JSE celebrate young investors
SANDTON - The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) held a luxurious lunch and prize giving at its headquarters in Sandton for the teams of high school pupils and university students who competed in the 2014 JSE Investment Challenge.
Founder and manager of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Investment Challenge, Idris Seedat said more than 250 schools took part in the challenge. “The teams are all given virtual funds of R1 000 000 to trade on any listed company on the JSE, and their aim is to grow that initial amount while learning about the skills required in trading stocks,” he said.
“The challenge hopes to increase financial literacy and knowledge of investment tools in South Africa. For us it is incredibly satisfying to see financial literacy being taken so seriously. The high level of participation shows that the annual competition for school learners and university students is making an impact and changing the financial landscape of South Africa.”
A pupil of Queensberg High School, Helen Jordaan said, “This challenge has really opened my eyes, and taught me some amazing skills in dealing in the stock market.”
Seedat said the winning teams generated exceptional investment returns. “Although the participants in the Investment Challenge trade in a risk-free environment because they hold virtual portfolios, the competition still requires them to weigh different investment options against each other and to manage their portfolios to maximize returns,” he said.
In the Equity category, the Neverest team of Hoërskool DF Malan, Durbanville took first place with members Luke Nel, Tonia Schoeman, Henro Spangenberg and Rouxle Schmeisser growing their portfolio by 62 percent.
The Dream Team 2 of Reddam House Atlantic Seaboard, Cape Town, claimed first place in the Income Portfolio category. The team consisted of Hannah May Wiltshire and Shannon Boyd. This team added income of just over R35 000 to their portfolio.
In the Speculator Portfolio the winning team was Super Traders 2.0 of Maritzburg College with team members Mohamed Ebrahim Asmall, Muhammad Riyadh Aziz, Dylan Grubb and Ryan Hodgeson. This team grew their portfolio by 26 percent.
In the University Challenge, the winning team in the University Speculator portfolio was team 311 SWB consisting of Brian Masondo and Wesley Bohata of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Masondo and Bohata grew their portfolio by 40 percent and walked away with R25 000.
