15 Investment Competitions for High School Students
Curious about how investment really works beyond textbooks and theory? If you’re a high school student interested in investment and finance, investment competitions are a great way to gain practical investing experience.
What are investment competitions for high school students?
These competitions involve exercising your decision-making, critical thinking, and financial analysis skills. Many give you opportunities to interact with industry professionals and gain recognition for your performance, helping you stand out among students with similar academic interests.
Why should you pursue investment competitions for high school students?
You will learn how to make decisions using data and tools and work collaboratively with peers, which can be helpful for your own business ventures. If you’re interested in applying to finance-related programs in the future, these programs give you an edge and show initiative on your part, which will strengthen your college applications.
For investment and trading programs, you should look here. Also, for tips on how to cold email investors for your high school business, check here.
To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of the top 15 Investment Competitions for High School Students.
Disclaimer: Some items below are investment and finance programs that will help you develop the skills to excel at investment competitions in the future.
15 Investment Competitions for High School Students
1. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote (work from anywhere in the world)
Cost/Stipend: Starting at $2,490 (financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Acceptance rate is around 10%
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort – Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November)
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students who can work for 8 - 12 weeks, devoting 10 - 20 hours/week
Ladder Internships places you inside a real startup, working on projects that actually matter to the company. You are matched with a fast-growing startup in fields like tech, AI, health, marketing, journalism, or consulting, depending on your interests. These are not mock internships. You work directly with founders and managers, contribute to active projects, and get regular guidance from a Ladder Coach who helps you stay on track. Many of the startups are early stage but well funded, often led by founders with serious industry or startup experience. The program ends with you presenting your work to the company, giving you a clear sense of how startups operate and what it feels like to be part of a small, fast-moving team.
2. Young Founders Lab
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Cost: Varies according to program. There is need-based financial aid
Program Dates: Varies by the cohort
Application Deadline: There are three application deadlines to choose from; more details are available in the brochure
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The Young Founder’s Lab is a start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a complex problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
3. Wharton Global High School Investment Competition
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Highly Competitive
Dates: September 29 (start of trading); December 5 (end of trading); January 27 (Semifinalists announced); Week of March 9 (Virtual Semifinals); April 24 and 25 (Global Finale)
Application Deadline: September 12 (advisor registration), September 18 (team setup)
Eligibility: High school students with a teacher-advisor; teams of 4–6 from the same school; the team leader should be at least 16 at the start of the competition
The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition gives you the chance to put your finance and investing knowledge to the test in a realistic, team-based setting. Working with a small group of classmates and guided by a teacher, you'll manage a simulated $500,000 stock portfolio for a client. After examining a case study and defining long-term goals, your team will design and execute an investment strategy over a 10-week period. What sets this competition apart is that the judges don't just look at portfolio growth, but on your stock analysis and stock picking strategies. The competition consists of four phases, and finalist teams will present their investment approach to a panel of judges for evaluation.
4. Ithaca High School Investment Competition
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: November 17 (start of trading); April 3 (end of trading)
Application Deadline: December 15
Eligibility: High-school students, teams of 3 to 6 students, and a faculty advisor from the same high school
Ithaca College's High School Investment Competition offers a practical way to experience what it's like to manage a large investment portfolio in a competitive environment. You’ll compete in teams along with a faculty advisor to manage a virtual portfolio of $1,000,000. As markets change, you’ll manage your portfolio, make adjustments in portfolio holdings in response to market fluctuations, and learn how real-world conditions affect investment outcomes. There is a cap on the number of trades, and the portfolio with the best performance at the end of the competition will be declared the winner, rewarding both smart analysis and disciplined decision-making.
5. Young Investors Society Global Stock Pitch Competition
Location: Virtual and in-person finals in New York, NY
Cost: $25 registration fee per person
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: February 1 – 28 (virtual trading round); May 1 (live trading finals)
Application Deadline: February 20
Eligibility: High-school students; solo participants or 2-person teams
The Global Stock Pitch Competition challenges you to think like a professional equity analyst and build an investment case from the ground up. During the competition, you’ll research publicly traded companies, dig into financial statements, and analyze market conditions to develop a stock idea. Your goal is to produce a pitch report for this stock, with a well-supported buy or sell recommendation. Your submission has to include a written report, a presentation, and a video explaining your reasoning. If you advance to the last round, you’ll present and defend your pitch before a panel of industry professionals, gaining valuable experience in explaining and justifying your investment decisions.
6. Stevens Trading Day Competition
Location: Virtual and finals at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
Cost/: $20 registration fee per student
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: February 1–28 (virtual trading); May 1 (live finals)
Application Deadline: January 20
Eligibility: High‑school sophomores and juniors
Stevens Trading Day is a virtual, hands-on investment challenge for high school sophomores and juniors who want real exposure to the world of finance. The competition begins with a virtual phase, where you’ll learn investing concepts while managing an equities portfolio. Over the course of a month, you'll make investment decisions, track performance, and apply strategy in a simulated market environment. Your portfolio will be reviewed at the end of the month, and the top 25 will advance to the final round and be invited to compete in person. During the finals, you’ll work with professional-grade investment tools, analyze live market data, and trade using Bloomberg terminals in the Financial Systems Center.
7. TCU High School Investor Challenge
Location: TCU Neeley School of Business, Fort Worth, TX
Cost: $1,600 (covers room, board, and program expenses)
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: On campus program during June; virtual portfolio‑management phase July–March (exact dates not specified)
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: High‑school students entering senior year with a strong academic background (especially math)
The TCU High School Investor Challenge is a long-term investing program designed for high school students who want to understand how the stock market works beyond short-term simulations. The program begins with a 5-day instruction phase, where you’ll learn about essential investing concepts such as portfolio management, securities analysis, and how to access and analyze company filings and market data. After the initial training, you’ll manage a $100,000 virtual portfolio over 8 months, making real investment decisions, tracking performance, and submitting periodic stock reports. The panel will review and critique your stock decisions, trades, and performance, and choose the winner, based on overall portfolio performance, quality of analysis, and returns over time.
