Three teams of Harker students — the most of any school — have reached the top 20 in the 2013-14 DECA Stock Market Game.

In the game, students create and manage a virtual investment portfolio. “They started out on Sept. 3 with just $100,000. With diligent and thorough research, attending our Investment Management Seminar Series presentations, and some healthy risk taking, these teams earned over $99,000 put together within three months!” said Juston Glass, director of Harker’s business and entrepreneurship department. “That’s impressive, and yes, they are now taking offers for investment advice.”

The team of Alex Tuharsky, grade 11, Aditya Batra, grade 12, and Pranav Batra, also grade 12, are currently the top team from Harker, boasting returns 29.25 percent above the S&P 500 and ranking fourth in the Western region and 10th internationally. Meanwhile, junior Andrew Zhang is ranked fifth in the region and 16th internationally with a return of 21.92 percent over the S&P 500, and the team of David Lin and Ashwath Thirumalai, both grade 11, are following close behind, showing a 21.74 percent return and ranking sixth in the region and 17th overall.

These stellar rankings qualify the students for the championship round at the DECA International Conference in Atlanta in May, where they will compete with the top 25 teams from each of the four regions. Each team’s portfolios, research methods and investment strategies will be presented and evaluated to see who will be named the DECA Stock Market Game champion.