Young financial wizards win Sagicor-Jamaica Stock Exchange online trading game

After earning a combined value of J$455,000 in stimulated trades, three tertiary students were awarded as the top winners of the Sagicor Investments-Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Online Training Game last Wednesday.

On March 6, the young financial wizards were each given a virtual portfolio of J$200,000 to invest on the Web-based platform, which allowed them to buy and sell stocks on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Participants were given the opportunity to gain first-hand insight into Jamaica's dynamic stock market in hopes that they would garner a fundamental understanding of the trading industry.

The game, which ended on April 21, was open to students from four participating institutions - the University of the West Indies (UWI), University of Technology, Northern Caribbean University and the Montego Bay Community College. First, second and third places were awarded to Romario Sterling, UWI; Ariel Higgins, UTech; and Oshane Panton, UWI. For their efforts, the young financial enthusiasts were awarded J$75,000, J$60,000 and J$40,000, respectively, along with an internship at Sagicor. The top-three participants from each institution also won J$20,000 each.

REAL-WORLD PRACTICES

Each student was given access to the JSE and Listed Companies' websites, annual reports and other pertinent company-related documents. Trading for the game was carried out on Mondays to Fridays between 1:15 p.m. and midnight. As the game was intended to mimic real-world practices, the amount available to trade each day was limited by the volume traded in the daily market as dependent on the select stock.

... Game shows stock market as wealth creation tool

Brenda Lee Martin, vice-president, asset management at Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited, shared that the main thrust of the game was to encourage students to take a keener interest in stock trading, while demonstrating the power of the stock market as a viable wealth-creation tool.

"To successfully participate in the competition, students were required to observe market trends, study companies and use market analysis to guide their trades. Over the seven-week period, they were able to demonstrate this with impressive results. Congratulations to our top performers and to all who participated in the competition. "

For Romario Sterling, the Sagicor Investments-JSE Investments Online Trading Game champion, the game made him more aware about the trading industry. He stated, "The online trading competition made me more literate about the local securities market. It gave me insight into how the market works by providing a platform that gave me real and practical experience." He added, "It's a really good initiative by Sagicor to encourage financial literacy and knowledge about the market among the future generation of productive citizens."