Trader division
Three students, three $1M demo accounts, and every trading decision made by you.
This page covers what is specific to the Trader division. Read it together with the Rules, which apply to both divisions.
Team and accounts
Three students form a team. Each member receives a $1M virtual portfolio, and the team's result is the combined net assets of the three accounts. Trading is done in Trader Workstation (TWS) on your own PC, with real-time market data.
Dates
- Dec 7 – 20, 2026 — Test trading: set up your account and get used to TWS.
- Jan 4 – Mar 25, 2027 — Live trading. All positions must be closed by 15:50 ET on Mar 25.
Reports
Reports are PDFs (A4) in English, with no length limit.
- Final report (required) — a review of the three months in three parts: your investment strategy, your key decisions, and an analysis of your results and what you learned. Due Mar 26 – 31.
- Monthly reports (optional, up to three) — mainly your strategy for the coming month, plus a look back at the month just finished. Each one earns extra points. Due Dec 31 (for January), Jan 31 (February) and Feb 28 (March).
Deadlines are 23:59 US Eastern Time (ET) on the due date.
How reports are judged
External judges score the reports. No investment style, whether short-term, long-term or systematic, is favoured. The criteria for 2026 will be announced separately. For reference, the 2025 final report was scored out of 100:
| Section | Points | What the judges looked at |
|---|---|---|
| Investment approach | 30 | Effectiveness of the style; feasibility of the analysis and trading; reproducibility and sustainability |
| Investment decisions | 23 | Precision of trade records; quality of the rationale; consistency between approach and decisions |
| Performance analysis and learning | 27 | Risk monitoring; analysis of what worked and what did not; objective reporting for investors |
| Optional monthly reports | 20 | December, January and February reports |
The report rank is combined with the performance rank as described in the Rules.
Awards and prizes
| Award | Given to |
|---|---|
| Overall Performance Award | Teams ranked 1st to 3rd overall |
| Most Valuable Player Award | The individual with the highest final return |
- 1st overall — round-trip flights to Japan for the team's three members.
- Other prizes will be announced later.