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Student shows skill in share trading contest
A University of the Sunshine Coast Business student has finished in the top one per cent of a national share trading competition run by J.P. Morgan.
Glen Mahoney, of Buderim, showed it was possible to make a 10 per cent gain on a $200,000 outlay during a volatile time between March and May when the Australian Share Market suffered major setbacks.
The third-year USC student’s $20,761 profit might have been “play money” but he took the annual portfolio competition very seriously.
Mr Mahoney finished in 28th position individually, out of more than 5,000 student entrants. He rose as high as eighth.
In addition, his clever trading put USC at No. 1 out of the 40 competing universities when their average equity values were calculated at the close of competition.
The rankings were based on the number of users who traded from each university and Mr Mahoney was the only trader from USC.
“It was an interesting trading time with a lot of acquisitions that fired up the mining sector,” he said.
“I bought stock in Cockatoo Coal and it ran from 38 cents to 50 cents in a week.
“I followed trends and sectors but at three weeks to go, I had a feeling the market was overdone so I thought, ‘let’s play it smart’.
“I sat on cash with no shares and went from 112th place to eighth in a week when everyone else’s stocks collapsed. That was the prudent thing to do.”
Every student started with $200,000 and could trade any stocks in the ASX top 300 between 22 March and 14 May. Only “long” positions were allowed, with no one stock to be more than 25 per cent of the portfolio.
British-born Mr Mahoney, 40, certainly has the benefit of experience. He was a trader on the Futures floor in London in the noisy days before electronic trading and worked for Lehman Brothers and a major French bank.
“The markets fascinate me and I still trade shares in my spare time,” he said.
“I started studying financial planning and property at USC to challenge myself because I’d never been to uni. It’s really good.”
A former swimmer and triathlete, Mr Mahoney is now knuckling down to intensive training for the gruelling Port Macquarie Ironman event next year.
“(Federal Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott’s successful completion of the race this year at age 52 is my incentive,” he said.
— Julie Gatehouse