Pondering Portfolio

 Over the last 7 months, our team of  8 Year 12 students has been battling against harsh financial times to create an online portfolio and trade virtual stocks on the New York and Bahrain Stock Exchange. We were competing against 6 other schools in Bahrain but the task was not as easy as just making the largest profit. We had to get the best Sharpe ratio- a measure of the performance of our portfolio taking into account the volatility of the stocks within it. Each school was assigned a financial advisor to mentor them throughout the programme and we were taught how to be successful stock traders. After each of the three trading periods, we had to present to a panel of Investment Banker Judges to demonstrate our economic knowledge and our trading strategies.

 We were very happy to win the ‘Best Financial Performance in Bahrain Bourse’ and the ‘Highest Return in Bahrain Bourse’ awards. The whole experience of working in a team and learning in a realistic and live environment has been exceptional. The team has learned so much in such a short time and has gained skills that will help us in future life. 

Basel Al Sharaf Team Leader