Requirements & Deliverables
REQUIREMENTS
CREATE SUBMISSION ACCOUNT ON SURVEYMONKEY APPLY
Detailed instructions for SurveyMonkey Apply (the competition submission platform) will be emailed to the designated student team leader on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
Your final roster of team members, midterm report, school documentation and final report must all be submitted via SurveyMonkey Apply.
⚠️The designated student team leader, and ONLY the team leader, is responsible for submitting their team’s deliverables. DO NOT BREAK THIS RULE. Remember, as stated in the competition rules, the student team leader had to be at least 16 years of age at the start of the competition (September 29, 2025). No exceptions.
MEET THE FIRST TRADE DEADLINE
Friday, October 10, 2025, no later than 4:00 p.m. ET (Close of U.S. markets)
All teams must fully execute at least one trade on WInS by close of the U.S. markets (4:00 p.m. ET) in order to be eligible to advance to the Semifinals and Global Finale.
SUBMIT TEAM ROSTER
Friday, October 17, 2025, no later than 5:00 p.m. ET
Official team rosters detailing your team members must be submitted via SurveyMonkey Apply, the approved platform; no changes are permitted after this date. The team leader can submit their team roster once they receive the instructions on Wednesday, October 8.
You are required to provide:
- First and Last Name for each team member (minimum of four; maximum of six including the team leader)
- A unique email address for each team member (This is where we will send the participation credentials, please make sure the information you provide is correct.)
- Expected graduation year for each team member
- Official Team Name (Note: Teams will be able to enter an official team name at the end of the midterm report form. Teams should choose their names and have fun with it. Please use good judgment. Team names that use offensive or vulgar language, as determined by the Wharton Global Youth Program in its sole discretion, may be automatically disqualified.)
SUBMIT SCHOOL DOCUMENTATION
Friday, December 12, 2025, no later than 5:00 p.m. ET
We require official documentation from your school to ensure your team is in compliance with the Competition Rules. Do not wait until the last minute to request documentation. This will be submitted along with your Final Report as a separate file.
The school documentation must be:
- Written and signed by a school administrator (NOT your advisor).
- Be on official school letterhead.
- Include:
- The names of each student on the team and the advisor.
- Statement that all students and the advisor are affiliated with the school and have permission to participate.
- No longer than one page.
Here is a template school administrators can use to provide Official School Documentation: Download Official School Documentation Template.
DELIVERABLE: MIDTERM REPORT
The Midterm Report must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, October 31, 2025. No extensions will be granted. All deliverables will be submitted by the Team Leader via SurveyMonkey Apply.
The Midterm Report is the foundation of your Final Report, and it will be evaluated.
Your team investment strategy is the essence of the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition. You must present your strategy in the Midterm Report.
An investment strategy is important because it provides a clear roadmap for how to allocate money to achieve financial goals while managing risk. It helps investors stay disciplined during market fluctuations, avoid emotional decisions, and focus on long-term objectives. By aligning with personal risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial needs, a strategy increases the chances of consistent growth and wealth preservation over time.
An investment strategy gives you clarity, confidence, and structure. It keeps your client’s financial goals front and center and helps make sure their money is working as effectively as possible.
Top competition teams don’t just develop a strategy with sound financial and fundamental considerations. They need to think both critically and creatively about how to position and present their strategies. How will you express original thought through the substance of your investment strategy? What portfolio themes will guide your decisions? What values will your strategy reflect? Always remember who your strategy is designed to serve – and then find ways to make it your own within the context of the competition. The client profile and his financial goals are also sources of creative inspiration for expressing your ideas.
INSTRUCTIONS
Teams are not permitted to deviate from these directions. Any Midterm Report that does not follow the directions outlined below will be removed from semifinal consideration.
