FAQS

Advisors may begin registering their team(s) for this year’s competition on August 10, 2026 through September 11, 2026. The competition will begin on September 28, 2026 and end on December 4, 2026.

Materials specific to the 2026–2027 Wharton Global High School Investment Competition will be released after registration closes. On September 15, each designated Team Leader will receive an invitation to SurveyMonkey Apply, where all official competition materials will be posted, including the case study, trading requirements, deliverable instructions, deadlines, and other important resources.

Until then, our website provides an overview of the competition, including the registration process, eligibility, timeline, and general competition format.

High school students (see Rules) around the world who are interested in business and finance and want to improve their knowledge and skills. Students don’t need any experience with the stock market to participate; however, they must have an advisor (see Rules) to help them navigate the recommended  articles, lesson plans and learning outcomes associated with the competition so they can achieve our ultimate goal with this game, which is learning the nuances of investing.

Advisors may also simply serve as sounding boards and motivators, depending on how closely they are involved with the competition. Classes of students can compete (in different teams of 4-6), individual investment clubs, home-schooled students, as well as random groups of students (from the same school) who like a challenge and want to learn.

No, the competition is free for all participants. There is no registration fee. If your team is chosen to advance to the Global Finale in Philadelphia, The Wharton Global Youth Program will not cover your competition costs. All costs, including travel and lodging, are the responsibility of the participants. However, teams in the Global Finale can choose to attend virtually via videoconference if travel costs are prohibitive.

Each team must maintain a minimum of four (4) team members and a maximum of six (6) members from the very start of the competition. All team members must play a contributing role. Students are not permitted to participate on more than one team.

Then you are not eligible to participate. Your team must have at least four students, and all of them must be engaged in the process. We expect all teams to conduct themselves ethically from the moment that they register for the Investment Competition. It’s not a good idea to add a fourth person to the registration in name only. That is cheating.

No. Students must form a team with members (and an advisor) from the same high school. No exceptions. If your school has various branches, your team must be comprised of students and an advisor from the same branch.

The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition hopes to be as inclusive as possible for all types of learners. Homeschooled students can compete; however, we would ideally hope that your team includes homeschooled students from your community or from the same co-op or online school, and we would ask that you provide documentation to verify that structure. For example, the name or affiliation of your co-op or online school. We will review and decide if the team structure aligns with our rules, which restrict teams made up of students from different schools and/or geographical locations.

Homeschooled teams must be led by a parent advisor with the option to involve a secondary advisor who is either a teacher or finance professional. It’s important to note, however, that the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition does not permit paid advisors of any kind. Student teams that hire a paid advisor (or attend a camp or course that claims to teach about our competition) will be disqualified.

Yes. Teams are required to have one advisor, who must be a teacher/educator at the high school of their students’ team(s). Advisors are important motivators, as well as sources of information and insight. You can learn more about the role of the Advisor HERE.

We recognize teams might want to get guidance from a parent, industry professional, or other adult who may have investing experience and/or knowledge. We think that’s great! Teams are permitted to ask a parent or other adult to serve as a secondary advisor, and they must also have a primary teacher advisor. It’s important to note, however, that the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition does not permit paid advisors of any kind.

The Wharton Global Youth Program works closely with both high school students and educators, and the competition is a great way to bring our two audiences together. Our decision to make the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition school-based was to ensure that teams are not only supported, but also that they are abiding by the competition rules, the University of Pennsylvania’s Code of Academic Integrity and competing fairly. We’ve also found that students who are surrounded by a close community are more motivated to maintain momentum throughout the 10 weeks of the competition.

The amount of time your team invests in the competition (no pun intended) is completely up to you. Some teams may choose to meet daily and others, weekly. As with most commitments, it depends on how much you want to get out of the experience. The competition is 10 weeks in length, and how you manage your time is up to you. The same is true for advisors. Some advisors are very active, teaching concepts and providing consistent guidance, while others only serve as sounding boards and motivational coaches. Teams should work together with their advisors to discuss time expectations. We also recommend giving some thought to the depth of your commitment prior to the start of the competition, so you have a schedule in place and don’t have to scramble to meet deadlines.

