The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Investment Challenge is an initiative of the JSE that provides high school learners and university students across South Africa with the opportunity to develop their trading skills through trading virtual money on the JSE.

This nationwide competition challenges students to make investment decisions that maximise portfolio growth over six months. The University Challenge has two sub-challenges: the Exchange-Traded Funds/Exchange-Traded Notes (ETF/ETN) Portfolio and the Speculator Portfolio. The University ETF/ETN Portfolio challenge allows students to invest in any ETFs or ETNs, starting with R500 000 virtual cash.

Despite being notoriously the more difficult of the two, UWC placed first and third in this challenge for 2026. In first place were Wame Djiane (BCom General) and Precious Mathapelo Horoto (BCom Fin Acc), trading under the name Phoenix Force, taking home R30 000. In third place were Zainab Khan (BCom General) and Ryan Van Niekerk (BCom General), trading under the name Zarya Investments. The students won R10 000.

The Speculator Portfolio challenge challenges students to build a portfolio by trading shares or warrants on the JSE, aiming to achieve the highest portfolio growth. UWC students Thabiso Molefe (BCom General), Jesse Groenewald (BCom General), and Kayla Paulsen (BSc Medical Bioscience) claimed second place in the speculator portfolio challenge, citing the key to their success as ensuring their investment decisions reflected the ever-changing geopolitical and local macroeconomic environment. Their win awarded them R20 000.

The majority of these students are members of the Young Investors Programme (YIP), an on-campus student club and society that aims to bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge obtained in lectures and the practical aspect required by the investment industry.

“The excellent performance of our students in the JSE Challenge highlights the value of supplementing academic learning with extracurricular opportunities such as YIP. We are incredibly proud of our students for their achievements and for demonstrating the value of initiative, teamwork and a commitment to continuous learning even outside of the lecture room,” said Dr Fikile Dube, who represented UWC’s Department of Finance, in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, at the event. “The consistent performance of our students in recent years is worth celebrating”, said the Head of Department of Finance, Professor Obalade.

Third place ETN/ETF Portfolio Challenge: Zainab Khan (BCom General, Finance Major) and Ryan Van Niekerk (BCom General, Finance Major). Image: Supplied

First place ETN/ETF Portfolio Challenge: Wame Djiane (BCom General, Finance Major) and Precious Mathapelo Horoto (BCom Fin Acc). Image: Supplied

Second place Speculator Challenge: Thabiso Molefe (BCom General, Finance Major), Jesse Groenewald (BCom General, Finance Major), and Kayla Paulsen (BSc Medical Bioscience). Image: Supplied