Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has launched an online fantasy stock trading game, DrKW Webtrader, aimed at undergraduates and university students considering a career in investment banking.
The game involves each player of Webtrader being given a fantasy EUR20,000 starting fund from which they must manage a virtual portfolio of shares of listed European companies in the Webtrader stock market.
Players can trade as often as they wish, but must trade in at least five stocks over the course of the game and hold over 80% of their portfolio in Webtrader listed shares. Real market data feeds from the London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges are accessible via the Webtrader site to assist players in their investment decisions. The prize for the player with the largest fund at the end of the game is EUR10,000. Runners-up cash prizes will also be awarded.
The game, developed in association with Finance Media Europe, can be found at Web site www.careersatdrkw.com. It will run for a total of 9 weeks until 15 March 2002.
Terence Perrin, vice president of human resources at DrKW, comments: "The Webtrader game allows players to experience the real challenge of managing a portfolio of shares in simulated conditions but without any of the normal risks or costs associated with investment dealing of this nature."
He adds: "We felt this would be an innovative way to encourage students perhaps with little or no knowledge of financial markets to develop a taste for what is involved in a career as a trader."