The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has officially opened its 2019 Investment Challenge.
The challenge aims at attracting learners and students who are interested in the stock market and investment.
The challenge is in its 46th year and last year it attracted more than 22 000 learners and university students. Corporate social investment officer at the JSE, Ralph Speirs said the challenge helped the youth with financial literacy.
“This challenge is a great vehicle for financial literacy. There are plenty of valuable lessons on investment that young bright minds take away from participating in a challenge of this nature,” said Speirs.
The JSE Investment Challenge runs from March to September each year. The challenge takes the form of a simulator where each team of four learners or students from the same school or institution are given an imaginary sum of R1 million. With this imaginary amount, the teams trade on the stock market and invest in actual JSE listed shares over a six-month period. What they learn in this time has great potential to positively impact the South African economy in the future.
Participation is open to school learners between grades 8 and 12 as well as students from higher learning institutions. The various teams compete with other teams from schools and institutions countrywide. There are plenty of prizes to be won monthly. There are also annual prizes for top performing teams, schools, teachers and mentors. The team that wins the JSE Investment Challenge receives a cash deposit into an investment account for each of the team members and the top performing university team is awarded a trip to an international stock exchange.
“We are calling on schools, teachers, and students, to heed the call to register and acquire this knowledge and these skills this year. The long-term ramifications of what they learn will impact positively on their lives in the future,” said Speirs.
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