The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, the professional body for Certified Financial Planners, is supporting the charity Girls Are Investors (GAIN)’s national UK Investment Challenge.

The professional body has made a prize fund donation of £3,000.

GAIN is a charity which aims to improve financial services gender diversity and develop a pipeline of entry-level female and non-binary talent for the sector.

The GAIN Investment Challenge competition is run annually and offers young women and non-binary students in years 10 to 13, in schools across England and Wales, an insight into what investment management looks like.

Each school enters up to three teams into the competition, with sessions ending 5 March 2024.

Each school team is assigned a company to research and then advise on whether to buy, hold, or sell the stock as a potential investment opportunity.

Students are guided through the process by industry experts and supported by an investment mentor. 

The school teams research all aspects of their company to make their investment case and at the end of the challenge students submit a 3-5 minute video stock pitch along with their supporting research in a written report.

Submissions are judged by a panel of professionals within the investment industry.

Susan Travers, Chartered FCSI of the CISI Educational Trust committee and assistant investment manager at Rathbones Investment Management, said: “The transferrable skills which the students develop and the confidence this brings will enhance their competitive edge when entering the world of work.”

She added that improving gender diversity in investment management was essential and the work that GAIN is doing plays a critical part in inspiring the next generation.