Warwick Academy students have moved into second place in the KPMG Investment Challenge.

The competition, contested by 16 teams from seven schools across the island, involves students being given a virtual $100,000 portfolio to manage. They select stocks to invest in and adjust their portfolio when necessary. The six-month challenge started in November.

The Warwick Academy team, the Warwick Wolfpack, have moved up one spot from third to second.

At the end of February, the number one spot was retained by Berkeley Institute’s Twin Tech Bulls team, with a portfolio value of $118,874, a return of 18.87 per cent on their starting amount, while Warwick Wolfpack’s portfolio is worth $110,635, an increase of 10.63 per cent since the start of the contest.

The Warwick Academy students who make up the Wolfpack team said that being strategic has moved them into second place.

“We waited until the loss [on out stocks] was not as big and got rid of them. We invest little bits and when they reach their top we sell a little bit at a time,” said Nathan Cabral, student team leader.

The students said they have learnt a lot about stocks, and most find it interesting and useful.

“I am interested because it’s a big part of what we do and by seeing it helps us understand it more,” said Katrina McPhee.

Georgia Roberts said she did not know anything about stocks before becoming involved in this challenge.

When The Royal Gazette asked the students how they decided what to invest in, Trinity Wilson said: “We thought about things that are coming up within different companies. We chose Disney because with all the movies coming up, such as The Incredibles 2 and Black Panther, which made a lot of money and had great success; so we thought Disney would be a great investment.”

Gianna Webbe said she has learnt you should follow your gut when investing.

Not all the students shared the same enthusiasm about the KPMG Challenge, Shane White said he didn’t find it interesting, but admits that it is a good skill to have and will consider investing in the future.

Teacher Sara Jackson said: “I have done this challenge for 13 years and over that time period we won about $50,000 for the school. I personally think it’s a good corporate activity for the schools for KPMG to do. It’s a way they can give money to the schools and also get students interested in a career in finance and trading. I think we can apply the theory of what I’m teaching them in the classroom to reality.”