About the Student Investor Challenge
The UK’s education-first investment competition for students, with a top prize of a trip to New York. Teams of four learn how real markets move by running two virtual portfolios across three rounds.
What the challenge involves
The Student Investor Challenge is built for teams of four students and runs over three rounds. It is open to teams anywhere in the world, but teams from schools outside the UK take part in round one only and compete for the International Online Trader of the Year prize. Teachers are welcome to enter and take on their own students in the first round — though they are not eligible for the prizes.
Round one — two portfolios, real prices
In the opening round, every team invests virtual money in shares and other instruments across two separate portfolios:
- Active Investor — trade every day and react to the market as it moves.
- Strategic Investor — a limited number of trades each month, rewarding patience and long-term thinking.
Each portfolio starts with a virtual £100,000. Teams are strongly advised to keep that cash invested: hold more than £15,000 in cash in either portfolio and a daily Windfall Tax of £1,000 applies — just as an idle real-world fund leaves returns on the table. Teams that start trading late have their opening balance index-linked to the FTSE 100 so everyone has a fair shot.
Semi-finals — predict the market
Five hundred UK teams reach a four-week online semi-final. The semi-finalists are selected in stages: first the top 250 teams on combined portfolio performance; then, from the rest, the top 100 on Active Investor alone; then the top 100 on Strategic Investor alone; and finally the 50 best teams by January gain on their Active Investor portfolio — a route in for late-chargers.
Each week, teams predict the Friday closing price of selected assets. Points are awarded for how accurately the price is called and how long the prediction is held. A team’s final score is the sum of their best three weeks out of four, so a single weak week is discounted.
The final — eight teams, one trip to New York
The eight strongest teams from the semi-finals are invited to a live national final, where they take on a set of business challenges. The winning team walks away with the trip to New York.
How teams register
Teachers register their teams using their seven-digit Teacher Reference Number (TRN), supplied by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Registration opens ahead of round one; each team needs four students and a teacher to sign them up.
1 · Register
A teacher signs up a team of four with their TRN before round one opens.
2 · Trade
Run the Active and Strategic portfolios on live London prices through round one.
3 · Compete
Climb the league into the semi-finals, then the live national final.