JSE Investment Challenge — persistence pays off for June winners

The University of Pretoria’s UP Capital took top spot in the university ETF/ETN category for the second month in a row. A first-year BCom investment management student, Brett Thomson, took part in the challenge previously as a scholar at Maritzburg College, and although he has entered with a “team”, is really participating by himself.

Lady Luck from the University of Cape Town (UCT) won the university speculator category for the second term, having already won in April. Team member Shreya Gopalsingh, a mechanical and mechatronics engineering student, had entered the challenge at high school and university level, while Thomson had entered at high school level. Clearly, these students are taking the investment challenge seriously and applying knowledge and lessons gained over the years.

In the high school speculator category, the Stockshockers from Herzlia High School in Cape Town said they have learnt the value of taking heed of other people’s knowledge and being patient. “The first and most important lesson I have learnt from this experience is that I must not count my chickens before they hatch. There were a few times where I really believed we could win in other months, but I eventually realised, you can’t predict short-term outcomes. I learnt this the hard way,” said Grade 11 pupil Joel Shamley.

When it came to trusting the judgement of others, his teammate, Michael Maher, said critical thinking was key when competing in the challenge. “Thorough research was needed in order to make informed choices. I also learnt to trust people, despite disagreeing. Within this challenge, I had to learn to trust people, and allow them to do what they thought was right, especially those with more knowledge than me,” he noted.

The two other members of the Stockshockers are Daniel Geva and Aryeh Robins Kallman. Kallman said the challenge has given him a better understanding of how the stock markets really work and the extent to which share prices fluctuate, and he learnt that it is hard to predict which investment will be successful in the short term.

Two of the stocks they singled out as good buys were Capitec and Nampak. On Nampak, Shamley pointed out that the share price increased 93% in the past month. “It’s been a great turnaround by the CEO Phil Roux who has exceeded the highest expectations. It still seems relatively cheap if they can deliver similar results in the second half,” he observed.

Maher said Capitec’s stock was currently at an all-time high, the company showed consistent growth and “it seems as if they will continue to grow throughout the second half of the year”. Capitec’s share price has climbed 38% since January, closing at R2,766.44 yesterday (Tuesday). Nampak’s share price rocketed by an astonishing 93% over the same period to close at R364.84 yesterday.

The winners for June were: 

• The Wall Street Wizards of Kingfisher Private School in Limpopo won the income category, with an income of R21,653,72;


• Trading Titans from Parktown Boys’ High School in Gauteng won the equity category for the second month running with 7.80% growth;


• The Stockshockers from Herzlia High School took the speculator portfolio with 8.94% growth;


• Susie Taylor King-ACCP from Acudeo College Crystal Park, Gauteng were in top position in the ETF/ETN category with growth of 5.91%;


• Lady Luck from UCT won the university speculator category with growth of 13.07%; and


• UP Capital from Pretoria University was the winner of the university ETF/ETN category with growth of 6.19%.