Warwick wins KPMG Investment Challenge

TUESDAY, MAY 15: Horan’s Hunters from Warwick Academy are this year’s winners of the KPMG Senior School Investment Challenge.

The team won $10,000 for the school and finished with $56,695 after investing in Apple, Amazon and more.

The prize giving was on Monday at the Bermuda Society of Arts.

Team member Ashley Davies, 16, said: “It’s really exciting to win — I have the biggest smile on my face.

“It’s not something I expected but we pulled through.”

Asked about what the team decided to invest their $50,000 in, Miss Davies said: “One of our biggest investments was Apple.

“Another one we invested in was Carnival (Cruise Lines).

“Right after that, one of the cruise ships sank so we made a loss.

“Since then, we have been trying a variety of techniques, trying to revive and I guess that paid off.”

There were 16 teams in total from senior schools across the island including CedarBridge Academy, Berkeley Institute, Bermuda High School, Mount St Agnes, Bermuda Institute and Somersfield Academy.

The Saltus “Goldfingers” claimed second place with a final portfolio value of $56,099, while Bermuda High School’s “Common Cents” finished in third place with their portfolio valued at $55,492.

Before announcing the winner, Steve Woodward, senior partner at KPMG, explained the rules.

Each team was given $50,000 to invest and could make up to ten trades per month.

“One of the reasons that we run this challenges is we hope some of you will be interested in joining us and keep in touch with KPMG.

“We’re looking for good Bermudians to join us and become the next Craig Bridgewater.”

Mr Bridgewater is a partner at KPMG.

Speaking about the challenge, Mr Woodward said: “It’s been a really close battle this year.

‘The lead has changed hands on several occasions in the last month.

“The difference in the top teams is less than $3,000.

“Only hundreds of dollars separate the winners.”

Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith also attended the prize giving sand said: “I think it’s important to recognise not only what KPMG have done with this programme but also the work of those people who serve as mentors.

“It really is an investment in young people.

“Their purpose in creating the challenges was to stimulate interest in investing in the future.

“It means investing for the future and saving.”

“Something a lot of people today wish they have done.

“I think they do it with a programme that’s not only to enrich the school curriculum but also because it’s fun.

“It’s a fun project for the students and teachers.”

Another successful edition of the KPMG Investment Challenge came to a close on April 27. 

The final standings had Warwick Academy’s team Horan’s Hunters as the winners of the 2011/2012 competition with a portfolio value of $56,695. 

The Saltus Goldfingers claimed second place with a final portfolio value of $56,099, while Bermuda High School’s “Common Cents” finished in third place with their portfolio valued at $55,492.

Despite being hit with penalties of 0.5 per cent for holding less than 10 shares in the months of March and April, Warwick Academy’s “Horan Hunters” were able to outplay the competition to take the title.

Their investment in Apple Inc, which made up 16 per cent of their portfolio in November 2011, was of great importance to the team’s success.

As at April 27, 2012 their investment was making up over 30 per cent of their portfolio, after the company’s stock had risen to $603 from $393, a growth of over 50 per cent in six months. The Saltus team Goldfingers portfolio saw a decrease of -2.26 per cent in the period.

This was based on all but four of their investments experiencing price decreases in the period, with the largest loss seen in one of their three Bermuda investments: Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. Bermuda High School’s Common Cents finished the month in third place, despite only a 1.05 per cent increase in the value of their portfolio for the month.

Their portfolio experienced growth in every month between Nov 25, 2011 and April 27, 2012, and also adopted the strategy of investing in Apple Inc, which led their successful third place finish.

The current trading results of the teams for the month were mixed with eleven of the fourteen teams’ portfolios experiencing losses for the trading period. US and International markets experienced slightly negative performance for the trading period ended April 27, 2012. 

The portfolios of most teams are highly concentrated in United States securities, with some investments in companies from Bermuda, UK and Canada. All teams are required to hold at least one Bermudian company in their portfolios, with most teams opting for well-known names such as Argus Group Holdings Ltd, Butterfield Bank and The Ascendant Group Ltd.  The teams have continued to invest primarily in common stocks, with only a small portion being allocated to ADRs (American Depository Receipts) GDRs (German Depository Receipts) and ETFs (exchange traded funds).

With the majority of the portfolios invested in US dollar denominated securities, foreign exchange movements during the period did not have a significant impact on the performance of the individual portfolios.