Page 1: Title Page
Teams should only include the following:
WInS username (with numeric extension, e.g., myteamaccount-1234567)
Advisor’s full name
Team Leader name (First Name, Last Name Initial — must match team roster)
Team Member names (First Name, Last Name Initial — must match team roster)
Official Team Name (must match roster)
Do NOT send questions regarding headings, font colors, charts, team logos, etc. If a detail is not specified, don’t overthink it.
Page 2 & 3: Investment Strategy
You must concisely communicate your team’s investment strategy.
IMPORTANT: YOUR TEAM MUST ADHERE TO THIS STRATEGY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE COMPETITION. YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO CHANGE IT FOR THE FINAL REPORT.
Report Requirements:
Maximum 500 words; up to two (2 pages)
Concise explanation of your team’s investment strategy
Must answer: What is your elevator pitch to your client?
Must explain how your strategy is unique
No graphics permitted
Do not include external links to content outside your report. Our judges will not to open any links within your report.
Required Format & Submission Guidelines
Audience: Make your elevator pitch about your Connor/MTWB investment strategy to your Portfolio Manager (your team’s advisor who makes the final investment decisions for your firm’s portfolio)
Font: Times New Roman
Size: 12 point
Spacing: Double-spaced
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Page numbers: Bottom left corner of each page
Submit as a Word document or PDF (maximum file size: 5MB) via SurveyMonkey Apply
Do NOT send questions regarding headings, font colors, charts, team logos, etc. If a detail is not specified, don’t overthink it.
DELIVERABLE: FINAL REPORT
The Final Report must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, December 12, 2025. No extensions will be granted. All deliverables will be submitted by the Team Leader via SurveyMonkey Apply.
Your Final Report should build upon your team’s strategy outlined in the Midterm Report.
INSTRUCTIONS
Teams are not permitted to deviate from these directions. Any Final Report that does not follow the directions outlined below will be removed from semifinal consideration.
1-page Maximum
Must include:
✅ Official team name (this should be the same as what you submitted with your official team roster)
✅ Finalized team member names (these should be the same as what was submitted with your official roster; Format: First Name and Last Initial)
✅ Advisor First and Last Name (this should be the same as what was submitted with your official team roster)
✅ WInS Username (the team’s username to log into the WInS platform).
Do NOT send questions regarding headings, font colors, charts, team logos, etc. If a detail is not specified, don’t overthink it.
1-page Maximum
Advisor Reflection
This must be written by the advisor.
Since advisors play a key role in the competition, we want to read your reflections about how your team grew in the last 10 weeks.
✅ Describe in 150 words or less, your takeaways from this team’s competition experience.
Team Reflection
Throughout the competition, we emphasize leadership, teamwork, and skill development. In this year’s client case study, you analyzed how Connor Barwin used his platform and passion to strengthen the broader community.
Now, we’d like you to also think like a philanthropist:
✅ Describe in 150 words or less, how you and your teammates might use your ideas, talents, and teamwork to Make the World Better, starting in your own community.
Two-page Maximum
What Was Your Team’s Decision-making Process?
The purpose of this section is to explain your decision-making process throughout the trading period.
✅ Choose three (3) Trading Notes from your portfolio in WInS:
- One ETF
- One stock
- One team choice (stock or ETF)
✅ Include the selected trading notes, and in 100 words or fewer for EACH note, reflect on how they related to your understanding and design of your investment strategy.
✅ You must use actual trading notes from trades you made on WInS. (Yes, we will verify this.)
Note: The Trading Notes you select do not necessarily have to be for companies included in your final portfolio. However, you should be able to confidently express why and how these trades aligned with your team’s overall strategy and analytical approach throughout the competition.
Three-page maximum
In this section, provide a visual breakdown of your portfolio with specific statistics, then provide the context for your decisions.
- In 300 words or fewer, explain how your final portfolio recommendations for Connor align with your team’s investment strategy.
- How did your investment strategy guide your recommended portfolio for Connor?
REMEMBER: Your final portfolio on WInS as of the close of U.S. markets on Friday, December 5, 2025 is what you must use in this section.
