Giving the youth an opportunity to learn and to pass what they have experienced onto their acquaintances
Johannesburg, 29 September 2015 – The JSE believes in the boundless potential that the youth have. This potential has been the driving force behind making financial literacy a staple for the youth by establishing a game that rewards them for their ability to learn.
The JSE Investment Challenge aims to make an impact in changing the financial landscape of South Africa by giving the youth a real time opportunity to turn a learning experience into a knowledgeable investment tool. By doing this, the challenge hopes to increase more financial confidence and seriousness amongst the youth of today.
“We give them the tools to collaborate, brainstorm, problem solve, and to reflect. It is through this challenge when they will get a chance to delve into the process of finding solutions to difficult or complex financial issues and situations.” – says Ralph Spiers who is a CSI Officer Marketing and Corporate Affairs at the JSE.
Many people are uninformed about the financial industry, investments and the dynamics of the JSE. This challenge more so encourages, and teaches the world through the youth – about the JSE and the financial industry at large. This may involve the process of buying shares, investing in the stock exchange, investment options available and so forth.
“It is important that we empower the youth, they are change agents and we believe they will further what they have experienced to their acquaintances – that is the earning we are talking about” – adds Ralph Spiers.
Here are the August winners:
- Income Portfolio – representing Greenpoint Secondary School in Eastern Cape, is the Fantastic Four@GP. The team includes Bambanani Menziwa, Phikolomzi Gqubela, Sandisiwe Seti and Tarryn Gaehler.
- Equity Portfolio – Maritzburg College’s Alliance Traders won this month. The team comprises of Muhammad Essa, Muhammed Ashraf Jooma, Muhammed Husain Kassim and Zafar Moosa.
- And, for the Speculator Portfolio – Representing Kearsney College in KwaZulu Natal is the CM TRADERS. The team includes Matthew du Toit, Calvin Engelen, Ntinga Tshabalala and Brenden Albertse.
The competition is for high school learners and tertiary students. Participants compete in teams of four members which each allocated an imaginary sum of R1 million they can use to trade JSE-listed shares. This virtual arena allows young people to put their heads together and trade in a risk-free environment. The Challenge has three different categories with differing risks associated with each of them. Teams can choose to compete in the Speculator portfolio (high risk), Equity Growth portfolio (moderate risk) or Income portfolio (low risk). These different games allow participants to select their appropriate wealth management strategy, testing their investment skills against peers.
This year’s competition has five top prizes for the annual winners valued at R60 000 per portfolio in the schools Challenge and another R60 000 in the university Challenge. The competition ends on the 30th September after which auditing will take place and the winners announced at the award ceremony held at the JSE in October 2014.
ABOUT JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is based in South Africa where it has operated as a market place for the trading of financial products for 125 years. It connects buyers and sellers in equity, derivative and debt markets. The JSE is one of the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation and is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). The JSE offers a fully electronic, efficient, secure market with world class regulation, trading and clearing systems, settlement assurance and risk management.
For further information, please visit www.jse.co.za
