Xavier High School is in the Wharton Global Youth Investment Competition, a prestigious competition, in which Xavier’s team will consist of members of the Investment & Entrepreneurship Society. Despite the prestige of this competition, most of the student body is unaware of this competition, and therefore, it is imperative that this article is written in order to showcase the highlights of the Wharton Global Youth Investment Competition.
Firstly, what even is the Wharton Global Youth Investment Competition? The competition is a free, experiential investment challenge for high school students. The competition is global: last year it encompassed 66 countries, 1,818 schools, and 10,118 students. Trading for the competition began on September 29, with a Midterm report due on October 17, and the Final report due tomorrow, December 12. On January 27, the semifinalists (top 50 teams) are announced, and finally, the top 10 teams will then move on to the Global Finale at Wharton taking place from April 24-25.
The goal of the competition is to not only net a large return of capital, but to generate a coherent analytical strategy which will guide future trading. The Midterm and Final reports are intended to help the judges distinguish between different teams investment strategies, as they not only encompass what the team is buying, but why the team is buying, and how their strategy played a role in the decision making process.
Xavier’s strategy for the competition consists of finding sectors and stocks that are catalyst driven, with a large total addressable market (TAM). The team is monitoring current events quite closely. Energy demands accompanying growth in AI, tariffs, and the trade war with China, among other catalysts, are all being analysed by the team. A large TAM means that a sector has great potential for revenue; the sector is not stagnant, but rather has potential for long-term growth, scalability, and high returns on investment.
Lastly, the Xavier team is focused on concentrating, rather than diversifying. Though this may seem counterintuitive based on the fact that diversification reduces risk, in the span of a few months the team has deemed it more important to be aggressive in its trades– building a more concentrated portfolio– aiming to maximize short-term gains.
The Xavier team just submitted their midterm report, and in it they explained strategy, giving an analysis of the four stocks they have invested in so far: Coinbase, Palantir, Oklo, and MP Materials. Though the exact details of the analysis are unable to be provided, the guidelines for investing in these companies can be traced back to the core strategies of Xavier’s team.
The next step for Xavier is to work on the Final report. In the meantime, however, the team will consistently manage their portfolio, buying and selling according to their strategy and what they best see fit. Xavier is extremely confident that they can do well, and I am sure I can speak for the entirety of the community when I wish them godspeed on their journey to the semifinals.