In this file photo, Silver Stone Partners, the team from The International School, Bangalore, are seen receiving the 3rd prize from Diana Drake, Managing Editor of Knowledge@Wharton High School, at the regional finale at the One Globe Forum in New Delhi in February 2017. The team went on to win the Global Finale in May.

If you’re a high-school student interested in business studies, there’s precious little time to waste. Registration for the 2017-18 Knowledge@Wharton High School (KWHS) Investment Competition opens soon! This year, KWHS is adding a new regional competition in China, the top winners of which will proceed to the Global Finale at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. The Global Finale is tentatively set for April 21, 2018.

Region 1 includes China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. Registration in these countries is open, and OTIS trading begins on October 23.

Region 2 includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Azerbaijan. Registration in these countries begins on October 9, and OTIS trading begins on October 30.

Region 3 spans the Americas, Europe, Africa and Oceania. Registration for this region begins on December 11, 2017, and OTIS trading begins on January 8, 2018.
 
Who can participate
The KWHS Investment Competition is a free, global, online investment simulation for high-school students (9th through 12th grades) and teachers. Students learn about teamwork, communication, risk, diversification, company analysis, industry analysis and investing. Teams must have four to nine students, and classes can have several competing teams. Student-led investment clubs and home-schooled teams are also welcome to participate.
 
What participants do
Each team is responsible for managing a portfolio of $100,000 in virtual cash using Wharton’s online trading system known as OTIS (Online Trading and Investment Simulator). Winners are selected on the strength and articulation of their strategies, not on the growth of their portfolios, which is a key differentiator between this investment challenge and others.

Students are required to complete two deliverables: A brief mid-project team review and a more comprehensive final policy. The mid-project team review shows the judges that each team is developing a strategy and is following it. The final policy details each team’s recommended investment strategy. KWHS judges review both documents and select a group of top teams. Selected top teams will present their strategies to a panel of expert judges, who will then select the top analyst teams.
You can register here to get updates on the competition and other KWHS initiatives.