Please present your team’s WInS portfolio holdings in the following format:
STOCKS
| Stock Ticker | Company Name | Value ($) | % of total portfolio |
| TICK | SAMPLE CO | $5,000 | 5% |
Total stock value in $: $5,000
Total stock % of Portfolio: 5%
ETFs
| ETF Ticker | ETF Name | ETF # (from Approved List) | Value ($) | % of total portfolio |
| ETFTICK | SAMPLE ETF | #72 | $5,000 | 5% |
Total ETF value in $: $5,000
Total ETF % of Portfolio: 5%
TREASURY BONDS
| T-Bond Ticker | T-Bond Name | T-Bond # (from Approved List) | Value ($) | % of total portfolio |
| TBICK | SAMPLE T-BOND | #12 | $5,000 | 5% |
Total T-Bond value ($): $5,000
Total T-Bond of Portfolio: 5%
CASH
Total Cash Value ($): $85,000
Total Cash % of Portfolio: 85%
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5-page minimum; 8-page maximum
Please do not email us asking what to include in this section; we’ve outlined everything you need below.
- This section is the heart of your report and should reflect your team’s full experience in this year’s Wharton Global High School Investment Competition. Think of it as your opportunity to showcase how your team worked together, made decisions, overcame challenges, and grew throughout the process.
- Your response should demonstrate how your team applied business and investment concepts while developing teamwork, strategy, and leadership skills throughout the 10-week competition.
- Include the following elements:
✅ Investment Strategy: Explain your overall strategy and how it evolved over the 10 weeks. Be specific and thoughtful. Remember, there is no single right or wrong approach. We’re more interested in how you thought about your investments than whether you “got it right.”
✅ Team Analysis and Decision-Making: How did your team approach research, analysis, and investment decisions? What data, discussions, or insights guided your strategy?
✅ Team Growth and Learning: Reflect on your team’s journey. How did your collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills develop? What new knowledge did you gain about investing, leadership, or teamwork?
✅ Challenges and Roadblocks: Be honest about obstacles your team faced and how you addressed them. Every great experience includes setbacks — how did you adapt?
✅ Biggest Takeaways: What are the most important lessons you’ll carry forward from this competition, as students, teammates, money managers, and future leaders?
Be creative, insightful, and authentic. This is your chance to tell the story of your team’s investment journey — and what it has meant to you.
💡 Note on Creativity: Creativity isn’t just about design or data visualization; it’s about connecting financial strategy with purpose and originality.
💡Page Count: Reports that go over or under the specified page count for each section will not be reviewed and will not be eligible to receive participation badges.
💡Evaluation Criteria: Final Reports will be evaluated based on five key areas and ach section of your report contributes to one or more of these areas.
- Investment Strategy
- Client Knowledge and Objectives
- Portfolio Analysis
- Articulation of Competition Experience
- Creativity and Presentation
Your Final Report must adhere to the requirements.
✅ Audience: Your report detailing your Connor/MTWB investment strategy, analysis and competition experience should be addressed to your Portfolio Manager (your team’s teacher/advisor who makes the final investment decisions for your firm’s portfolio).
✅ 9 pages minimum; 15 pages maximum (not including works cited page) based on Section page requirements.
✅ 12-point font; Times New Roman
✅ Double-spaced
✅ 1-inch margins
✅ Each page must include a page number in the bottom left corner
✅ Submit in doc or PDF format, not exceeding 5MB
✅ All sources, images, and other media, including the use of generative AI, must be cited using the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. Please create a separate bibliography page attached to the end of your report titled ‘Works Cited’. Note: Please read the Wharton Global Youth AI Policy at the bottom of this page.
❌ Do NOT include external links to content outside your report. Our judges are instructed not to open any links within your report.
❌ Do NOT send questions regarding headings, font colors, charts, team logos, etc. If one detail is not specified, don’t overthink it.
