrs
Video + live

Pick your pace

Week-by-week plans

Not sure how fast to go? Follow a plan, or make your own.

Finance 101 · 4-week plan

Week 1: Modules 1–2 — stocks and how the market works
Week 2: Modules 3–4 — buying, risk and diversification
Week 3: Modules 5–6 — compounding and charts
Week 4: Modules 7–8 — funds, mistakes, final simulator challenge

Finance 301 · 8-week plan

Weeks 1–2: Valuation and financial statements
Weeks 3–4: Earnings and the economy
Weeks 5–6: Analysis styles and portfolio building
Weeks 7–8: Behavioral finance and your capstone thesis

Who it’s for

Finance 101 is for anyone curious about money. Finance 301 is for students who finished Level 1 or already know the basics.

What you need

A phone or laptop, about 2–3 hours a week, and curiosity. No money, maths degree or prior knowledge needed.

How you’re graded

Quizzes, a simulator challenge, and (for Level 2) a written thesis reviewed by an advisor. It’s pass/fail — no stress.

Finish line

Earn your Finance Bro certificate

Complete a course and get a personalised certificate you can share with parents, teachers and on your college or internship applications.

Pass the quizzes

Score at least 70% on every module quiz. Retake as many times as you like.

Do the challenge

Finish the simulator challenge for your level. Level 2 students also submit their investment thesis.

Get certified

Your certificate is issued with your name, date and a unique ID. Share it anywhere.

How it works

Learn, practice, then prove it

Learn

Open the lesson or watch the module video. Each one is built to be finished in about 20 minutes.

Practice

Try the idea in a simulator with fake money. Make mistakes here, not with real savings.

Prove it

Take the quiz, then write about what you learned. The best student articles get featured on the site.

FAQ

Questions teens ask

No. Both courses are free and every simulator uses pretend money. You never need to invest real money to learn.

Not if you already know the basics (what a stock is, how an index works, why diversification matters). If you’re unsure, skim the Beginner modules — if they feel easy, jump to Advanced.

No. Finance Bro is for education only. We never tell you what to buy. If you want to invest real money and you’re under 18, talk to a parent or guardian about opening a custodial account.

Live Q&A sessions with Rudransh and our advisory board, where you can ask questions about the Advanced modules and get feedback on your investment thesis.

Yes. Finish all modules, pass the quizzes and complete the challenge to receive a personalised Finance Bro certificate for that course.

Beginner is about 4 hours in total and Advanced is about 8. Most students do one module a week.

Ready to start?

Begin with module 1 — it takes about 20 minutes and you’ll already understand more than most adults.

Start Module 1 Try a simulator

This is for learning only. Sample numbers below are made up to teach the format — not live market data or advice.

Market Analysis

Understand the market.

Every recap here is built to explain the "why," so you can eventually read real market news and get what it means.

Things to look for

Key indicators

Terms decoded

Weekly

Recaps

How to read this stuff

Three things to look for in any market update

What happened

Which parts of the market moved, and whether it was a big deal or just normal daily wobble.

Why it happened

The actual event — like a company's earnings or interest rate news — behind the move.

What to watch next

What investors are paying attention to going forward, without trying to predict the future.

Sample Weekly Recap · Just an Example

Weekly Market Recap — Sample

This is a sample recap that shows the style and structure of our real weekly updates. The numbers below are made up for teaching purposes — not live data.

⚡ Quick Hits

📈 Market ended the week up — inflation came in lower than expected.
💻 Tech lagged as money rotated toward other sectors before earnings.
👀 One week up or down rarely matters — the "why" is what's worth learning.

Snapshot

Index	This week	What it tracks
S&P 500	+1.4%	500 of the biggest U.S. companies
Dow Jones	+0.9%	30 big, well-known U.S. companies
Nasdaq	-0.3%	Mostly tech companies

What happened

Example scenario: The market ended the week higher after new inflation numbers came in a little lower than expected, which eased worries about interest rates going up further. Tech stocks lagged behind the rest of the market as investors shifted money toward other sectors ahead of upcoming earnings reports.

