News

And the winners of the stock market challenge are…

The Stock Market Challenge, presented by the Financial Post and Credential Direct, came to a close on January 16th after nearly five exhilarating months. Emerging victorious from more than 35,000 Canadians from across the country, were some brilliant Stock Stars from all walks of life.

• 1st Place Trader Category ($25,000): If you’ve been following the game, it’s probably no surprise to hear that Doug O’Brien (alias: RisingStar), a retired insurance sales manager from St. Hyacinthe QC, took top spot in the Trader category. Turning his $100,000 of fantasy cash into an impressive $1,352,678.85, a 1,253% gain and 540% lead on the next runner up, Doug’s performance was nothing short of inspiring, considering the current markets. Now showcasing his skills at various public speaking events, including a presentation at McGill University on March 11th, Doug intends to teach others “the basics” of his strategy. And, judging from the 150 messages he received from fellow contestants looking to learn his secrets, it’s going to be a full house.
• 1st Place Investor Category ($25,000): Winning the top spot in the Investor Category was Accountant Garth Sheriff from Oshawa, ON (alias: Sheriff), who’s portfolio experienced a 426% gain. Garth, who’s planning to move to Ottawa, said he’ll use his winnings to help with the new place. “I wasn’t confident in winning until the end” Garth said, “I was in some pretty risky investments”. But heeding the advice of his former college roommate, Garth’s strategy was to short commodities - and it worked!
• 2nd Place Trader Category ($15,000): Earning second place in the Trader Category was 24-year old trading whiz Efrain Saldivia (alias: PeruFace), from St. Hubert, QC. His winning strategy? Efrain ignored fundamentals and focused strictly on chart analysis to guide him. Despite his impressive performance, a 713% portfolio gain, Efrain said modestly “if you think I’m good, you should see my brother”.
• 2nd Place Investor Category ($15,000): Second place in the Investor Category was awarded to Martyn Bailey (alias: funnyguycbc), a CBC employee from Toronto, ON. Martyn turned his initial $100,000 into $412,016, for a gain of 312%. Martyn, who purchased his first home with his wife last year, said the cash prize “will really come in handy with some new home furnishings and perhaps a bit of extra breathing room on the mortgage”.
• 3rd Place Trader Category ($10,000): Yu-Chun Chao of Toronto, ON (alias: sfte)
• 3rd Place Investor Category ($10,000): Maria Ward of Ottawa, ON (alias: mariasa)