2025-2026 Wharton Global High School Investment Competition Rules
Student Eligibility
Student teams must consist of members from the same high school who are currently enrolled high school students.
"High school" typically refers to secondary-level (ages 14 and older—but not older than 18 at the start of the competition) pre-collegiate education as defined by the respective country or region (e.g., typically grades 9 through 12 in the United States).
Students who are homeschooled or tutored privately (with the aim of obtaining a GED or a non-U.S. equivalent high school diploma) are also eligible to participate.
Participants must not have received a high school or secondary school diploma prior to the start of the competition on September 29, 2025.
Children of University of Pennsylvania faculty and staff members are eligible to participate, provided that their parent or guardian is not a member of the competition's Judging Committee.
Advisor
Each team must have an Advisor; this Advisor must be a teacher or educator at the high school attended by the student team members.
An Advisor may supervise a maximum of five teams. However, there is no limit to the number of teams a single school may enter in the competition.
The Advisor is responsible for registration; students are not permitted to register themselves or their team for the competition.
The use of paid consultants, educational advisors, or other agents is prohibited. Furthermore, no participant or team may enroll in any non-Wharton extracurricular "courses" (whether online or in-person) that claim to "teach" the investment competition. Teams suspected by Wharton Global Youth Programs of utilizing paid consultants, educational advisors, extracurricular courses, or other agents will be disqualified from the competition. Wharton Global Youth Programs reserves the right to engage its own staff, as well as third-party private investigative firms and/or forensic analysts, to ensure compliance with the aforementioned restrictions and to ensure a level playing field for all teams.
Teams are not permitted to change their Advisor. If a team requires a change of Advisor due to extenuating circumstances, they must first submit a written request to the Investment Competition team and obtain their approval (wghs-invcomp@wharton.upenn.edu). Any team attempting to change its Advisor without having first submitted a written request will be disqualified.
Teams
From the start of the competition, each team must maintain a minimum of four members and a maximum of six members.
Students may not participate in more than one team.
Students must form a team with members (and an advisor) from the same high school. The top 50 teams will be selected as semi-finalists, regardless of their geographic origin.
Teams are strictly prohibited from contacting the competition client. Teams that violate this rule will be disqualified.
Teams may choose their own names; however, team names containing offensive or vulgar language may result in automatic disqualification. The Wharton Global Youth Program reserves the right to contact teams to mandate changes to any team names deemed inappropriate.
Teams may add or remove members, and students are permitted to switch teams until the Midterm Report deadline on October 17, 2025. The final team name and roster must be submitted alongside the Midterm Report. After October 17, should a team need to withdraw due to extenuating circumstances, they must submit a written request to the Investment Competition team for approval (wghs-invcomp@wharton.upenn.edu). Teams that abandon their membership without submitting a prior written request will be eliminated from the competition.
Competition Format
Each team will be allocated $100,000 in virtual cash to manage and trade, participating in a 10-week simulated stock trading competition against high school students from around the world on the Wharton School’s online trading simulation system (WInS).
Students will select investment targets from a list of stocks provided within the system. Internally, each team will formulate an investment strategy aligned with their specific objectives, as well as prepare a proposal addressed to a hypothetical "client" featured in the case study. Teams will utilize the WInS platform to execute trades, implement their investment strategies, and ultimately submit a "Final Strategy Overview" as their official competition entry. During the competition period, two reports are required: a Mid-term Report and a comprehensive Final Investment Strategy Report; additionally, each individual student is required to conduct and submit an investment strategy analysis for a specific stock.
Trading Rules
*Please Note: The trading rules are currently pending updates; further information will be provided at a later date.*
All trading takes place on WInS (Wharton Investment Simulator). Teams will have access to WInS during the pre-competition period but will be unable to execute trades until the trading window officially opens on September 30 at 9:30 AM (Eastern Time).
Each investment portfolio must include stocks from a number of distinct industry sectors equal to at least the number of team members. For instance, if a team consists of five members, they must invest across five different sectors. Teams are required to maintain this necessary level of diversification throughout the entire competition. Consequently, if a team sells a stock from a specific sector—such as utilities—at any point during the active trading period, they must subsequently invest in a new stock within the utilities sector (or a stock from another sector not yet represented in their portfolio) to replace the sold position.
Every trade executed on WInS must be accompanied by a written trade rationale that specifies the purpose of the transaction and explains how it aligns with the team's overall investment strategy. The system will prompt students to enter this trade rationale before allowing them to execute a trade.
The investment competition primarily involves the buying and selling of stocks listed on various domestic and international exchanges. Teams are permitted to trade only those stocks included in the approved list of securities. Teams are strictly prohibited from recommending stocks *outside* of this approved list to their clients—whether as part of their team's investment strategy or for actual trading on WInS.
Teams may also recommend that their clients invest in U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). However, teams will *not* be able to execute trades for these Treasury instruments (Bills, Notes, Bonds, or TIPS) directly on WInS. Teams should document any recommendations regarding bonds or notes made to their clients' portfolios within their final written report. Teams are under no obligation to recommend investments in bonds or notes to their clients. If a team's final report contains investment recommendations involving assets other than cash, stocks from the approved list, or U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, and TIPS, that team will be disqualified from advancing to the Semi-Finals or Global Finals. For further clarification: the use of STRIPS, I-Bonds, and Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) is expressly prohibited as part of your team's investment strategy. All teams must fully execute at least one WInS trade by the close of the U.S. market on October 18, 2024 (4:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time) to be eligible to advance to the Semifinals and the Global Finals.