Why it matters

Inflation numbers matter because they influence what the Federal Reserve (the people who control interest rates) might do next. When inflation looks lower than expected, investors usually feel more relaxed about rates — which tends to be good news for stock prices, especially for companies that rely on borrowing money to grow.

Beginner takeaway: One week going up or down rarely changes the big picture. What's actually worth learning is why the market moved — not reacting to the move itself.

Sector snapshot (example)

Sector	This week	Why
Technology	-0.8%	Money shifted elsewhere before earnings
Financials	+2.1%	Benefited from rate-cut hopes
Energy	+1.0%	Followed oil prices up
Healthcare	+0.4%	Pretty steady, like usual

What to watch next

📢

Earnings reports

Big companies reporting soon can move individual stocks and the whole market.

🏛️

The Fed

Anything they say about interest rates gets watched closely.

💼

Economic data

Jobs reports and consumer spending numbers shape expectations.

Dashboard basics

The numbers analysts watch

You don’t need to memorise these. Just know what each one is telling you.

S&P 500

Big US firms

500 of the largest US companies. The most common “how is the market doing?” gauge.

Nasdaq

Tech heavy

Dominated by technology companies. Moves more sharply than the broader market.

VIX

Fear gauge

Rises when investors are nervous and falls when things feel calm.

10-yr Treasury yield

Interest rates

Shows what the government pays to borrow. Higher yields can pressure stock prices.

Oil

Energy costs

Affects what things cost for everyone, from fuel to flights, and so affects company profits.

Gold

Safe haven

Investors often buy gold when they’re worried about the economy.

Dollar index

US dollar

A stronger dollar can hurt US companies that sell a lot overseas.

Unemployment

Jobs health

Shows how healthy the economy is. Reported monthly and closely watched.

Level up

How to read an earnings report

Four times a year, companies report how they did. Here’s what analysts check first.

Revenue

Total money coming in from sales. Is it growing compared to last year?

EPS

Earnings per share: profit divided by number of shares. The headline number.

Guidance

What the company expects next. Often moves the stock more than the results themselves.

Expectations

Analysts forecast numbers in advance. Beating or missing them is what shifts the price.

Word bank for analysis

Terms you'll see in every recap

A quick way to describe investor mood. "Risk-on" days mean people are buying riskier stuff like growth stocks. "Risk-off" days mean people are moving toward safer stuff like cash.

When investors shift money from one type of stock (like tech) into another (like banks), usually because of a change in expectations about the economy.

The Federal Reserve sets a rate that affects how expensive it is to borrow money across the whole economy. Higher rates tend to cool stock prices down; lower rates (or expected cuts) tend to help them.

A recurring stretch (about four times a year) when most public companies share how much money they made, which can cause big stock price swings.

A number that tries to measure how nervous or calm investors are feeling. It usually goes up when there's uncertainty and down when things feel steady.

Ready to analyse like a pro?

The Finance 301 course teaches valuation, financial statements and how to build your own investment thesis.

See Finance 301

Just practice. These simulators use made-up companies and random numbers — not real stocks, real prices, or real money.

Interactive Simulators

Learn by doing.

Eight hands-on tools to practice the ideas from the courses — pick big companies to trade, watch money compound, test your risk mix, and make monthly decisions when the economy gets messy. No real money, no risk, just practice.

Simulators

$10,000

Starting cash

Real money at risk

∞

Tries

Before you start

What each simulator teaches

Trading

Pick from 30+ big companies and funds, then trade as prices move day by day.

Jump to it

Compound growth

Why time is the most powerful ingredient in investing.

Jump to it

Diversification

How owning many stocks reduces the chance of a nasty surprise.

Jump to it

Order types

The difference between market and limit orders, and when each one makes sense.

Jump to it

Invest now or drip

Lump sum vs. spreading it out in a random market.

Jump to it

Risk mix

Stocks, bonds and cash: see best and worst cases.

Jump to it

Fee eater

How a small yearly fee shrinks your future money.

Jump to it

Economy hot seat

A new economic problem each month. What do you do?

