23. september 2019
Starting in October, LHV will once again be organising Estonia’s most popular stock game – Stock Shark. The annual game is once again taking place in a familiar format, i.e. over a period of four weeks participants will be able to trade shares on a virtual account, with the goal being to grow the value of their portfolio so that it exceeds those of others.
Participation is free and people of all ages who are interested in investing are invited to take part. This year, to find the most skilled young investor up to 19 years of age, a separate record of school-age young people will be kept and corresponding bonus prizes will be offered. Also invited to participate are companies, schools and other teams, in order to identify the best money grower in their class or to compare the companies where the most skilled stock sharks are employed. Membership in a team can be marked when opening the game portfolio.
According to Sander Pikkel, Head of Brokerage at LHV, Stock Shark provides an excellent opportunity to take the first step on stock markets for those who consider trading on an actual exchange to be too risky for themselves. In addition, the stock game is an excellent place where one can put their investment skills to the test and compare them to the skills of their friends. Stock Shark is taking place in October, which has previously been one of the most exciting months for trading. Last year’s Stock Shark participants had to adjust to one of the most difficult periods in the history of the game, when a bear market began in October and lasted until Christmas. ‘During the game, the S&P 500 declined by 5.38%’, recalled Pikkel.
Each Stock Shark participant has a virtual portfolio with a value of USD 10,000 at the start of the game. Each working day an additional USD 1,000 will be deposited into the account until the end of the game. When registering their portfolio the participant can choose whether they would like USD 10,000 deposited in the form of ‘cash’ on their virtual account, with which they can build up their own stock market portfolio from scratch, or an equal amount of shares already purchased in that amount in the form of a package consisting of the shares of the 5 largest companies (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Berkshire Hathaway) on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. It is worth remembering that if a player decides to join the game after the game has already started, they will be unable to select package of shares for their start-up portfolio.
Trading in the Stock Shark game is possible with the shares of companies listed on the S&P 500 and outside of it with shares of Beyond Meat (BYND), Tesla (TSLA), Alibaba Group (BABA), Uber (UBER) and Slack (WORK). In order to make calculated decisions, the players will have access to the digital newspapers Äripäev and Delovõje Vedomost.
The game will be taking place from 7 October through 1 November 2019, and the winner will be the player whose portfolio is worth the most on the market as at 1 November. Registration for the game will be possible from 23 September until the end of the game.
The game has a prize fund of €5,500. The first place finisher will receive €2,000, an investment book and the choice of a six-month digital subscription to Äripäev or Delovõje Vedomost. In addition, the best school-age participant will also be presented with an award of 200 €, an investment book and a six-month digital newspaper subscription.
At the end of each week, the player and school-age participant to have grown their portfolio the most will receive a prize of 1,000 € and 100 €, respectively.
In order to participate in the game you must register your portfolio. This can be done on the game’s homepage, at the address lhv.ee/hai. The homepage also offers a closer look at the rules of the game, and lets you examine other interesting information which may be of benefit to the participant.
LHV has been organising the investing and trading game for 18 years, and more than 21,000 players have participated in the game. Until 2006, the game was called Young Pensioner.
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