Author(s): Kenrick Tan and Lynnette Khoo (20th Corporate Communications subcommittee members)
Great Eastern Centre
Finex has once again returned on the 16th of March 2019. The event saw much traction amongst youths who were interested in the financial scene. The drizzle did not dampen the cheerful spirits of the participants who were eager to test out their financial knowledge.
With the tagline “Earn hard, Invest smart”, participants were put to the test through an amazing race-styled financial competition.
The event saw a turnout of 65 teams from diverse backgrounds, of which 17 teams were from the University category while the others came from the Post-Secondary and Secondary School Category. This year, our youngest team consisted of plucky secondary one students, undaunted by the age of their competitors. While they lacked in the technical know-how, they came well equipped with their wit and enthusiasm for the event.
Participants had to complete 5 game stations specialising across varying financial themes.
The trade-off between risk and return is something that finance practitioners greatly emphasise. One activity that covered this was “No Pain No Gain”, which introduced the concept of risk and risk mitigating activities. Participants were tested on their ability to identify the in-game risks and thereafter selecting from a range of controls measure to adopt and navigate through the obstacles and undulating terrain as fast as possible.
The activity “Game of Life” brought up a second theme – life planning with the objective of highlighting the importance of making wise financial planning. This included the need to be proactive in financial planning and being able to identify the difference between assets and liabilities.
“Take it or Lose it” challenged participants in a head-to-head showdown on their entrepreneurship skills and business acumen by competing for the same pool of human resources and capital availability in order to maximise their earnings. As the game adjusted based on the competitor’s move, teams had to display a high level of communication and teamwork to achieve the desired asset portfolio in a dynamic market environment.
“The Next Property Tycoon” followed through with the theme of property investment. Participants gained more insights on the risk and rewards involved between the various types of property investments and the factors affecting their values.
As one of the largest actively traded markets, foreign exchange trading is largely determined by macroeconomic policies that drive the prices up or down. In “Currency Exchange” participants are taught the tricks to react to market conditions and manage their buckets of currency to maximise its value.
The top ten fastest teams advanced into a bonus stage to compete for additional points in a simulated stock exchange. Competitors vied for the top spots in “Stop The Clock” where minute-to-minute decisions are influenced by equity prices and other market factors. The game engaged participants in managing volatility and seizing advantages from imperfect information of stock prices to gather the largest pool of assets.
The winning groups walked away with attractive prices such as Marshall Headphones, JBL Speakers and even a GoPro HERO 7.
Aside from the game stations, our sponsor Great Eastern also took the opportunity to share with the participants about financial planning and internship opportunities.
FINEX 2019 proved once again to be a successful event and we were honoured to receive numerous positive feedbacks. We would like to thank all of our participants and we look forward to hosting the event again next year. See you in FINEX 2020!