Beware of "JSE Investment" scams

The JSE Limited/ Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is aware of a several scams (on Telegram and WhatsApp) posing as authorised JSE investment schemes and/or using the names(s) of JSE Executives (including our CEO, Leila Fourie).

In these investment scams, potential investors are urged to deposit money into a bank account and promised quick and guaranteed returns on their investment. These types of groups are not authorised by the JSE and the investments referred to are not authorised or endorsed by the JSE or any members of the JSE Executive. The JSE does not recruit investors in this manner.

The only way to invest on the JSE is via an authorised JSE stockbroker. A list of stockbrokers can be found on www.jse.co.za and then click on 'find a stockbroker' and you will find a list of stockbrokers in your area who will help you to open an account and you can begin your investment journey with the JSE.

Should you suspect a false investment scam group, please report these to the JSE at [email protected].

Published 14 Apr 2020
Posted by JSE Admin

Johannesburg, 14 April 2020 : The government-implemented lockdown measures have set an unprecedented approach to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Investment Challenge.

Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Officer at the JSE, Ralph Speirs says teams enjoyed the luxury of face-to-face interactions with each other and their mentors as often as necessary, but now they have to navigate new ways of interacting while the country practices social distancing in our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This has left a few of our teams anxious and seeking online interactions during this lockdown,” says Speirs. 

To address this challenge, last Thursday the JSE invited this year’s teams to participate in a Facebook Live broadcast in order to engage with students and respond to their questions.

“We’ve been fielding a number of queries from challengers. While we’ve made it clear that the challenge continues, we felt that an earnest conversation could help allay their fears,” says Speirs.

The challenge, which draws school learners and higher institution students with an interest in investing and the stock market, is in its 47th year. Over the decades this financial literacy initiative has come to be a highly regarded programme that introduces the country’s youth to the world of investing and the stock exchange.

More than 23 000 school learners and higher institution students participated in last year’s challenge.

“We have not experienced anything remotely close to the Covid-19 pandemic in the nearly five decades that the challenge has been running. This lockdown has given many learners and students the opportunity to spend more time learning about the stock market and interacting with each other,” says Speirs.

Monthly winners of the challenge were also be announced on Thursday. Two team members from two of the winning categories were interviewed by Speirs during the live broadcast. The winning teams walk away with R2 000 each and R3 000 for the higher institution team. 

The JSE Investment Challenge runs from March to September each year. Not only does it have a positive impact on the lives of the young people who participate, but it also benefits our communities because the learners and students who participate spread their knowledge of investing.

The challenge takes the form of a simulator where each team of four learners or students from the same school or institution are given a virtual sum of R1 million. With this virtual amount the teams trade on the stock market and invest in actual JSE listed shares over a six-month period. What they learn in this time allows the challengers to positively impact the South African economy in the future.

Participation is open to school learners between grades 8 and 12 as well as students from higher learning institutions. The various teams compete with other teams from schools and institutions countrywide. There are prizes to be won monthly as well as annual prizes for top performing teams, schools, and teachers. The team that wins the JSE Investment Challenge receives prize money in the form of an ETF investment account for each team member, and the top performing university team is awarded a trip to an international stock exchange plus R25 000. 

Participants were alerted to Thursday’s live broadcast and tuned in with their questions. The winners also shared some of their tips. 

“We will be rolling out more live, interactive broadcasts in the coming weeks. We are dealing with a digitally savvy generation, and there is no better time than now to use the online communication tools at our disposal,” says Speirs.

March Winners:

INCOME PORTFOLIO: Lethas Wolves from Lethukuthula Secondary School in Gauteng

EQUITY PORTFOLIO: SMIT_77 from Hoërskool DR Malan in Gauteng

SPECULATOR PORTFOLIO: Prophets of Profit from Reddam House Durbanville in the Western Cape

SPECULATOR PORTFOLIO UNIVERSITY: FinChat representative from University of Pretoria in Gauteng

                                                      ENDS

 

ABOUT THE JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is based in South Africa where it has operated as a marketplace for the trading of financial products for 130 years. It connects buyers and sellers in equity, derivative and debt markets. The JSE is one of the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation and is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and holds the chairmanship of the Association of Futures Markets (AFM). The JSE offers a fully electronic, efficient, secure market with world class regulation, trading and clearing systems, settlement assurance and risk management. www.jse.co.za.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

JSE contact: 

Pheliswa Mayekiso
Media and Internal Communications Officer
Tel: +27 011 520 7495
Email: [email protected]