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Winners Announced in Unique Real-Money Stock Market Tournament | December 13, 2007
Calgary man wins top spot, earning a total return on his investment of 1,123 per cent, in Canadian ShareOwner Group’s one-of-a-kind “reality” competition
Toronto, Ontario – December 11, 2007 – A Calgary man is $10,000 richer after winning the world’s first real-money stock market tournament. To qualify for that prize, Reinhard Kloiber more than doubled his $1,000 initial investment to $2,232 in the 11-month competition.
Kloiber’s results translate to a 123 per cent gain on his $1,000 stake, and – including his $10,000 grand prize – a total return of 1,123 per cent.
The national Canadian tournament – held from January 2 to November 30 – was organized by Toronto-based Canadian ShareOwner Group, a leader in practical education for the average investor. The one-of-a-kind competition is unique because it involves real money – as opposed to pretend or phantom dollars used by other stock market contests.
Called the Double Scoop Tournament – because contestants could win twice, through real money stock market gains as well as cash prizes – participants invested $1,000 each, with prizes awarded to the 20 portfolios that increased the most during the 11-month period.
Second place winner is Mel D’Sa of Vancouver, who won a $5,000 prize with a 119 per cent gain that increased his $1,000 portfolio to $2,186, for a total return of 619 per cent. William Tackaberry of Toronto won the third place prize of $1,000 with gains that took his portfolio to $2,023 for a 102 per cent return and a total profit of 202 per cent in 11 months.
“What interested me in participating in the tournament was the fact that it involved real money with tangible risks and potential rewards,” said grand-prize winner Kloiber, whose portfolio consisted of Google, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Research in Motion and TD Bank stocks.
Kloiber, who is self-employed and a father of two, explains that he and his wife, Anne-Marie, have invested in the stock market over the years as a way to build their retirement savings. “I’m usually a conservative investor, happy to make an average 10 per cent annual return on my investments, but I was out to win this tournament, so I took some risks and didn’t diversify my portfolio as much as I’d normally do. It clearly paid off this time,” said Kloiber, whose wife and 23-year-old daughter also participated in the tournament.
Likening the competition to “reality investing,” Canadian ShareOwner Chief Education Officer John Bart says that the goal of the tournament was to encourage financial literacy among Canadians. With 665 participants, 66 per cent of the contestants made money during the 11-month tournament, Bart said, explaining that aside from the top three winners, two per cent (10) of participants had a return of between 50-99 per cent, five per cent (31) earned between 25-49 per cent, 20 per cent (133) made between 10-24 per cent, and 39 per cent (259) made a profit of up to nine per cent.
“The competition gave participants an unprecedented opportunity to develop and test their stock selection skills and emotional responses to gains and losses, without unduly burdening their time or financial resources,” he said. “For seasoned stock investors, it’s the first tournament where they could reap the rewards of their investing skill, twice.”
Tournament participants, operating individually or as small groups, invested $1,000 to buy their stock picks from more than 150 Canadian and U.S. growth stocks, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pre-selected by Canadian ShareOwner. All participants had free access to Canadian ShareOwner’s educational resources. As well, there was no charge to enter, to buy or sell securities throughout the contest, or to cash out at the end using ShareOwner’s dollar-based, co-operative investing service.
To further minimize the risk and maximize portfolio diversification, there was no minimum purchase, and participants could divide the $1,000 any way they wanted, buying $25 worth of one stock, $40 of another, and so on. Whole and fractional shares were credited to participants’ accounts at ShareOwner’s training affiliate, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Dealer’s Association of Canada.
“The opportunity to invest a modest amount of your own money in a diversified portfolio makes for an educational tournament that pretend money just can’t duplicate,” Bart emphasized.
For Kloiber, the educational resources provided by Canadian ShareOwner proved to be an invaluable resource in helping him choose winning stocks, he says, adding that he’ll now use those resources as he re-invests his $10,000 win.
With the success of the Double Scoop Tournament, Canadian ShareOwner has announced a similar competition in 2008 for university and college students. Called the Growth Stock Challenge, the tournament runs from January 2 through November 28, 2008, and is open to Canadian residents who are currently enrolled at a Canadian university or college.
The deadline to register for the Growth-Stock Challenge is December 14, 2007. For more information or to register, please visit www.shareowner.com.
About Canadian ShareOwner Group (www.shareowner.com)
Established in 1987, Canadian ShareOwner Group provides investment education resources and online courses to help Canadians select and manage portfolios of high-quality growth stocks to earn superior rates of return. ShareOwner’s trading affiliate, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc., operates Canada’s only dollar-based, co-operative investing service for individual investors and investment clubs. The service combines all orders to buy or sell a specific security (from ShareOwner’s pre-screened list of growth stocks and ETFs) into just one consolidated order that is executed on the security’s principal stock exchange. Each security is traded on a fixed schedule every week, every two weeks or monthly, depending on popularity. Buyers pay, and sellers receive, the same average price paid (or received) for all share/units included in a consolidated order. Co-op commissions are among the lowest in Canada (e.g. $4 per security to order a nine-stock portfolio; $2 each for an 18-stock portfolio).
