Stock Shark to announce the best investor once again

19. October 2020

Today marks the date when you can sign up for the most popular stock market game in Estonia – Stock Shark – where the best virtual stock trader will emerge over the next three weeks.

This year, the stock market game Stock Shark, which takes place already for the 19th time, will be launched in November. The goal of the game is to perform virtual security transactions and grow your portfolio without risking actual money in three weeks. The winner of the game, who will be awarded a total of EUR 3,000, is the one whose portfolio has increased the most by the end of the game.

Investors of all ages are welcome to participate and participation is free of charge for everyone. An independent ranking is also drawn up for investors of up to 19 years of age, who will receive separate prizes. In addition, teams from various companies, schools, and other collectives are invited to participate in the game in order to find out the best performer among the team or compare which company has the most skilled stock sharks. Membership in a team can be indicated when opening the game portfolio.

According to Sander Pikkel, the Head of Brokerage at LHV, Stock Shark is an excellent opportunity to gain your first stock market trading experience without risking actual money. ‘A stock trading game is the perfect environment where you can test your investment skills and gain experience. All participants can choose their strategy and compare themselves with both friends and several experienced investors,’ Pikkel says.

‘Stock sharks will begin their battles on 2 November, which means that in addition to the regular announcement of returns, the US presidential election will undoubtedly add excitement to the game, as it may significantly impact the markets,’ he adds.

Each participant of Stock Shark will receive a virtual portfolio with a value of USD 10,000 and an additional USD 1,000 will be transferred to the portfolio each working day until the end of the game. Upon registering the portfolio, the participants can choose whether they want to receive USD 10,000 as game money to be transferred to their virtual account to start building the stock portfolio from scratch or as a set of stocks in which the stocks of the five largest companies of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet) have already been purchased in equal shares for them to the extent of the corresponding amount.

During the game, the stocks of the S&P 500 companies are available for trading. As a bonus, the stocks of Tesla (TSLA), Alibaba Group (BABA), Snowflake (SNOW), and Moderna (MRNA) have been added to the game. To make informed decisions, the participants will have free access to the digital editions of Äripäev and Delovõje Vedomosti during the game.

Registration to the game started today, 19 October, and it is possible to sign up until the end of the game. The contest for the title of Stock Shark lasts from 2–20 November 2020, and the winner is the player whose portfolio has the highest market value as of 20 November. Registration lasts from 19 October until the end of the game.

The prize fund of the game is EUR 5,500. The overall winner will receive EUR 3,000, an investment-themed book, two tickets to a conference held by Investor Toomas, and subscription to the digital editions of Äripäev or Delovõje Vedomosti for one year, depending on the winner’s choice. In addition, the best school-age participant will also be recognised with an award of EUR 300, an investment-themed book, and a six-month digital newspaper subscription. At the end of each game week, the player and school-age participant who have increased their portfolio the most will receive a prize of EUR 1,000 and EUR 100, respectively.

LHV has organised the investment game Stock Shark already for 19 years and almost 29,000 investors have participated in the game over the years. Last year’s winner was Risto Lehtsalu, who managed to increase his investments by almost 77% in four weeks.

Registration and additional information

LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. LHV Group’s key subsidiaries are LHV Pank and LHV Varahaldus. LHV employs more than 480 people. LHV’s banking services are used by more than 231,000 clients, and pension funds managed by LHV have more than 182,000 active clients. LHV’s UK branch offers banking infrastructure to 120 international financial services companies, via which LHV’s payment services reach clients around the world.

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