A team of Sixth Form students from Bournemouth & Poole College have succeeded in winning a place in the semi-finals of the Student Investor Challenge, organised by the London Institute of Banking & Finance.
Students Gabriel Baraldi, Thomas Davies, Aidan Barker and Enya Kendall, under the team name ‘LIQDAS’, took part in the Student Investor Challenge, an online investment simulation for students ages 14 to 19 years old. The competition challenges teams of students to invest virtual money on the London Stock Exchange and trade stocks and shares to make a profit.
Our students beat over 9,000 teams, from schools across the UK and abroad, to come 62nd after their first round of trading. Only the top 500 teams qualified for the semi-finals.
LIQDAS said: “This competition has given us a deeper insight into the world of business, and helped to improve our abilities to think on our feet.”
In the semi-finals, LIQDAS will battle it out to become one of the 8 teams to go through to the grand-final in London. The winning team of the Student Investor Challenge will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York, including a trip to the New York Stock Exchange, hosted by Asset TV.
Catherine Winter, Managing Director of Financial Capability at The London Institute of Banking & Finance, says: “This competition is a powerful way of engaging young people with how the finance sector works and relating it to everyday life. The movement of stocks and shares, currency fluctuations and central bank activities can feel quite remote and difficult to get to grips with. By bringing it to life through a trading game, young people have proved they can grasp how economies work and the basics of investment. So, congratulations to the semi-finalists for making the top 500, it’s a great achievement!”
The Student Investor Challenge aims to increase students understanding of how stock markets work and hone their investment skills by investing virtual money on the London Stock Exchange, as well as improving financial capability and encouraging engagement with the finance sector. Through taking part in the competition, our students have gained a positive and practical experience of what it’s like to invest in the real-life stock market, alongside improving team-work skills and strengthening their maths knowledge.
