Did you know that just 8% of the decision makers in the world of investment management are women? Only 20% of the new entrants into the investment management industry are women. If ever there were an industry that needed a gender re-balancing, this is it. The GAIN organisation is seeking to redress the gender imbalance in the industry and to raise the profile of women in investment. Part of its strategy to achieve this is to liaise with schools to educate and encourage female future financial experts. GAIN competitions are one way of raising the profile of female investors and in January, three teams from KEHS entered the GAIN Investment Challenge competition.
The Investment Challenge Competition was a national competition aimed at giving girls the experience of making investment decisions. 63 teams from schools all over the country competed and each was allocated a company to analyse from a pre-selected list. KEHS was allocated Britvic, ASOS or ABF (Associated British Foods). The competition involved each team analysing its company and then deciding whether they would advise potential investors to buy, hold or sell the shares in the company. The teams had to produce a detailed financial analysis of the company and also a video where they justified the decision that they had made. Throughout January, the students attended workshops on investment decision making and what analysts look for in deciding in which shares to hold in their investment portfolios. They were also given access to a professional financial analyst and advice on how to enter a career in investment management.
After a lengthy judging process, all three of our teams were complimented on the professionalism and insight of their analyses and our Britvic Team (pictured) won the national runners up position, winning £100 each in vouchers and £500 for the school. The team was led by Sarah and included Sana, Zeena, Karishma and Lamees. Their report was described as “very good financial analysis” with an “impressive depth of analysis”.
The ASOS team was lead by Tanisha and included Ishapreet, Anthea, Avni and Matilda, while Lina led Jessica, Simrath, Maya and Safa in the ABF team. Congratulations to all three teams who represented the school so well and a particular well done to the Britvic Team!
Miss Evans
