Enter your teenager into the JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge and you may just give them the skills to make you rich, or if you are a studying yourself, you can enter the investment challenge and find out if finance really is your game.
The JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge provides an opportunity to learn about investments through managing a virtual portfolio of a R1-million. It’s an ongoing annual competition, which has been running for 35 years, and is aimed at educating learners and students on the fundamentals of investment, encouraging them to research and strategise on issues surrounding the trading of JSE-listed shares and other financial instruments.
You don’t have to have real money to enter. It is a simulated trading programme that provides a real-life environment for testing one’s share trading skills against other entrants, with performance being tracked over six months. Because it is simulated, no one can actually lose real money; that also means you don’t make real money either, but the competition pays out R240 000 worth of prizes plus an all-expenses paid overseas trip.
How it works
Entrants have a choice of selecting one or more risk portfolios that they wish to take part in for the competition. The portfolio options are income (low risk), equity growth (moderate risk) and speculator (high risk). Teams choose the portfolio according to their level of experience and risk aversity. High-risk shares and other financial instruments can result in high returns over a short period of time but at the same time have a higher probability of the share price suddenly dropping. It is therefore recommended that learners in grade eight and grade nine participate in the income portfolio game, as this is more suited to beginners.
Prizes
Throughout the Investment Challenge, the team with the best performance for the month in each portfolio will win R500 per team member. A further R500 will be awarded to their school as well as another R500 for their teacher or mentor. At the end of the competition, five prizes amounting to R60 000 per portfolio will be awarded to the overall winners of the Income, equity growth and speculator portfolios.
How to sign up
The JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge runs from March to September and is open to all grade eight to 12 learners from any South African high school and students from universities and independent colleges. All school entrants must be in teams of four and have to be supervised by a teacher or mentor selected by the school. Investment Challenge coordinators at the JSE will also provide assistance on a daily basis. Grade 12 learners will need permission of their principal to enter. University teams must consist of a minimum of two members and a maximum of four.
Registration forms can be obtained from the JSE/Liberty Investment Challenge website http://schools.jse.co.za or http://university.jse.co.za also from the Investment Challenge coordinators on 011-520 7116/ 7344/ 7168. Each team will be required to pay a registration fee of R120 per team, per portfolio entered for the school and R150 per team for the universities. The JSE week will also be held the entire month of March at various malls should learners/students require additional information.
JSE week
Soweto, Maponya Mall: March 4-7
Sandton, Sandton City: March 11-14
Cape Town, Canal Walk: March 18-21
Durban, Gateway: March 25-28