A new stock trading web site, theupdown.com, has started. There are already a ton of places where individuals can go to try their hand at the stock market or to test out investment strategies. So what makes theupdown.com different?

Theupdown.com is unique in that individuals are not simply trying to make as much money as possible, but trying to consistently out pace the S&P 500. This is extraordinarily difficult and by some theories impossible to do over an extended period of time.

What the creators hope to do is that they will be able to aggregate the collective wisdom of the individuals participating. Based on the investment decisions of thousands of users the company will make real investment decisions in a newly created hedge fund. Whether this will actually work, it is a new and interesting twist on fantasy stock market trades.

Since I started a portfolio a few days a go I have been moderately successful. The trick is to keep topping the S&P over time.