KenTrade Trading Challenge III Ups the Ante

That technology can contribute to the financial goals of the man-on-the-street, seeing that he is empowered to make and execute his own stock purchases on live trading platforms widely available today, is irrefutable.  Fourty-year old full time trader, Mohd Fairi bin Che Wanik, can vouch to that, having just walked away with the Grand Prize of RM50,000 and a trip for two to Hokkaido, in the 3^rd and latest edition of the KenTrade Live Trading Challenge, organised by Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (“Kenanga IB”).

Technology does not necessarily favour only the ‘well-oiled’, as 2^nd prize winner, Teng Le Woi and 3^rd prize winner, Caryn Choo Jian Yan, are testimonies to that. 47-year old Teng Le Woi’s full time profession is as a programmer while 28-year old Caryn Choo is an account assistant. This is Teng’s 3^rd time participating in the KenTrade challenge while it is the first for youthful Choo. Teng was presented with RM18,000 cash and a pair of AirAsia ASEAN passes while Choo received RM10,000 cash and a pair of AirAsia ASEAN passes.

Datuk Chay Wai Leong, Kenanga IB Group Managing Director said, “We are pleased that KenTrade Trading Challenge is entering the Malaysia Book of Records as the ‘First Live Stock Trading Challenge in Malaysia’.  We upped the ante of our original virtual Challenge with this unique “live” segment, which provides participants the exciting experience of trading in a real live environment with cash provided by us.”

In the final round, ten participants from The Virtual Challenge with the highest portfolio value, traded live with a total of RM100,000 cash provided by Kenanga IB.

“The overwhelming response to the Challenge is a testament to the success of this campaign that was created to promote share trading to the next generation of traders in the marketplace. We hope this helps to further dispel the misconception that trading is complicated,” Chay added.

This year’s edition attracted 25,000 entries, up from 18,000 entries last year.

Mohd Fairi, The Grand Challenge winner said, “The key to success in trading is to do your research, understand the sector you are looking to invest in, understand which company in that sector has a competitive advantage that is sustainable and look at undervalued companies.”

Well, the proof is in the pudding as he made pretty impressive returns of 15% in less than a month of trading.

KenTrade by Kenanga IB is a trading portal for clients to buy and sell equity shares online. The portal enables users to make informed investment decisions for online trading through customised viewing based on preference, fundamental financial data, charting tools, account management, market data and also research reports. In the challenge, participants used the same trading platform as Kenanga’s actual investors.

Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan, CEO of Bursa Malaysia Berhad said, “The Kentrade Trading Challenge provides a very good platform and starting point for novice and potential investors to learn the intricacies of investing. I believe the Challenge has helped to demystify stock trading among young investors. I hope that participants will continue the knowledge acquisition and journey on to becoming an investor on Bursa Malaysia.”

In closing, Chay further commented, “As one of the leading stockbrokers in the country, we hope to continue educating the next generation traders and encouraging more active retail participation.” This year saw 66% of male participants and 34% of female participants. This is also the first year that there is a female top 3 winner.

In addition to Bursa Malaysia, KenTrade Trading Challenge III was also supported by AirAsia X, Atlan Holdings Bhd, Zon Duty Free and Duty Free International Limited.