! Use of Graphics
You are permitted to include graphics, charts, images, etc., in the Report Details portion of your Final Report. However, they should support your narrative, not distract from it. Too many charts, graphs, images, and excessive formatting will dilute the impact of your message. Make sure your report is readable.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Your team’s final report will be evaluated on five criteria:
Investment Strategy
Contains and clear and creative strategy thesis; demonstrates mid-term and long-term investment thinking; portfolio is diversified; investment strategy remains the same.
Client Knowledge and Objectives
Strategy is tailored uniquely to the client’s financial goals; it would win him over as a client.
Portfolio Analysis
Demonstrates a clear understanding of new concepts and investment tools; uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Articulation of Competition Experience
Demonstrates good teamwork and communication; the team clearly explains the decision-making process and what they learned from the competition.
Creativity and Presentation
Compelling narrative and well-organized delivery of supporting data; deep creative thought and execution that is clearly presented with an authentic team voice.
A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
- Excessive investing jargon doesn’t necessarily dazzle the judges. Your report should reflect your team’s voice.
- Don’t use precious space repeating known facts about your client and defining concepts. However, it is okay to demonstrate that you understand your client beyond the case study.
- Keep your reader engaged. Choose active language, illustrate with examples and make your report memorable.
- Teams that have spent quality time developing their strategies and building their portfolios should be eager to share their unique competition journey in the final report; teams are not allowed to use generative AI to write their reports, and that inauthenticity will be obvious.
Your team is only eligible to advance to the Semifinals—regardless of the quality of your final report—if all the following are fulfilled:
- Fully executed your first trade on WInS by 4:00 PM ET on October 10, 2025.
- Submitted your official team roster via SurveyMonkey Apply by 5:00 PM ET on October 17, 2025.
- Submitted both the Midterm Report AND the Final Report on time. Teams that submit a Final Report but not a Midterm Report are not eligible for the Semifinals or for participation badges.
- Adhered to our rules about what securities can and cannot be traded. Teams that include prohibited securities in their final report are not eligible for the Semifinals.
- Completed a final report that falls within the acceptable page range and required format and includes all the required elements.
- Maintained the same team advisor throughout the competition (you may not change your advisor without written permission from the Wharton Investment Competition Team).
- Maintained the same roster of team members after October 17, 2025 (you may not change your team members after October 17, 2025 without written permission from the Wharton Investment Competition Team).
Teams WILL NOT receive individual feedback about Midterm Reports or Final Reports. We WILL NOT provide you with information about how the evaluators scored your team.
Each year, we receive many excellent final reports. If your team is not selected as a Semifinalist, this does not necessarily mean that you did something “wrong.” We are looking for teams that score exceptionally well on all five components of the criteria, and that embrace all aspects of the competition with passion and creativity, which is then reflected in various ways in their final reports.
Wharton Global Youth AI Policy
The Wharton Global Youth Program and Wharton Academy embrace generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology and see it as an important tool for students. Generative AI describes algorithms, such as ChatGPT and other large language models, that can be used to create new content, including text, code, and images.
At the discretion of faculty, instructional teams and staff, Wharton Global Youth Program and Wharton Academy students may use generative AI tools. Please note, however, that the material generated by these tools may produce inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise problematic content. While these tools, if used properly, can generate new ideas, using them can also stifle students’ independent thinking and creativity.
When students express themselves in the Wharton Global Youth Program and Wharton Academy, they must use their voice and words. Using somebody else’s work without crediting the source – including generative AI — is plagiarism. Guided by the policies of faculty, instructional teams, and staff, AI-generated work should be cited like any other reference material, including how and where students used AI-generated information.
While AI can be a helpful tool, students should be mindful of its limitations and ensure their final work reflects their ideas, words, and creativity.
As students navigate the emerging AI landscape, they can look to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as a world leader in AI and a reliable source of AI insight and guidance.
For more details on academic honesty, please refer to Penn’s Academic Integrity statement.