Thousands of school and college students across the UK will invest a fantasy £100,000 in the stock market over a four month period when the online trading competition starts later this month.
The ifs Student Investor equips thousands of young people with the knowledge and capability to manage their own finances, both now and in the future, by providing a practical insight into stock markets, savings and investments.
The competition has proved more popular than at anytime in its fourteen year history with more than 30,000 teenagers expected to take part when the competition starts on Monday 24 November.
Anne Kiem, Dean of Further Education at the ifs School of Finance said, "The current financial climate has perhaps understandably led to some reluctance among the general public to invest in shares. It is therefore very encouraging that so many young people are keen to learn about what investing in shares actually means in practice. Furthermore, they are doing so in a risk free but otherwise realistic environment.
We already have substantially more students registered than at the same stage last year so can be confident that we will exceed 30,000 when registration closes on November 24."
When the investment element of the competition closes in February 2009, 80 of the best performing teams i.e. those who achieve the greatest investment growth, will then participate in regional finals in Bristol, Birmingham, London and Gateshead. These regional finals take the form of a business & finance quiz.
The winners and runners up from these four regional finals then progress to a national final where they will compete for an all expenses paid trip to New York and a £2,000 cash prize for their school or college.
Schools and colleges can register teams for the ifs Student Investor by visiting: www.studentinvestor.org before November 24 2008.
