Johannesburg, 29 July 2026: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has released the names of the June winners of its annual JSE Investment Challenge, the hands-on financial literacy initiative that has been teaching investing skills to South African youth for more than five decades.

 Throughout the competition participants gain real investing experience in creating and managing successful portfolios. June presented a different kind of learning opportunity for participants – as market activity remained relatively subdued, teams were reminded of one of the most important principles of investing: patience.

 “Every team experienced low growth in June amidst global market volatility,” said Ralph Speirs, Senior CSI Officer at the JSE. “The winner with the highest growth rate across the six teams was 2,49% for HSB-Bobi Wine, Hoërskool Birchleigh, Gauteng, in the Schools Speculator Portfolio category. They did well to rise to the top in a market that was tricky for all the teams, with the lowest winning growth rate at 0,49%.”

 While the learners and students are always excited to see their share portfolios grow, contrasting June’s results with other months is where the nature of investing really hits home. In previous rounds, spectacular investment decisions saw a massive 12.78% growth rate for March/April’s winning team from the University of Cape Town, FTX3-Hard Margin Callers, in the University Speculator Portfolio, and a 9.57% growth rate for team MP 2026 from Mpumelelo Secondary in Mpumalanga in the Equity Portfolio category.

 “June taught the teams that investing requires patience. That’s never an easy lesson but it’s as valuable as skills like financial literacy, strategic thinking, budgeting and teamwork. The commitment of the competing teams is being tested now. This is the time for resilience and, especially, for discipline and clear thinking as they assess their risks and make their decisions.”

 The annual Investment Challenge, which runs from 16 March to 15 September, is an interactive, online trading game that gives teams of high school learners and university students virtual R1 million portfolios to invest in JSE-listed shares in a simulated trading environment under authentic stock market conditions.

 The two University of Johannesburg teams that won June’s University Speculator Portfolio, VK-118 Sugarlandia, and the University ETF/ETN Portfolio, VK-49 Varsy Packs, were inspired by Suzaan Hughes, Lecturer in Business Management at the University of Johannesburg. Every year she uses the Investment Challenge in an internal competition at the university with the results counting towards academic marks. Playing in this environment is exhilarating for the students.

 The JSE congratulates all the June winners and looks forward to the continued success and innovation of participants in the coming months.

 June 2026 overall monthly category winners are:

Schools Income Portfolio: LN-The Smart Ones, Oakdale Secondary School, Gauteng (R4 916.02)

Schools Equity Portfolio: FCP-BET, Curro Foreshore, Western Cape (1,30%)

Schools Speculator Portfolio: HSB-Bobi Wine, Hoërskool Birchleigh, Gauteng (2,49%)

Schools ETF/ETN Portfolio: BGC Lisa se span, Hoërskool Stellenbosch, Western Cape (0,76%)

University Speculator Portfolio: VK-118 Sugarlandia, Uni. of Johannesburg APK, Gauteng (2,0%)

University ETF/ETN Portfolio: VK-49 Varsy Packs, Uni. of Johannesburg APK, Gauteng (0,49%).

 Schools and universities keen to participate in the challenge can still register at https://schools.jse.co.za and https://university.jse.co.za. To stay updated, follow the competition’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

ENDS

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