ATLASHow to run a stock-picking competition
A good competition is mostly good design before the first trade. These are the decisions to make, in order, with the values used in the ATLAS × IE Investment Challenge as a reference.
1. Decide what you want students to learn
Valuation, risk management, teamwork or simply market intuition lead to different rules. Write the goal in one sentence; every other choice should serve it.
2. Choose individuals or teams
Teams of up to five create discussion and spread the workload. In the IE challenge there were ten teams of up to five students.
3. Set the starting capital and the universe
Give every team the same virtual capital so rankings are comparable: the IE challenge used $1,000,000 per team. Define what can be traded: US stocks and ETFs, with or without short selling.
4. Write the trading and decision rules
Clear rules prevent disputes later. Decide how orders are executed, whether shorting is allowed and how teams decide.
- Market and limit orders at real prices
- Short selling capped at 50% of portfolio value in the IE challenge
- Every order needs three team approvals; proposals expire after 24 hours
5. Pick the dates
Two to three weeks is enough to see decisions play out while keeping attention. Announce when trading opens and closes, including the time zone.
6. Define scoring and prizes
Rank by total return, add a prize for risk-adjusted return and one for the best thesis, and publish the tie-breakers in advance. See the scoring guide for the details.
7. Decide the deliverables
A short written report and a team presentation turn trading into reasoning. The IE challenge asked for a report of up to three pages and a five-minute presentation.
8. Launch with a kickoff
A live session with the rules, a platform demo and perhaps a guest speaker sets the tone. Share the official rules in writing.
9. Monitor and check in
Use the dashboard to see who is active and which teams are stuck. A mid-challenge review lets you answer questions and correct misunderstandings while there is time.
10. Close, evaluate and give feedback
Lock trading at a stated time, collect the deliverables, announce the winners and review what worked. The data from the platform shows who contributed and how decisions were made.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a stock-picking competition last?
Two to four weeks suits most courses. Shorter runs reward luck; longer ones need more reasons for students to stay engaged.
Should the ranking be based only on return?
Return is the simplest rule, but adding a risk-adjusted prize and a thesis prize rewards better decisions rather than bigger gambles.
How many teams can ATLAS support?
The IE challenge had ten teams; the platform is set up for each challenge, so tell us your size at the walkthrough.
Related guides and terms
Run a challenge in your course or club
Tell us your dates, your students and your goals. ATLAS sets up the rules, the teams and the ranking, and you follow the whole class from one dashboard.
ATLAS challenges are educational simulations: they use virtual money and are not investment advice. Not investment advice. ATLAS estimates are produced by statistical models from public data; they can be wrong and past performance does not predict future results. Consider your own situation before investing. Disclaimer