With prize money totaling USD $4,500 to be won, and after more than six months of intense competition, 50 keen students, teachers, parents and VIPs attended the Saxon Investment Competition awards held at George Town Library on March 23^rd as Saxon announced the 2012 prize winners. The $2500 first place and $1500 second place prize went to  Twenehminets, PWG2 of Cayman Prep & High School, and the $500 third place prize went to International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI).

On hand to celebrate in the successes of the students, as well as recognise the hard work and determination demonstrated over the course of the competition by all students, were the Honourable Rolston Anglin, the Minister of Education, Training and Employment, as well as guest speaker Don Seymour, Founder of DMS.

As originally slated last year the award prize money totaled USD $3,000, however in learning about the Saxon Investment Club in 2011, the Honourable Rolston Anglin demonstrated the ministry’s support for the successes of the students – and upped the prize money offerings by pledging the additional USD $1,000 and $500 to the second and third place teams respectively.

The Saxon Investment Competition provided the opportunity for 14 to 19-year-old students from John Gray High School, Cayman Prep & High School, St. Ignatius Catholic School, ICCI and Cayman Brac High School to gain hands-on experience in the world of investing by maintaining a virtual portfolio with stocks traded in the US markets.

This in turn required them to research the companies that they had chosen for their group’s portfolio.

 

The awards event included a short strategy presentation by the winning team, and special guest speaker, Don Seymour, shared some inspiring words about his own life experiences, as well as the Honourable Rolston Anglin who encouraged the teens to continue on the journey of educating themselves to facilitate a more sound understanding of their financial future. Don Seymour, founder of DMS, Saxon’s parent company, also assisted CEO of Saxon, Brian Williams, in the presentation of the prizes

 

Commented Mr. Williams, “It is incredibly rewarding to see how far our students have come and know that they have gained invaluable insight to the world of investing at a young age, paving the way to financial success. Saxon is committed to investing in our youth for we recognise that there is no better investment in Cayman’s future than instilling young minds with knowledge and wisdom.”

Shining light on the accomplishments of Cayman Prep & High School – Twenehminets; at the close of the competition had a gain of 64% and PWG2 had a gain of 59% followed by the International College Cayman Islands team with 46% . Each team began the competition with $100,000 in their hypothetical portfolio and chose stocks based collectively on their interests or research.

Brian Williams, CEO of Saxon, commented, “The students really found their footing in the investment world, learning just how unpredictable and volatile the markets can be – but gaining an understanding of strategies used to ensure the best performance. I am very proud of all of our students – it is a learning curve and they are enthusiastically taking each day at a time, gaining a sound understanding of the investment world.”

Mr. Williams made an astute observation regarding the groups that made profits, pointing out that the more diversified portfolios had more stability and performed better. He commented that the groups that had negative returns tended to only invest in two or three stocks.  The groups discussed performance gaining invaluable insight on strategies for investing. Mr. Williams commented, “One of the lessons that the students are learning is that having a wider range of stocks can typically have an overall stabilising effect as it can counterbalance the poor performance of a single stock.”

He added, “The whole point of this club is to provide students exposure to the realities and fast pace of the investment world. Learning from experience is a crucial part of this process.”

Mr. Williams added, “We want to thank everyone who came out and joined us for this celebration. And to the Honourable Rolston Anglin – we cannot express how appreciative we are for his ministry’s support. On behalf of Saxon, we want to once again thank the students and teachers alike for sharing this experience with us. We look forward to the fourth installment of the Saxon Investment Club, and to continue doing our part to educate and prepare Cayman’s youth.”

Saxon Pension Services, a client services agent for Silver Thatch Pensions, is a pension services provider in the Cayman Islands powered by dynamic people using superior technology. Delivering client and administrative services to more than 14,800 individual account holders with assets in excess of $300 million, Saxon has gained an enviable reputation and is recognised as a leader in its market. Facilitated by investments in technology, Saxon is capable of providing flexible solutions in both the onshore and offshore pension environment while maintaining a personal approach to client relationships.