Toronto, Ontario – December 11, 2007 – A Calgary man is $10,000 richer after winning the world’s first real-money stock market tournament. To qualify for that prize, Reinhard Kloiber more than doubled his $1,000 initial investment to $2,232 in the 11-month competition.
Kloiber’s results translate to a 123 per cent gain on his $1,000 stake, and – including his $10,000 grand prize – a total return of 1,123 per cent.
The national Canadian tournament – held from January 2 to November 30 – was organized by Toronto-based Canadian ShareOwner Group, a leader in practical education for the average investor. The one-of-a-kind competition is unique because it involves real money – as opposed to pretend or phantom dollars used by other stock market contests.
Called the Double Scoop Tournament – because contestants could win twice, through real money stock market gains as well as cash prizes – participants invested $1,000 each, with prizes awarded to the 20 portfolios that increased the most during the 11-month period.
Second place winner is Mel D’Sa of Vancouver, who won a $5,000 prize with a 119 per cent gain that increased his $1,000 portfolio to $2,186, for a total return of 619 per cent. William Tackaberry of Toronto won the third place prize of $1,000 with gains that took his portfolio to $2,023 for a 102 per cent return and a total profit of 202 per cent in 11 months.
“What interested me in participating in the tournament was the fact that it involved real money with tangible risks and potential rewards,” said grand-prize winner Kloiber, whose portfolio consisted of Google, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Research in Motion and TD Bank stocks.
Kloiber, who is self-employed and a father of two, explains that he and his wife, Anne-Marie, have invested in the stock market over the years as a way to build their retirement savings. “I’m usually a conservative investor, happy to make an average 10 per cent annual return on my investments, but I was out to win this tournament, so I took some risks and didn’t diversify my portfolio as much as I’d normally do. It clearly paid off this time,” said Kloiber, whose wife and 23-year-old daughter also participated in the tournament.
Likening the competition to “reality investing,” Canadian ShareOwner Chief Education Officer John Bart says that the goal of the tournament was to encourage financial literacy among Canadians. With 665 participants, 66 per cent of the contestants made money during the 11-month tournament, Bart said, explaining that aside from the top three winners, two per cent (10) of participants had a return of between 50-99 per cent, five per cent (31) earned between 25-49 per cent, 20 per cent (133) made between 10-24 per cent, and 39 per cent (259) made a profit of up to nine per cent.
“The competition gave participants an unprecedented opportunity to develop and test their stock selection skills and emotional responses to gains and losses, without unduly burdening their time or financial resources,” he said. “For seasoned stock investors, it’s the first tournament where they could reap the rewards of their investing skill, twice.”
Tournament participants, operating individually or as small groups, invested $1,000 to buy their stock picks from more than 150 Canadian and U.S. growth stocks, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pre-selected by Canadian ShareOwner. All participants had free access to Canadian ShareOwner’s educational resources. As well, there was no charge to enter, to buy or sell securities throughout the contest, or to cash out at the end using ShareOwner’s dollar-based, co-operative investing service.
To further minimize the risk and maximize portfolio diversification, there was no minimum purchase, and participants could divide the $1,000 any way they wanted, buying $25 worth of one stock, $40 of another, and so on. Whole and fractional shares were credited to participants’ accounts at ShareOwner’s training affiliate, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Dealer’s Association of Canada.
“The opportunity to invest a modest amount of your own money in a diversified portfolio makes for an educational tournament that pretend money just can’t duplicate,” Bart emphasized.
For Kloiber, the educational resources provided by Canadian ShareOwner proved to be an invaluable resource in helping him choose winning stocks, he says, adding that he’ll now use those resources as he re-invests his $10,000 win.
With the success of the Double Scoop Tournament, Canadian ShareOwner has announced a similar competition in 2008 for university and college students. Called the Growth Stock Challenge, the tournament runs from January 2 through November 28, 2008, and is open to Canadian residents who are currently enrolled at a Canadian university or college.
The deadline to register for the Growth-Stock Challenge is December 14, 2007. For more information or to register, please visit www.shareowner.com.
About Canadian ShareOwner Group (www.shareowner.com)
Established in 1987, Canadian ShareOwner Group provides investment education resources and online courses to help Canadians select and manage portfolios of high-quality growth stocks to earn superior rates of return. ShareOwner’s trading affiliate, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc., operates Canada’s only dollar-based, co-operative investing service for individual investors and investment clubs. The service combines all orders to buy or sell a specific security (from ShareOwner’s pre-screened list of growth stocks and ETFs) into just one consolidated order that is executed on the security’s principal stock exchange. Each security is traded on a fixed schedule every week, every two weeks or monthly, depending on popularity. Buyers pay, and sellers receive, the same average price paid (or received) for all share/units included in a consolidated order. Co-op commissions are among the lowest in Canada (e.g. $4 per security to order a nine-stock portfolio; $2 each for an 18-stock portfolio).
