9 STOCK TRAK COMPETITION The StockTrak competition, which runs once every semester, surprised KU’s Applied Investment Management Association (AIM) club this fall. Sophomore Finance major, Sean Hess, made a 157 percent return, putting him in first place during a semester when the financial markets were struggling. The first-place winner was just as surprised by the result, entering the competition with a “why not give it a shot” mentality. Hess was nowhere near the top three contestants, yet in just the remaining month, he finished in first place “which is extremely impressive,” said Stephen Sponenburg, the competition’s student leader. StockTrak is a platform that supports an investment competition hosted by AIM (a KU organization for students with a desire to learn about investing). The competition is meant to give students the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned in their courses by trading virtual stocks. Each contestant is granted one million fake dollars to compete against each other in the race to make the largest return in the StockTrak competition. Hess, winning a $250 prize in the competition, said that he looks forward to using this experience to help procure an internship this coming summer. Hess’ strategy for the semester’s competition was to apply the concepts he learned regarding options trading (including taking advantage of ‘call options’ and ‘put options’) and predicting the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Hess admitted, “as I was still very much a beginner.” Hess hopes that this win will make him eligible for the exclusive, invite only, AIM (FIN 375) class. In this class, “students manage a $800,000 real-time portfolio for the KU Foundation,” Sponenburg explained, so the stakes are a bit higher. “Call it luck or skill,” Hess surmised, regarding the experience, “StockTrak became simple once I spent the time to learn how to use it.” Runner-up, Julianna Elsesser (junior)—a Finance and Personal Financial Planning major and the winner of a $150 prize—thought it would be difficult to choose which companies to invest in within the short time frame. This led her to research “positive trends in sales growth and earnings,” Elsesser explained. She also stayed tuned into various business news broadcasts, which paid off, earning her second place in the competition. The third-place winner, Sierra Alcorn (senior), majoring in Personal Financial Planning and winning $100 in the competition, said that her strategy was investing in two or more stocks from each sector of the market. This strategy diversified her portfolio reducing financial risk, she explained. Regarding StockTrak, Alcorn expressed that it “is a wonderful opportunity for students to explore without any financial repercussions. I recommend that students of all majors take part because you have nothing to lose and only knowledge to gain.” Julianna Elsesser, Sean Hess, and Sierra Alcorn
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