Educational material from 
What you will learn
- Write a simple explanation and distinguish it from an assumption.
- Record an allocation and an invented scenario.
- Review learning without confusing simulation with real trading.
Start with a question you can investigate
Choose a learning question, such as: how does the total change when the largest holding falls? You can investigate this with a table and explicit assumptions. Asking which company will rise most requires information that the paper exercise cannot provide.
Write down what a selected company sells and which facts you found about its activities. Mark what is a factual claim and what is your interpretation. Finansinspektionen emphasises checking sources and finding information directly from companies instead of following stock tips without scrutiny.
Record the starting position before calculating the result
Use a wholly fictional amount, such as SEK 10,000. Decide how much goes into two invented holdings and how much remains as unused virtual money. Write why you chose that allocation within the exercise.
Comparing different exercises requires the same starting conditions and period. State whether you used an invented price or an observed historical value. A historical price is not automatically a price at which you could trade now.
If the table does not fit, scroll it sideways.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Learning question | What do I want to understand? |
| Fact and source | What do I know, and where did it come from? |
| Assumption | What am I assuming in the scenario? |
| Starting allocation | Amount and percentage in each part |
| Result | Calculation in money and percent |
| Reflection | What would change my explanation? |
Try a scenario you can check yourself
Use a fictional allocation of SEK 4,000 in A, SEK 4,000 in B and SEK 2,000 of virtual money. Suppose A falls 20 percent while B rises 10 percent. A becomes SEK 3,200 and B becomes SEK 4,400.
The total is 3,200 + 4,400 + 2,000 = SEK 9,600. The change is −SEK 400, or −4 percent. Write the calculation first, then explain why you cannot simply add the individual holdings' percentages.
Change just one thing, such as the starting allocation. Recalculate using the same price changes. Altering one variable at a time makes it easier to understand why the answers differ. The invented changes are teaching assumptions, not forecasts.
Review the decision rather than only the final number
A good practice result can occur despite weak reasoning, and thoughtful reasoning can meet a bad scenario. Read the journal's starting question again: did the calculation answer it, and which assumptions mattered most?
Simulation does not practise every part of real trading. Actual trades can be affected by fees, taxes, available buying and selling prices, and execution timing. A paper exercise also does not give the same experience as risking real money.
Investiq describes a product experience with learning, virtual portfolios and challenges with friends. This activity works separately on paper. Read the product guide to see what is actually shown and use the school's 45-minute activity if you want to work in a group.
Try it yourself
Write two sentences about the scenario above: one describing its result and one describing an assumption affecting that result. What should they contain?
Show the solution and explanation
The result should state −SEK 400 or −4 percent. The assumption should state a given condition, such as A falling 20 percent while B rises 10 percent.
Separate the calculated result from the scenario you selected. You can also state that fees, taxes, dividends and new deposits are excluded. A different assumption can give a different result even with the same starting amount.
Check your understanding
Do you need an app account for the paper exercise?
No. Use paper, a calculator and the lesson's fictional amounts. The exercise involves no purchase or deposit.
Does a successful simulated portfolio prove real trades would give the same result?
No. A simulation uses assumptions and may leave out factors affecting real trading. A selected period also does not guarantee what happens in the next one.
Practise with virtual money
Try what you just learned in a practice portfolio with virtual money. You don't deposit any real money.
How the practice portfolio worksKeep learning and practising
More lessons on this topic
Start here: shares and portfolios
Sources and examples
The sources support the factual explanations. Calculations and exercises were created for this lesson. Amounts and price changes are invented unless stated otherwise.
This material is educational and does not recommend securities to buy. A simulated result does not guarantee a future result.
