Two UCT students have won the “speculator portfolio for universities” category in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Investment Challenge, for March and April.
The Investment Challenge is a game that aims to teach pupils and students about investing on the JSE and the larger role that such investment plays in the country’s economy.
Using a virtual trading account of R1 million, participants learn about the fundamentals of investment strategy.
Megan Greggor and Shreya Gopaulsingh of team “Queen of Mechanics” are both second-year mechanical and mechatronics engineering students.
Shreya has been participating in the JSE Investment Challenge for schools since she was in Grade 8.
“When I got to university, I decided to enter the JSE university’s challenge. It was initially my father that inspired me to get involved in trading, as he was also associated with the JSE, and now my older brother is also a mentor with the JSE, so I was surrounded by positive influences towards trading.”
For Megan, who likes solving real-life problems, it was Shreya who introduced her to the stock market and persuaded her to sign up for the competition.
On the win, she said: “It is really exciting, I didn’t expect to be the first monthly winner, let alone the second one as well. This is my first time entering in this competition, so I was quite surprised but very happy.”
This feeling is shared by Shreya, who said: “It is spectacular. We have been a little lucky, but, overall, our strategies worked well, and this is what makes the team happy. We were not able to dedicate a lot of time to the challenge due to our studies, but we were pleased to know that our trading decisions were strong enough to carry us through.”
The Investment Challenge ends on Friday September 23. The winners of the monthly challenges receive R3 000, while the annual winners will receive R25 000 as well as a trip to an international stock exchange.
