As the only Year 11 team amongst a field of sixth formers, Hooke Investments faced quite a challenge at the final of the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition. Having made it all the way to the final of the half-a-year challenge, past 6,000 other teams, Upper Shell pupils Saverio (WW), Abdulla (RR), Gustave (LL), Philip (CC) and Tommy (GG) found themselves up against American, Brazilian, Indian and one other British team at the final challenge in Philadelphia in April.

After an eight-hour flight, the team quickly got down to business preparing and presenting a comprehensive strategy to invest $500,000 on behalf of this year’s client, Wharton alumnus and former NFL player Connor Barwin and his Make the World Better Foundation, which focuses on revitalising community spaces and creating long-term impact. Their task was to persuade the judges that they had made the strongest possible selection of investments across equities, bonds, cash and other asset classes, both to grow Connor’s holdings to $1.5 million by 2036 and to generate a regular, steady income for the Foundation.

Whilst a team from New York emerged as overall winners, the Westminster team of five — who had rushed from French IGCSE to London Heathrow on the Friday and back in time for Italian IGCSE on the Monday — were highly commended for the depth of their research, presentation skills, and capacity to adapt and pivot investment classes as they adjusted their strategy to changing economic conditions.

Teacher of economics, Marwan Mikdadi, said: “Hooke Investments did remarkably well to navigate their way through a myriad of tasks to make it to the global final. Watching the team develop their knowledge and confidence over the past seven months has been fantastic. They worked together brilliantly, maximising their chances by playing to each other’s strengths. They developed a programme in Python to take real-time data and interrogate it, allowing them to adopt an interventionist investment strategy. Others focused on the quantitative side, while the final group worked on the presentations. Working together, they managed to do extremely well.”

Abdulla said: “It was surreal to be able to see our hard work pay off to attend the final in person at Wharton. I also appreciated learning from our competitors, and it was great to explore such a renowned Ivy League campus.”

Gustave said: “Taking part in the Wharton competition pushed us well beyond just picking stocks, we had to build a coherent strategy and constantly refine it. The learning curve was a great part of the experience, especially through bouncing ideas off one another and challenging our thinking as a team, and we’re just glad that approach has taken us as far as the finals.”

Philip said: “Seeing the team develop from an idea last summer to reaching the global final this past week has been one of the best experiences during my time at Westminster. Representing the school in Philadelphia was surreal and I only hope more Westminsters participate in the coming years.”

Saverio said: “Being one of only two UK teams was incredibly special. It was clear that everyone on the team understood the magnitude of what we were doing. Presenting in person completely reshaped how I interact with the world. It’s not about being the best; it’s about selling yourself and your work with indisputable confidence and enthusiasm. The team spirit in the run-up to the competition was unmatched, everyone united behind the same goal. Over the past few months, we’ve gone from friends to a team.”

Tommy said: “The competition has certainly been an exciting journey. From formulating a robust investment strategy that aligns with our client’s long-term goals, to articulating it in the final presentation, we have learnt a lot about investing and the world of finance.”