Advisors are responsible for registering both themselves and their student team(s) for the competition. Students are not permitted to register for the competition on their own behalf or on behalf of their team. If this rule is not followed, your team will not be permitted to participate in the competition.

If possible, use a personal email address. Some school-issued email accounts cannot receive messages from outside their organization.

If you use a school-issued email address (for yourself or the student team leader), ask your school’s IT department to add the following addresses to the safe sender list so registration emails can be delivered:

• wghs-invcomp@wharton.upenn.edu
• help-desk@stocktrak.com

Any student on the team may serve as the team leader, provided they are at least 16 years old on the first day of the Competition (September 28, 2026).

The student team leader is responsible for submitting all team deliverables via our designated submission platform. They must be at least 16 years of age in order to comply with the platform’s terms of use.

Team Leaders can be changed prior to the start of the competition. Once the Competition begins on September 28, 2026, team leaders cannot be changed. The only exception is if the Advisor submits a written request due to extenuating circumstances and the request is approved by the Competition team.

We will not collect team member information until Friday, October 9, 2026, when the official team roster is due. Detailed roster instructions will be sent to the designated team leader via SurveyMonkey Apply on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

You can view your team(s) in WInS by clicking on the “Administration” tab.

You can log into WInS, the competition trading platform, here. Once you log into WInS, you can set up your student team accounts (up to five separate teams) on your Instructor Administration page.

1. Click Admin in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Click Instructor Administration.
3. Click the Add Team button.
4. Enter a username (this is only used to access WInS), the student leader’s first and last name, student team leader’s email (remember, you must use a unique email address for each student team leader) and the year they will graduate. Important: We will not collect team member information until Friday, October 9, 2026, when the official team roster is due.
5. By clicking “Submit” the platform will automatically generate a password.
6. Distribute the username and password to your student team leader.
7. Repeat the process for each student team leader. The maximum number of teams an advisor can oversee is five (5).
8. IMPORTANT: This must be done by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, September 11, 2026.

You will be able to see team login information and their activity report.

Your advisor and the student team leader are the main points of contact for each team. The designated team leader will receive an invitation from SurveyMonkey Apply on Tuesday, September 15. All communications and notifications will be sent via SurveyMonkey Apply. Copies of the weekly emails will also be posted on the Wharton Investment Simulator (WInS) for all team members to view.

Your team must submit the following deliverables in order to be considered an active team (and to receive a participation badge).

Deliverables

• Team Roster: Confirm your team’s student members.
• School Documentation: Submit any required school verification and eligibility documents.
• Trading Notes: Submit required trading notes and justification.
• Investment Policy Statement (IPS): Define your client’s investment objectives, risk tolerance, and overall investment strategy.
• Comprehensive Final Report: Present and justify your team’s investment strategy, portfolio recommendations, and analysis.

Additionally, teams must meet the required trading activity and portfolio management guidelines throughout the competition.

No. Teams will not receive individual feedback. 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.

No. While the WInS simulator is a valuable learning tool in our competition, your team’s standings on WInS have little to do with the final outcome. Winners are selected on the strength and articulation of their overall investment strategies and competition experiences, not on the percentage growth of their portfolios, which is a key differentiator between this investment challenge and others.

The key to winning is to learn all you can, work together as a team, create a compelling and creative investment strategy to build your potential client’s wealth, embrace stock analysis, and articulate your strategy and overall competition experience authentically and in such a way that you captivate the judges. You can also read about the investment strategies of successful teams on our Previous Winners page.

The Wharton Global Youth Program does not cover your competition costs. All costs, including travel and lodging, are the responsibility of the participants. However, teams in the Global Finale can choose to attend virtually via videoconference if travel costs are prohibitive.

Your team will be expected to create and deliver a short presentation (via video conference for the Semifinals and live or via video conference for the Global Finale) about your team’s strategy, analysis and experience over the past 10 weeks to a live panel of judges. All team members must participate.

We want to hear from you! Be sure to follow us on Instagram @whartonyouth and on LinkedIn @WhartonYouth. Create a social media profile for your investment competition team and tag us in posts! We love to share the good news and hard work of all our teams throughout the competition. Good luck!

Please use the Contact Us form.