ALTOONA, Pa. -- Nikolay Ovchinnikov, a first-year student from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, is the winner of the 2014 spring semester Penn State Altoona Trading Club competition. Ovchinnikov, who plans to major in finance, earned the first-place award of $500. He expanded his portfolio by more than $77,000 over two months of virtual trading, with his return of 30.96 percent setting a new Trading Club record.
Ka Wai Siu, a marketing major from Germantown, Md., earned the $350 award for second place. Third-place finisher Destan Gerhard, a sophomore from Emmaus, Pa., majoring in economics, won the $250 award.
“Students traded stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, and futures and spot contracts for world currencies and commodities on more than 20 global exchanges,” says Robert E. Belsterling, Trading Club adviser. “The top six finishers grew their portfolios by at least $10,000. To put things in perspective, the overall increase in the S&P 500 during the trading competition period was approximately 6.15 percent. The first- and second-place winners both had returns of more than three times the rate of growth in the S&P 500, and our third place winner had a return of more than twice the S&P 500 rate of growth.”
The Trading Club competition provides students with opportunities to manage an investment portfolio on a virtual trading platform while acquiring a broader understanding of how financial markets function. Participants acquire a personal understanding of capital markets through simulated investments. All Penn State Altoona students are eligible to register for the competition, regardless of major. The spring competition included 40 participants.
Funding for the Trading Club’s awards is made possible through the ongoing philanthropic support of Carroll P. and Diane S. Osgood, of Hollidaysburg, Pa. Awards totaling $1,500 were presented to the 10 students with the highest portfolio values on the final day of trading. Each award was based on a student’s ranking on the virtual trading platform. All awards are credited to the students’ Penn State accounts to defray educational expenses.