Competition
Wharton Global High School Investment Competition
Wharton Global Youth Program, University of Pennsylvania
Recognition
Top 50 teams (by written strategy review) advance to virtual Semifinals; top 10 teams advance to the Global Finale at Wharton in Philadelphia, presenting before a panel of investment-industry judges. All students on the 10 Global Finalist teams get the course fee waived for Wharton's online course 'Understanding Your Money.' The Global Champion school may fast-track one team to next year's Semifinals. Winners are judged on strategy quality/articulation, not portfolio performance.
Deadline
~Sep 18, 2025
Estimated; confirm on sponsor site
The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition is a free, 10-week team-based investing challenge in which high school students (grades 9-12) analyze a client case study, build an investment strategy, and trade a virtual portfolio using the Wharton Investment Simulator (WInS), with top teams advancing to Semifinals and a Global Finale judged by investment professionals at Wharton in Philadelphia.
Eligibility
- Grade levels
- High school freshman, High school sophomore, High school junior, High school senior
- Citizenship
- Any
- Fields of study
- Business
Application requirements
- Have a teacher/educator advisor complete initial team registration: Only advisors may register a team (students are not permitted to register); the advisor supplies the designated student team leader's information at initial sign-up.
- Complete Step 2 registration with full team roster by the posted deadline: In the prior (2025-2026) cycle, Step 2 registration was due September 18, 2025, with the official team roster due October 17. Exact 2026-2027 dates not yet posted.
- Form a team of 4-6 students from the same high school with a teacher advisor: All team members must attend the same institution and cannot participate on multiple teams; the team leader must be at least 16 years old at competition start; paid advisors/consultants are prohibited.
- Analyze the client case study and build a portfolio using the Wharton Investment Simulator (WInS): Teams develop and execute an investment strategy with virtual cash over the 10-week trading window.
- Submit two written strategy deliverables during the competition: Teams must submit two deliverables; the top 50 teams are selected for Semifinals based on review of these written reports.
- If selected, present at virtual Semifinals; top 10 teams compete at the in-person/virtual Global Finale: Global Finalists present before industry judges at Wharton in Philadelphia; participants are responsible for their own travel/lodging costs.
Verified Jul 8, 2026 · View official source