Johannesburg, 29 July 2021 - Two university students, who are JSE Investment Challenge winners, say it is important to keep friends who are "just as ambitious as you are".

The Investment Challenge is the JSE’s flagship programme that aims to teach South African learners and students about investing on the JSE. 

Katlego Masete, an actuarial science student, and Ntiyiso Nghenabo, who is studying towards a chartered accountancy qualification, are in their third-year at the University of Cape Town. The pair won the monthly speculator portfolio in the university category. They credit their success to staying true to their values. Both students are proud Limpopo residents whose friendship stemmed from sharing common values and principles.

They believe their success at high school, university and with the JSE Investment Challenge is a consequence of the fact that both are hard workers, and they dream big. While Masete and Nghenabo come from humble beginnings, they believe very strongly that they are destined for greater things. “This is just the beginning, we are planning on doing big things in life,” says Masete.

In matric Masete obtained six distinctions, scoring 100 percent in mathematics and physics while Nghenabo’s grades were equally impressive with five distinctions. Nghenabo says they were drawn towards each other because they both share a similar work ethic. “Our academic workload is extremely demanding, coping with the fields of study we have chosen requires a lot of hard work. We inspire each other and that is why we make a good team,” says Nghenabo.

The pair, whose team name ‘Limpopo Goes to the Market’ unambiguously demonstrates their affinity to their home province, says university life presented them with several new challenges. Among the challenges was adjusting to life in a big city. Cape Town is massive compared with their hometown of Phalaborwa.

“You have to be unique in life, don’t follow the crowd,” says Masete.

As for their success in  the Investment Challenge competition, they  believe that the technical orientation of their studies came in handy particularly when it comes to analysing trends. Their advice to the youth is, “do not follow the herd, motivation has to come from within. To succeed you must show up and from there work hard and do not give up. Most importantly be a principled person.”

Ralph Speirs, CSI officer at the JSE said:  “The Investment Challenge aims to equip the youth of South Africa with financial literacy and investment know-how.”

“We want to ensure that when learners and students leave the education environment, they understand how to use their disposable income and develop healthy savings and investment habits.”

June 2021 category winners:

• Income portfolio - MP Magic Traders, Mpumelelo Secondary School
• Equity portfolio - Element X, Center of Excellence High School
• Speculator portfolio - The Capitalists, Crawford College Sandton
• Speculator portfolio (University) - Limpopo goes to the Market, University of Cape Town

Registrations for the 2021 Investment Challenge are still open and interested learners and students can still participate in the competition. To register for the challenge, visit the JSE Investment Challenge website and to stay updated, follow the competition’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ENDS 

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