Jump to it

Simulator 1

Virtual Trading Simulator

You start with $10,000 in pretend cash. Choose up to 10 big companies and funds from a list of 30+ — Apple, Nike, Tesla, Coca-Cola and more — then buy and sell as time moves forward and random news hits. Can you beat the market?

Your Portfolio

Day 0 — prices move randomly each time you advance the day.

Fake money · Random prices

Cash

$10000.00

Total Value

$10000.00

Gain / Loss

$0.00 (0.0%)

vs. Market

—

Worst Drop

—

Diversification

—

Company	Price	Change	Shares	Trade

Your portfolioYour watchlist averaged (the "market")

Where your money is

Market news

Your trades

What to notice: Prices jump around every day, and news can move one stock a lot. Try spreading money across several companies — or a fund like SPY — and watch how your "Worst Drop" and "Diversification" stats change. Beating the white line (the market) is harder than it looks.

Simulator 2

Compound Growth Calculator

Drag the sliders to see how starting amount, monthly contributions, time, and return rate affect how much money you'd end up with.

Starting amount $1,000

Monthly contribution $100

Years invested 20 yrs

Average annual return 7%

What if you wait to start? No delay

Adjust for inflation (3%/yr)

Future Value

You Contributed

Growth Earned

Cost of Waiting

—

Total balance What you put in

What to notice: Try setting years to 10 vs. 40 with the same monthly amount. The gap between the gold line and the white line — that's compounding doing the work for you.

Simulator 3

Diversification Visualizer

Each dot below is one possible year of returns for a portfolio, simulated randomly. Change how many different stocks are in the portfolio and watch what happens to the spread of outcomes.

Number of stocks in portfolio 1

Average Return

Worst Simulated Year

Best Simulated Year

Chance of a Loss

Chance of -20% or Worse

Each dot = one simulated year (60 simulations run). Left of the dashed line = a loss that year, right = a gain.

What to notice: With just 1 stock, outcomes swing wildly — huge gains and huge losses are both common. Slide up to 15–20 stocks and watch the dots bunch closer to the average. That's diversification in action — it doesn't guarantee a better average, but it makes the ride a lot less bumpy.

Simulator 4

Market vs. Limit Order Practice

A random 10-day price path gets generated for a fake stock. Set a limit price, then run the simulation to see how a limit order compares to a market order.

Your limit price $47

A limit order only buys if the price drops to this level or lower.

Stock price Your limit price

What to notice: A market order always fills right away, but you don't control the price. A limit order gets you a price you're happy with — but only if the market actually gets there. Sometimes it never does.

Simulator 5

Invest Now or Drip It In?

You have $12,000 to invest. Do you put it all in today, or spread it out evenly over time? Run a random market and see which wins, then run it again and again.

Months to spread it over 12 months

How wild is the market? 18% a year

All in now

—

Drip it in

—

All in on day oneDripped in monthly (rest sits in cash)

What to notice: Over many runs, investing everything now usually wins because markets tend to rise. But dripping in feels safer when prices fall. Neither is always right, which is the point.

Simulator 6

Build Your Risk Mix

Split $10,000 between stocks, bonds and cash. We run 400 random futures and show the best, middle and worst cases so you can see how risk and reward trade off.

Stocks 60%

Bonds 30%

Cash (the rest) 10%

Years 10 yrs

Bad case (10%)

—

Middle case

—

Good case (10%)

—

Chance of a loss

—

Worst single year

—

Good caseMiddleBad case

What to notice: More stocks means a higher middle case but a much worse bad case. A teen with decades to wait can handle more swings than someone who needs the money in two years. Assumptions are simple and made up for teaching.

Simulator 7

The Fee Eater

A fee of 1% sounds tiny. See how much it takes from your future money compared with a cheap 0.05% fund, assuming the market returns 7% a year before fees.

Starting amount $2,000

Monthly contribution $150

Years invested 30 yrs

Yearly fee charged 1.00%

Low-cost fund (0.05%)

—

Your fund

—

Lost to fees

—

0.05% fundYour fund

What to notice: The longer you invest, the bigger the gap grows, because fees are charged on a growing pile. Always check a fund’s “expense ratio” before buying.

