WATERFALL College has taken the initiative to invest in their students by enabling them to take part in the National JSE Investment Challenge 2022 in the Speculator Portfolio. The challenge attracted over 24 000 participants this year and aims to teach high school learners about the world of investing by enabling them to manage simulated trades in real-time.

Learners from Waterfall College outdid themselves as they were the only school in the province to make it to the finals. Everest Investments, made up of James Harris, Alex Kaiser, Zibusiso Bulose and Luyanda Makhoba, all in Grade Nine, came second in the Speculator Portfolio. MTLB Investments, made up of Michaela von Maltitz, Tyler-Le Hawkins, Londani Tshuma and Bubele Bulose, all in Grade Eight, came fourth.

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Explaining the process of the competition, the school’s marketing and communications officer, Hayley Dennyson, said, “Teams were instructed to select the ‘risk’ portfolio that they wish to take part in. The options are income (low risk), Equity Risk (moderate risk), and Speculator (high risk).
“These different portfolios allow participants to select their appropriate wealth management strategies, testing their investment skills against peers who follow a similar strategy. Teams may choose to participate in any of the three portfolios. The Speculator portfolio is, however, limited to those schools with access to the internet,” she said.

Waterfall College took part in the Speculator category, where the starting portfolio consists of R1m in cash and no more than 10% of the portfolio may be held in any one share.
Dennyson explained the judgement criteria in the portfolio that the school chose. “The difference between the value of the portfolio at the end of the game and the value of the portfolio at the beginning of the game will be measured as a percentage of the value of the portfolio at the beginning of the game. The portfolio with the highest growth wins.

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Prize money will be deposited into a Satrix Investment account. Satrix securities are Exchange-Traded Funds, listed on the JSE, and registered with the Financial Services Board as a Collective Investment Scheme. They provide perfect tracking, both capital and yield, of the main FTSE/JSE indices. Index tracking products, such as Satrix, provide the most effective and lowest-cost option to gain exposure to the performance of the equity market as a whole.

Expressing their excitement, Grade Eight learner Londani Tshuma said, “The fact that I was in the JSE, the centre of South Africa’s economy, and the biggest stock exchange market in Africa, was mind-blowing. I was also very proud of myself and my team, being the youngest there among Grade 11s and 12s, and coming fourth in the hardest section of the competition. I look forward to achieving more in the years to come as I am definitely coming back to improve my trading skills.”