UCT Students Develop Their Investment Skills Using EasyEquities

A group of students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) is upping their investment game, thanks to EasyEquities' demo investing feature. Approximately 30 students from various faculties and different academic years participate in the UCT Investment Society's Trading Club. 

Club secretary general, Lucas Rosenfield, says the demo platform is a great way to learn the ins and outs of investing. 

“The Trading Club manages a mock investment fund of seven portfolios that are set up to operate like a real-life fund and give members the opportunity to gain experience working in an investment team,” he says. “Each portfolio is managed by a portfolio manager who is responsible for executing trades on the information provided to them by the analysts in their portfolio. Each portfolio has two to five analysts who provide research to their portfolio manager during their weekly meetings.” 

The fund is set up to replicate a global fund, with portfolios including European markets, SA equities, US equities, and emerging markets.

“EasyEquities has done a lot to make it easier to invest in South Africa in terms of democratising access to investing,” he says.

Learning on the go

Lucas says the club’s investment process provides an important learning curve, especially since there is no risk to the students!

“It’s great to have the EasyEquities demo platform to learn what happens in real life, outside of the classroom,” he says. “Many students have reported significant improvements in the quality of their engagements with both academics and job opportunities.

“We are also lucky to receive support and input from our lecturers and corporate partners, who are always on hand to make sure we ask the right questions.”

The Trading Club uses a variety of methods to research its investments. These include the Investment Society’s corporate networks and databases, as well as educational workshops and online courses.

How did they do?

“We had differing results across our portfolios,” explains Lucas. “Overall, we had mostly modest returns, but that’s to be expected given the current market conditions around the world. The important thing is that we’re learning!”

Lucas says the Trading Club has plans to establish a real, long-term portfolio using sponsorships and subsidies.

“For now, we are using demo money, but soon we hope to be able to invest real money and generate decent returns,” he says.

To view an in-depth analysis of the happenings of the various markets covered by the UCT Investment Fund and the results of the various portfolios within the group, click here or below.