8. Haub School of Business High School Investment Challenge
Location: Virtual and in‑person presentation at SJU, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Teams work over several months, final presentation round in March (Exact dates not specified)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students with a faculty advisor
The Haub School of Business Investment Challenge is designed for high school students interested in learning about investing in a competitive format. The program emphasizes understanding the stock market from a multifaceted perspective, where you’ll learn how the stock market is interconnected with business and global events, market behavior, long-term investment strategies, and more. Working in teams, you'll build and manage a portfolio, analyze market forces that influence performance, and analyze and refine your approach as the conditions change. The experience culminates in presenting your strategy to a panel of investment experts, who evaluate both your results and your understanding of the markets.
9. The Wolves of Wall Street Competition
Location: Virtual
Cost: $100
Acceptance rate: Moderate
Dates: January 17 (competition start); April 4 (final presentations)
Application Deadline: December 30
Eligibility: Students in grades 8–12; individual or team of up to 3 - 4 students
The Wolves of Wall Street is a 12-week investment competition that gives high school students hands-on experience in portfolio management and strategy building. During the competition, you’ll manage a simulated investment portfolio and create an investment strategy based on market conditions. In the 11th week, you’ll pitch your investment portfolio for evaluation to qualify for the finals. You’ll be judged on the strength of your overall strategy, the quality of your trades, and your ranking in the investor leaderboard. Finalist teams will present their portfolios and strategies to a panel of judges, who select the winners.
10. UT Dallas Top Trader Stock Market Competition
Location: Virtual
Cost: $50 registration fee
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: June 3 – July 25
Application Deadline: May 23
Eligibility: Rising 9th‑12th graders
The University of Texas at Dallas Top Trader Competition is a virtual investing challenge for high school students interested in pursuing careers in investment management. The competition begins with an initial program that introduces you to smart trading strategies. You will then apply those ideas to manage $1,000,000 in virtual currency, investing in stocks or ETFs, and refining your approach in response to market conditions. You’ll be evaluated on the value of your portfolio at the end of the competition. The competition takes place virtually, and winners will receive cash prizes.
11. Bentley University Summer Stock Market Challenge
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: June 12 – July 11
Application Deadline: June 11
Eligibility: High‑school students
Bentley University's Summer Stock Market Challenge invites high school students to test their knowledge of the stock market in a competitive, virtual environment. You’ll start with $50,000 in virtual dollars and trade throughout the competition, with your portfolio evaluated at the end. The competition provides access to stock market data, tools, and trading resources to help shape your investment strategy. The trading platform will also provide you with access to information about companies' finances and news, enabling you to make informed decisions. The competition takes place virtually, making it easy for students to compete and learn from anywhere in the U.S.
12. Capitol Hill Challenge
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Trading begins January 16; trading ends May 2
Application Deadline: March 8
Eligibility: Middle‑school and high‑school students; the school must be invited
The Capitol Hill Challenge is a team-based personal finance, economics, and investing competition. You’ll compete in teams to manage a virtual $100,000 portfolio consisting of stocks, cash, bonds, and mutual funds. Managing the portfolio collaboratively will help teams build skills in collaboration, decision-making, and critical thinking. The top 10 performing teams will earn national recognition and the opportunity to engage in discussions with leaders from government and business.
13. Ascend Berkeley Stock Pitch Competition
Location: Virtual
Cost: $45-65 per student
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Problem released January 4; Submission deadline for preliminary round January 11; Final round (top 8 in each category) February 7
Application Deadline: January 3
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–12; teams of 2–5 from the same school
The Ascend Berkeley Stock Pitch Competition lets high school students test their investment skills through a team-based challenge. In the preliminary round, you'll manage a virtual portfolio and select stocks to meet a specific investment goal. You’ll gain practical investment experience by analyzing market data, evaluating company performances, and creating a strategy. Teams that move to the finals will present their solutions to a panel of judges, followed by a question-and-answer round that evaluates their stock-picking strategy and reasoning behind their stock picks. Top teams will gain national and global recognition based on their ranking.
14. FBLA The Stock Market Game
Location: Virtual
Cost: $10.95 per team
Acceptance rate: Moderate
Dates: Fall: October 6 – December 12 | Spring: February 2 – April 10
Application Deadline: October 24; February 20
Eligibility: FBLA members; teams of 1–5 students with an adviser
The Stock Market Games allow you to build your financial literacy and business skills by managing a simulated stock market portfolio. You’ll start with $100,000 in virtual capital and invest it over 10 weeks across a mix of mutual funds, stocks, and bonds. Throughout the competition, you'll apply your critical thinking, math, and research skills to make informed investment decisions. Portfolios will be ranked based on percentage growth compared to the S&P 500 Index, with the top performers gaining national recognition.
15. National JA Stock Market Challenge
Location: Virtual, with in‑person finals in Boston, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: May 5 (Finalists announced); June 7–11 (Final round)
Application Deadline: November 28
Eligibility: High‑school students in grades 9–12; teams of 2–4; must have participated in the local JA Stock Market Challenge and completed the JA “Take Stock in Your Future” curriculum
The National JA Stock Market Challenge is a stock trading competition that tests your skills in a fast-paced market simulation. You’ll manage a stock portfolio, while responding to company news and market trends, and making quick decisions under time pressure. The competition focuses on financial literacy, risk management, and decision-making. If your portfolio has the highest net worth at the end of the competition, then you will be declared the winner.
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