2020 Investment Competitors Jumped on Zoom this Week to Find Out the Region 1 Winners

by Diana Drake

The Wharton Global Youth Program celebrated a first on Tuesday, April 7: the announcement of the top three teams in Region 1 of the 2019-2020 Wharton Global Investment Competition – on a special live Zoom webinar.

And, of course, we also celebrated the Region 1 winners:

  • 1st Place: Money Scooper, Shanghai High School International Division, Shanghai, China
  • 2nd Place: SH Reeves, Shanghai High School International Division, Shanghai, China
  • 3rd Place: Plutus, Saint Paul Preparatory School, Seoul, South Korea

While we could never have imagined when this year’s investment competition kicked off back in October 2019 that we would be hosting a virtual final in April for the top 12 teams from eastern and central Asia, the coronavirus pandemic has demanded that all of us respond to our new at-home reality with innovation.

That’s just what the top student teams did in March, when we asked them to create final video presentations detailing their team investment strategies and competition experiences and submit them online. Students then replied in writing to questions about their presentations, and a panel of industry judges – including Patrick Yung of Independence Blue Cross, Yanbing Qiu of CICC Fund and Hansi Mo of China Merchants Bank — selected the winning teams.

“Building an investment strategy is a tough and time-consuming process, but we deeply appreciate what we have learned from it.” — Kelly H., Team Leader, 1st Place Money Scooper

During Monday’s live webinar announcement for team leaders, team members and advisors, Wharton Global Youth Program executive director Eli Lesser thanked Region 1 sponsor China Merchants Bank for its support of the competition. To the teams, he said, “We know this is a difficult time for you as students and your families as well, and we want to thank you for continuing to compete with us. We are really excited to share this announcement tonight of the winners and also to welcome our top three teams to the Global Finale in May.” Competition “client” Reshma Sohoni, for whom all 533 competing teams around the world created their investment strategies, wished the Region 1 finalists well in a special video message.

Following the webinar, Kelly H., leader of the 1st place team Money Scooper (which also participated in the 2018-2019 competition), shared her team’s reaction to the big news. “We feel incredibly excited and grateful that our hard work over the past two years has paid off. This result is rewarding, and we are thrilled because we never dreamt of reaching first place. Building an investment strategy is a tough and time-consuming process, but we deeply appreciate what we have learned from it. We definitely cherish this precious opportunity, and we all look forward to the global finale.”

The Wharton Global Youth Program will be announcing the winners of Region 3 on Monday, April 13, during a live Zoom webinar for that region’s top teams. You can also read about the results of February’s Region 4 and Region 2 finals. The investment competition’s virtual Global Finale for the top teams from all four regions is scheduled for Friday, May 8. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter and stay tuned to the KWHS Bulletin for all the results.

Congratulations to our Region 1 winners!