Market Mania
About
Market Mania is a trading simulation based on the stock market. Your colleagues are formed into teams that operate as competing asset management companies. Participants are required to allocate a cash portfolio to risky investments in the shares of listed companies.. Teams comprise 5 to 10 individuals, And it is vital that the workload and resulting decisions are the function of all brains in the organisation. Knowledge is power, and working together works, at least in the stock market.
Whose money is it?
As a respected asset management company, you have R100 million under management in your specialist Equity Opportunities Fund. This money belongs to a variety of retail and wholesale investors, all with one clear mandate – “Make money!”. The objective is to grow that capital more than any of your competitors, or lose less, if the markets are rocky. Using your skills of analysis, problem solving, strategy development and negotiation you become involved in a highly interactive three hour event. Quick but informed decisions, consensus, compromises, and trade-offs are the order of the day. You will quickly learn that without cohesive teamwork the chances of financial ruin are chillingly high. Playing the markets and making a few million has never been so much fun!
The Format
The experience is based around 3 trading periods, each of which represents 1 week in the stock market and about 40 minutes of real time. There are 10 stocks to select from, and portfolio limits to conform to. The clues are both specific to the individual stocks, and related to macro-economic factors such as the external value of the rand and the current global sentiment towards emerging markets.
As a team, you will need to balance all the clues, throw out the red herrings, and back each other’s judgment. Feedback is almost instantaneous, as in the real markets, and fortune normally favours the cautiously brave.
Remember shares can go down as well as down a lot!
Is it like the real world of stockmarket investing?
No, it’s more difficult!
Decisions that can normally be made over days are made in minutes. News arrives continuously from a number of sources, and often with conflicting messages.
Following a shock strike by the investment analysts, your team of portfolio managers is in the markets alone, without the usual meticulous research to support your investment decisions.
Regular editions of the sombre Market Times and more sensational Market Eye provide good coverage of the main indicators – but will that be enough? News broadcasts are on-going throughout the simulation, and additional information is available in a number of less obvious places.
The Futures “Pit”
Can you keep your head when all around you are losing theirs? Trading financial futures for huge sums in an open outcry environment may be just for you.
Caveat Emptor
Getting your hands on some “inside information” is not too difficult, though strictly forbidden. The odds are against the authorities finding out. Nevertheless, be warned – if you decide to follow the easy route you will have to take your chances with the dreaded “wheel of justice” - penalties will be severe for any transgressors