Final simulator

Economy Hot Seat

Run a portfolio for one year. Each month a random economic problem hits — inflation, a bank scare, a trade war — and you must decide what to do. Every choice shows what happened and what to learn. Can you beat a portfolio that never changes?

Month

1 / 12

Your portfolio

$10,000

Change

0.0%

Hands-off plan

$10,000

YouNever-change 50/30/10/10 plan

Where your money is

Your decisions

What to notice: There is no perfect answer. The point is to practice thinking through cause and effect. Events and market moves are random and simplified, so results here say nothing about real markets.

Challenge

Four challenges to try

Beat the bumps

Buy just one stock and advance 20 days. Reset, spread across all four, and compare how bumpy each ride felt.

The 40-year head start

In the growth calculator, compare starting at 16 vs. 30 with the same monthly amount. What changes?

Beat the hands-off plan

In Economy Hot Seat, try to finish a year ahead of the white dashed line. Then play again with a different strategy.

Patience test

Set a limit order 5 dollars below the price. Run the simulation five times. How often does it actually fill?

Pair it with the lessons

Each simulator matches a Beginner course module. Do the reading, then practice.

See the courses

Student opinions, not advice. Articles are written by students for learning and discussion — they are not financial advice.

Student Articles

Finance, written by students.

The best way to learn something is to explain it. Read what other teens are writing about money and markets — then write your own in Google Docs and get published.

Read articles How to submit

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Why I started investing at 16

By a student writer · 4 min read

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Submit your article in 3 steps

Write in Google Docs, share the link, and send it through our Google Form. No account needed on our site.

Write it in Google Docs

Write 300–800 words in your own voice. The template has an author box (full name), summary, sections, sources and a checklist.

Use our template

Share the link

Click Share in Google Docs, set access to “Anyone with the link” as Commenter, then copy the link.

Submit the form

Paste your Google Doc link into our Google Form with your full name and category. That’s it!

Open the submission form

Before you send it

Quick checklist

Do

Put your full name in the author box
Write in your own voice
Keep it 300–800 words
Use headings to break up long sections
Mention risks, not just upsides
Credit any data or sources you use
Check your doc link opens in a private window

Don’t

Tell people what to buy or sell
Promise or imply guaranteed returns
Share home address, phone or private details
Copy from other sites or AI without editing
Use hype or clickbait
Forget to turn on link sharing

Hook them

Open with a question, a surprising fact or a personal moment. Your first two sentences decide whether people keep reading.

Explain simply

If you can’t explain it to a friend, simplify it. Define any jargon the first time you use it and give a real example.

Show your thinking

Say why, not just what. Use numbers, simulator results or your own experience as evidence.

How publishing works

From draft to published in 4 steps

Submit

Share your Google Doc link through our Google Form.

Editor review

Our editorial team checks tone, clarity and rules.

Advisor fact-check

A finance professional checks the facts.

Published

Your article goes live with your name and a badge.

Typical turnaround: about 48 hours. We may suggest edits before publishing.

Questions about articles?

Not sure about a topic, your link, or where your submission is? Email Sanay, who looks after student articles.

Email sanaymehta2010@gmail.com

FAQ

Writer questions

Write it in Google Docs, set sharing to “Anyone with the link” (Commenter), then paste the link into our Google Form along with your full name and category.

Open the link in a private/incognito window. If you can’t view it there, we can’t either. Check that sharing is set to “Anyone with the link.”

No. Some of the best articles are written by beginners explaining what they just learned. Honest and clear beats fancy.

Yes, and we need it. Your full name is credited on your published article, so use the name you want to be known by. Never include your address, phone number or other private details. If you’re under 18, let a parent or guardian know first.

Not always. Articles that give stock tips, copy other work or contain mistakes may be returned with feedback so you can fix them and resubmit.

You do. You simply give Finance Bro permission to publish it. See our Terms of Use for details.

Absolutely. A published article is a great addition to a college or internship application.

Your voice belongs here

Open a Google Doc, write the first paragraph — the rest follows.

