In the 2020 edition of the Investment Challenge, thousands of high school learners and university students showed resilience and delivered outstanding performance. The teams battled for the top spots and broke new records even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic which saw schools and universities closing for the bulk of the academic year due to South Africa’s national lockdown restrictions.
“This year’s participants and winners can be proud of themselves. A big well done to them and the teachers, lectures, mentors and parents who supported them as they continued to excel despite experiencing disruptions and uncertainties brought on by the pandemic,” says Idris Seedat, Head of Transformation and CSI at the JSE.
The Investment Challenge is the JSE’s signature six-month-long flagship CSI initiative. The Challenge enables learners and students to understand the fundamentals of investing by trading JSE-listed shares on a virtual trading platform. Each school and university team is given a virtual amount of R1 million to invest on a simulated trading platform that mimics the live stock market, but without any real risks.
The winners of the schools’ game walk away with prizes to the value of R180,000, while the winners of the universities game win prizes valued at R60,000 and a trip to an international stock exchange.
In its 47 years of existence, the Challenge has seen participants privy to face-to-face time with mentors who guided and advised them as they sought out that first place prize. This was a winning model for participants in areas where internet access was hard to come by.
“The pandemic made it necessary for us to be agile,” says Seedat. “The impact of Covid-19 required us to be innovative and find ways to work with the participants and mentors on virtual platforms. Social media platforms which are easily accessible such as Facebook and WhatsApp enabled us to reach all of the learners and students.”
Seedat adds that because of this, this year’s winners should hold their heads high, as this victory is far bigger than simply coming first place.
High praise go to the learners from Mpumelelo Secondary School in Mpumalanga, who emerged victorious in the 2020 JSE Investment Challenge income portfolio category. "For the first time, we have had one school win all five prizes in one category,” says Seedat. “The success of Mpumelelo Secondary School shows that challenging circumstances and lack of resources should have no bearing on one’s destiny in life.”
Each winner gets a head start to build a secure financial future with a Satrix ETF investment, which enables them to grow their winnings through smart investment decisions.
“2020 has certainly not been an ordinary year the world over and to see the tenacity at which the participants played this year’s game, and their investment strategies during times of volatility gives us confidence that in these learners and students South Africa has exceptional future leaders and investors,” says Seedat.
Seedat says going into the future, there are great lessons and instruments to be mined from this year’s Challenge as we navigate the new normal.
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Catch the virtual awards ceremony highlights below:
