Winning on the stock market is all about teamwork, say youngsters testing their trading skills

A team of four pupils from Lebone College of the Royal Bafokeng in North West credit their pole position for May in the ETF/ETN category of the JSE Investment Challenge to team work.

Nasif Samaria, Ofentse Moremi, Sonan Yisehak and Emmanuel Alexander are all Grade 12 learners keen to win the challenge as an achievement but also as a validation of the skills and knowledge they have acquired along the way. They won the ETF/ETN category with growth of 3.89%, which is the highest return in this category since the competition started in March.

Proud teacher Aleck Musiiwa said the college had entered 10 teams this year. “The hands-on experience with the JSE platform has been enlightening, giving them a real-world understanding of stock trading, market analysis and investment strategies.”

The four plan to put the practice into action by transitioning to investing real money on the JSE. Yisehak has already ventured into cryptocurrency, motivating them to explore diverse investment avenues.

The fields of study they are interested in pursuing next year point to a strong interest in science and mathematics, with computer science, data science and statistics, actuarial science and accounting on the cards.

UP Capital from the University of Pretoria technically has four members but is really a one-man show.

First-year student Brett Thomson took part in the Challenge as a student at Maritzburg College. “I wanted to participate on my own because I am confident in my ability and wanted to test myself. To meet the entry requirements, my brother and two friends agreed to join the team in name only, but they are not involved,” he said unabashedly.

Thomson is studying towards a BCom Investment Management degree, and said his previous experience taught him the importance of not trying to time the market, but rather focusing on time in the market.

The team from Lebone College of the Royal Bafokeng in North West: Nasif Samaria, Ofentse Moremi, Sonan Yisehak and Emmanuel Alexander. (Photos: Supplied)

The winners for May were:

• The RM Incredible Four team of Pace Commercial School in Gauteng won the income category, with an income of R4,178.87.


• Penny Slice from Paul Roos Gymnasium in the Western Cape won the equity category for the second month with 1.47% growth.


• NL Pandas from Headstart High in the Free State took the speculator portfolio with 4.46% growth.


• The Honoured Ones from Lebone College of the Royal Bafokeng in North West were in top position in the ETF/ETN category with growth of 3.89%.


• Berkway Hathashire from the University of Cape Town won the university speculator category with growth of 9.21%.


• UP Capital from the University of Pretoria was the winner of the university ETF/ETN category with growth of 5.86%.

The JSE Investment Challenge is a youth CSI programme that aims to teach South African learners and students about investing on the JSE. They test their share trading skills using a simulated “ghost trading” programme. Each team of four is given a virtual R1-million to invest in JSE-listed shares. DM

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