Semifinals and Global Finals
To be considered an "active" team eligible for the Semifinals or Global Finals, each team must submit two deliverables during the competition period: an Interim Report and a final Comprehensive Investment Strategy Report. Based on the strength of their final Comprehensive Investment Strategy Report, the top 50 teams will be selected to advance to the Semifinals. In addition to their final Comprehensive Investment Strategy Report, teams must also include documentation from their high school (on official school letterhead) confirming that they have obtained permission to participate in the competition and that all students and faculty advisors are affiliated with that school.
You may use generative AI programs (e.g., tools such as ChatGPT) to assist with idea generation and brainstorming. However, please be aware that material generated by these programs may be inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise problematic. Note also that reliance on such tools may stifle your own independent thinking and creativity. You must not submit any work generated by an AI program as your own original work. If you do include material generated by an AI program, you must cite it just as you would any other reference material (giving due consideration to the quality of the source, which may be poor). Any plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be dealt with severely in accordance with the relevant investment competition policies. Please refer to the Ethics and Code of Conduct Policy outlined below.
The Semifinals will be conducted virtually. If your team advances to the Global Finals held in Philadelphia, Wharton Global Youth Programs will not cover your expenses, nor will it sponsor any students or advisors in obtaining visas or similar travel permits. All costs—including travel and accommodation for students and advisors—are the sole responsibility of the participants. Wharton Global Youth Programs strongly encourages adult chaperones to accompany any teams traveling to the Global Finals. Teams will be permitted to join the Global Finals virtually via live video stream; however, they must provide their own necessary equipment to connect live to the Semifinals and/or Global Finals sessions.
All Semifinalists and Global Finalists (or, in the case of students under the age of 18, their parents or legal guardians) are required to sign a Consent and Release Form. Upon granting consent, Wharton Global Youth Programs may use students' names, high schools, cities, states, likenesses, photographs, and project details across various media platforms for the purpose of promoting Wharton Global Youth Programs or the competition. During the semi-finals and/or Global Finals, video/audio recording or photography of speeches and/or participants is prohibited. Unauthorized video/audio recordings, photographs, screenshots, or their publication on the internet will result in disqualification.
All participants must comply with the University of Pennsylvania's Acceptable Use Policy for Electronic Resources.
Judging Criteria
The winning team is not necessarily the one with the highest absolute return on investment, but rather the team that demonstrates the highest standards in business and financial acumen, teamwork, and leadership. Furthermore, the competition does not assess the capabilities of any single individual; instead, it evaluates which team—through its collective strategy and execution—achieves the highest standard of "team deliverables."
Awards
All students on teams that submit both deliverables will receive a Certificate of Participation in February of the following year. All semi-finalists and global finalists will also receive special certificates recognizing their achievements.
*Students must meet program/project requirements. Unless determined otherwise at the sole discretion of the Wharton Global Youth Program, prize substitutions are not permitted; in such instances, a prize (or portion thereof) of equal or greater value may be awarded. Prizes are not redeemable for cash. The competition and prizes are void where prohibited.
Ethics
All members of teams participating in the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition are expected to uphold high standards of personal ethics. From the moment you register for the competition, every decision you make should be executed with the utmost honesty and integrity. This begins with the composition of your team (you must maintain a minimum of four active members at all times to remain eligible for the competition) and extends to how you articulate your strategy and investment choices in your final paper—encompassing every step in between.
Students must adhere to the University of Pennsylvania’s guidelines on academic integrity, which stipulate that all student work must be original and must not be plagiarized from any other source—including advisors or "unofficial" consultants. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, presenting another person's words or ideas as one's own. Plagiarism and any form of academic dishonesty constitute grounds for disqualification from the competition. If you are ever unsure about a specific decision or situation, please contact the Wharton Global Youth Programs staff for clarification. Ethics constitute a critical aspect of asset management; all teams are expected to read the CFA Institute’s *Asset Manager Code* and conduct themselves in accordance with these standards.
The Wharton Global Youth Programs reserves the right to engage staff members, third-party private investigative firms, and/or forensic analysts to ensure compliance with the aforementioned restrictions and to guarantee a level playing field for all participating teams.
Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct for the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition extends to how students and advisors treat their teammates, supervisors, and competition organizers. We expect teams to demonstrate courtesy and respect in their interactions—whether in person, via email, or on social media—and to express any concerns or grievances using polite tone and language. Wharton Global Youth Programs will not tolerate any form of negative, threatening, or inappropriate behavior and reserves the sole discretion to sanction or disqualify any team engaging in such conduct.
Each team is required to properly cite all sources utilized and to acknowledge ownership of all images and other media submitted as part of their deliverables or presentations that are not owned or independently developed by the team (or its members). Submitted materials will be rejected if they violate any laws or intellectual property restrictions, are offensive in nature, incite violence, or are deemed unsuitable for public viewing (for the purposes of this competition). Regardless of whether a team is selected as a finalist, each team (and/or the students within that team) retains ownership of its own work.
The University of Pennsylvania prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other category protected by law.
New! AI Policy
You may use generative AI programs (such as tools like ChatGPT) to assist with idea generation and brainstorming. However, please be aware that the material produced by these programs may be inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise problematic. Note also that such usage may stifle your own independent thinking and creativity. You must not submit any work generated by an AI program as your own original work. If you do include material generated by an AI program, you must cite it just as you would any other reference material (giving due consideration to the quality of the source, which may be poor). Any plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be dealt with severely in accordance with the relevant Investment Competition policies. Please refer to the Ethics and Code of Conduct section above.