See how to submit

This is for learning only. Advisory board members help review content — they aren't giving you personal financial advice.

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Checked by real pros.

Finance Bro is written for beginners, but it's checked by people who actually work in the industry. Our advisory board reviews content for accuracy and helps make sure nothing here is misleading.

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Placeholder page: The profiles below are examples showing the format. Swap in real names, credentials, photos, and quotes once your advisors have confirmed their bios — see the checklist at the bottom before publishing.

The board

Meet the advisors

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What they do

How our advisors help

Review content

Advisors check lessons, courses and student articles so what you read is accurate and not misleading.

Host live calls

Join live Q&A sessions to ask real finance professionals how the industry works.

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Learn what jobs exist in finance — analyst, banker, planner, trader — and how to get there.

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If you or someone you know works in finance and wants to help beginners learn this stuff the right way, we'd love to talk.

Reach out

FAQ

About the advisory board

No. They help make sure our education is accurate and share their experience, but they never tell students what to buy or sell.

Yes — through our live Q&A calls. Questions about careers, how markets work and how professionals think are all welcome.

If you work in finance, economics or a related field and want to help teens learn, use the “Reach out” button above and tell us a bit about yourself.

This is for learning only. Nothing here is financial advice.

The Crew

The students behind Finance Bro

Seven students, one mission: make investing make sense for teens. Say hi, ask a question, or pitch us an idea.

Email the whole crew Meet everyone

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Rudransh Das

Founder

01 / 07

Crew members

Departments

100%

Student-run

Mission

Leadership

Founder & Operations

Rudransh Das

Founder

Rudransh started Finance Bro because nobody taught him how money works at school. He leads the vision, builds and runs the website, and writes many of the lessons. If you have an idea, a partnership or feedback on the site, start here.

VisionBuildLessons

Email Rudransh

Ananya Dubey

Chief of Operations

Ananya makes sure the whole team stays organised and on schedule. She plans launches and events, keeps every department talking to each other, and is the person to contact for team questions or collaborations.

PlanningEventsTeam

Email Ananya

Departments

Department heads

Sanay

Head of Research

Sanay is in charge of student articles. He reviews every submission, helps writers improve their drafts and decides what gets published. He also researches companies and topics so our content stays accurate. Questions about writing or submitting an article? Email him.

ArticlesSubmissionsResearch

Email Sanay

Kabir Suri

Head of Trading & Analytics

Kabir looks after trading and analytics. He designs the practice simulators, reads charts and market data, and turns them into short explanations a beginner can follow. Ask him about the simulators and how to read a chart.

ChartsSimulators

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Siddhant Mandon

Head of Finance & Strategy

Siddhant works on finance and strategy. He decides how Finance Bro grows, which courses and features come next, and how the project stays sustainable. Reach out for partnership ideas or suggestions on what we should teach.

StrategyGrowth

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Aarthav Bhatnagar

Head of Economic Research & Analysis

Aarthav leads economic research and analysis. He explains big ideas like inflation, interest rates and recessions, and links them to what is happening in the news so you can see why they matter to your own money.

EconomyPolicy

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Ayaan Dubey

Head of Content & Editorial

Ayaan is in charge of videos and explainers. He leads the team that makes our short video lessons and written explainers, and keeps them clear, accurate and easy to follow. Got an idea for a lesson video or an explainer? Email him.

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Article questions go to Sanay. Everything else goes to the founder and gets passed to the right person.

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Which course is right for you?

Finance 101

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Finance 101: the 8 modules

What is a stock?

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Price goes up when...

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How the market works

How the Stock Market Works

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S&P 500

Dow Jones

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Brokers & order types

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Two ways to place an order

Market order

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Watch out for fees

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Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

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500 stocks

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Why Starting Early Is a Superpower

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Person B

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How to Read a Stock Chart

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Stocks vs. ETFs — What's the Difference?

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7 Mistakes New Investors Make

Word Bank

Finance 301: the 8 modules

Valuation basics

Reading financial statements

Earnings reports decoded

Interest rates, inflation & the economy

Fundamental vs. technical analysis

Building a portfolio

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