KUALA LUMPUR: Investing in the stock market can be daunting for young adults who wish to join the game, but have no idea where to start.

To eliminate uncertainties and boost confidence of this group, The Edge Media Group, with the support of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), launched an online investment competition called the EdgeWiz Campus Investment Challenge 2015 (ECIC ‘15).

ECIC ‘15 is open to Malaysians as well as foreign university and college students aged between 18 and 25. The competition will centre around EdgeWiz, an online trading simulator-cum-social media platform which lets participants trade securities in a simulated and virtual stock market environment. The platform, launched in June last year, is to help investors, including amateurs, practise making informed decisions about their finances.

SC corporate resources executive director Datin Teh Ija Mohd Jalil said the competition serves as a way to equip young people with financial and investment knowledge.

“Our expectation is for students to take up the call to take part in this competition because we think it is a fantastic way to start learning how to invest, what is out there in the capital market and in the equity market,” Teh said after launching the ECIC ‘15 at the SC building yesterday. In her speech earlier, she said students will learn ways to get the best returns on investments and to manage risks through the trading simulation game.

“The SC has recognised the EdgeWiz as an investor education tool under our InvestSmart initiative because we believe that learning is often best by doing it. Thus, immersing yourself in the online simulation game is an effective way to learn about buying and selling stock,” she said.

The ECIC ‘15, to run from April 20 to May 15, will require teams of four students or individuals to make a minimum of 10 trades — with a rationale submitted for every purchase and sale — with an aggregate value of 100,000 virtual dollars.

The top participating team will win RM10,000 cash and an internship with the SC. The top performing individual, meanwhile, will walk away with a cash prize of RM2,000, as well as an internship with the SC.

At the launch, The Edge Media Group chief executive officer and publisher Ho Kay Tat said the competition is in line with The Edge’s focus on promoting financial literacy and English through The Edge Education Foundation.

He said 145 teams and over 2,300 students from 58 colleges and universities across the nation, including Sarawak, have already registered for the competition. He hopes ECIC ‘15 will pave the way for these students towards a rewarding trading experience on the equities market in the future.

“For many young people, the thought of investing in the stock market can be scary. But we also know from talking to university students that some of you are already investing in equities. For those who are not, our hope is that by taking part in this competition, you will overcome your wariness or distrust of the stock market and learn to make good investment decisions. Hopefully, we will help uncover the next Warren Buffett from among you,” Ho said. 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 31, 2015.