The top-performing teams will be awarded scholarships as follows:

• 1st Prize: $4,000
• 2nd Prize: $3,000
• 3rd Prize: $2,000

Registration Period (February 3 - February 14, 2025)

Students interested in joining the challenge will form teams of 2-5 members and register through the Stock-Trak. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students. 

Challenge Launch & Orientation Session (February 14, 2025)

The challenge officially begins with an Investment Challenge Orientation hosted by the university president and faculty advisors. Teams will receive an overview of the competition format, scoring criteria, and key market dynamics. Each team will receive an initial virtual capital to start building their portfolios. 

• The orientation session includes three key segments:
  • Technical Tutorial – Presented by Stock-Trak
  • Rules & Guidelines – Explained by faculty advisors
  • Investment Principles – Shared by industry experts

Investment Period (February 19 - April 15, 2025):

Over 8 weeks, teams will trade and manage their virtual portfolios, with weekly checkpoints and progress reports due each Friday. Faculty advisors will be available for weekly consultation. Market experts will hold workshops on various topics such as risk management, ethical investing, and analysis of current market trends. Teams must adhere to set trading rules and will track performance through the university’s online trading simulator.

Mid-Point Check & Peer Review (March 17, 2025)

Halfway through the challenge, each team will submit a progress report detailing their portfolio’s performance, investment strategy, and any adjustments made. This report will be reviewed by peers, faculty advisors, and industry experts who will provide constructive feedback. Teams will have an opportunity to reassess and fine-tune their approach based on these insights.

Final Submission (April 16 - April 23, 2025)

• April 18, 2025: After the 8-week investment period, each team will submit a final report summarizing their performance and strategies.
• April 23, 2025: The 6 finalist teams will be announced.

Presentations, Awards & Recognition Ceremony (April 28, 2025)

The finalist teams will deliver 10-minute presentations during a formal awards ceremony hosted by the university president. Presentations should cover their investment strategy, portfolio performance, risk management practices, and lessons learned throughout the challenge. A panel of judges, including the two faculty and three industry experts, will evaluate the presentations based on returns, strategy, innovation, and demonstrated financial knowledge.

The top-performing teams will be announced after the presentations.

Register for the President’s Investment Challenge on Stock-Trak by 3 p.m. on February 14, 2025. Team captains should be prepared to provide the following information when registering your team:

• Stock-Trak Portal Account Registration Information
  • Username and Password
  • Email
    • Used for contact purposes. Please enter the captain's Rebelmail address.
  • Year of Birth
    • Used for security verification.
• Team Information
  • Team Name
    • Be creative and memorable.
  • Team Mantra
    • A short statement that reflects your team’s values, purpose, or guiding principle.
• Members Information
  • First and Last Name
  • Rebelmail Address
  • Phone Number
  • School/Colleges
  • Majors
  • NSHE IDs

For questions, please email info.pinvestc@unlv.edu.

• Students must form a team between 2 to 5 members. The team captain should register for the team and provide information on the team members during the registration process.
• All full-time, enrolled, degree-seeking students are eligible to participate. Students can only join one team.
• Each team will start with a virtual $500,000. To be considered as top-performing teams, teams should have a positive portfolio return, or a portfolio value greater than $500,000 after the investment period.
• Eligible financial instruments to be traded include U.S. stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, options, and cryptocurrencies.
• Teams should invest no more than 25% in any single security and no more than 50% in any single diversified mutual fund or ETF.
• Margin trading and short sales are allowed.
• Teams should conduct a minimum of 10 trades throughout the investment period, and must place trades in February, March, and April.
• The minimum price for a stock to be bought is $5; the minimum price for a stock to be shorted is $10.
• Day trading is not allowed.
• Teams should use the Trade Journal feature to document the reasons for each trade.

• Portfolio Performance (50%) – Total return on investment over the 8-week period.
• Strategy & Rationale (20%) – Evaluation of the team’s investment strategy and decision-making process on the basis of articulation, soundness, or thoughtfulness of the strategy.
• Risk Management (20%) – Effective use of strategies to mitigate risk.
• Team Collaboration & Presentation (10%) – Quality of team collaboration and clarity of the final presentation.