Sharemarket Game news
Read the latest tips and updates for the Sharemarket Game
| Prize | Participant name | State | Final portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Oliver Guo | NSW | $84,080.96 |
| 2nd place | PURCHO | QLD | $80,665.2 |
| 3rd place | R2D2 | NSW | $77,339.34 |
| Top university portfolio | asxhustler | NSW | $67,194.34 |
| Top league 10 or less members | All About The Timing | QLD | $69,056.09 |
| Top league 11 or more members | TulleTraders | WA | $51,976.78 |
It’s been an action-packed year for investors, with the volatility that shaped much of the first half of 2025 persisting into the second half.
Reporting season delivered several surprises, with a number of larger companies - including Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) - underperforming expectations.
Meanwhile, the US administration’s unconventional approach to international trade continued to add to the uncertainty facing markets.
None of this was enough to stop the ASX reaching a record in late October in the wake of a new investment deal brokered between Australia and the US. That news was particularly beneficial for the domestic materials sector - a sector that the two top-placed participants in this game had strategically targeted back in August.
Taking top spot in Game 2 this year was Oliver Guo from New South Wales. Oliver has participated in the Sharemarket Game for over 10 years now, and he really earned his laurels in 2025 by building up a portfolio worth $84,080.96.
After reviewing market movements for his own personal portfolio, Oliver decided to target industrials for his in-game portfolio. He initially sought out sectors with high growth potential, and then whittled down his investment shortlist by focusing on the top performing companies in each sector.
This was further supported by a combination of fundamental and technical analysis. Each prospective company was subjected to a rigorous review of its financial performance, then a set of technical indicators were used to confirm prices were moving in the right direction and to identify optimal entry points for each of the companies that met Oliver’s standards.
These were predominantly mining names like Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU), Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and IGO Ltd (ASX:IGO).
Although market volatility tested his strategy at times, Oliver only made small adjustments and said approaching his portfolio with the mindset of a long-term investor rather than a day trader helped him to stay the course.
"My participation spans over 10 years, during which I've utilised the game as a practical tool for validating investment and trading approaches. It is a highly enjoyable experience that I have shared with friends and colleagues."
Oliver G. from NSW
In second place with a portfolio value of $80,665.2 was John P. from Queensland, playing under the name PURCHO. A fellow 10-year veteran of the Sharemarket Game, John is no stranger to the leaderboard - having snared victory in 2017.
Similarly to Oliver, John chose to buy companies he was already interested in outside of the game and spent at least an hour researching markets each day.
His strategy was to identify and purchase “proven and quality managed stocks” and initially bought up several oil and gas names such as Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS).
As the game progressed these companies began to lose momentum, and John opted to shift his focus towards gold miners and producers in a bid to capitalise on recent performance.
Other companies in John’s portfolio included Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR), Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).
Although John credited his success in 2025 at least in part to diversification, his portfolio in this latest game is more concentrated in mining and resources than it was during his winning 2017 run.
That portfolio included Blackmores Ltd (ASX:BLK), A2 Milk (ASX:A2M), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and NextDC (ASX:NXT).
"It is not easy to handle market volatility but remember why you bought the stocks in the first place."
John P. from QLD
Rounding out the top three was New South Wales’ Larry J. with a closing balance of $77,339.34. Playing under the name R2D2, the Star Wars enthusiast made use of the game’s ‘falling sell’ feature to effectively set stop loss orders for his investments.
Larry identified possible investment opportunities by tracking daily performance and singling out any shares which gained 5-10%. He then looked for trend patterns and the volume of shares being traded for each of the companies that exhibited this growth.
Using this strategy, Larry was able to find companies with strong upward momentum at prices that enabled him to purchase shares at larger volumes. Using the falling sell feature, Larry could automatically sell out of his positions in these companies once they reached his pre-set target price and lock in his gains.
This also helped to navigate volatile market conditions and manage associated risks.
Larry’s strategy also helped to diversify his portfolio, which included a wide range of businesses across multiple industries. This included – but was by no means limited to – Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), Zip Co (ASX:ZIP), Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC) and Judo Capital Holdings (ASX:JDO).
"The best part of the share game was the ability to buy and sell shares with no financial loss. This allowed me to try all strategies before investing in the real market. The biggest lesson I learnt in the share game, was only invest what you can afford to lose!"
Larry J. from NSW
With a final portfolio value of $67,194.34, the top-ranked university participant was Andrew Z. (also known as asxhustler) from New South Wales.
Andrew opted for a high risk, high reward strategy designed to optimise his performance within the parameters of the game rather than building the kind of balanced portfolio investors typically use when real money is at stake.
After a few hours of research, Andrew invested into just a handful of volatile companies and tried to take a step back rather constantly tinker with his portfolio. This meant refraining from making adjustments even when companies in his portfolio started dropping in value.
This time around, the strategy paid off and the companies Andrew bought early on delivered respectable returns by the game’s conclusion.
Those companies included Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), Transurban Group (ASX:TCL), Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) and – in a move many students will be able to relate to – Domino’s Pizza (ASX:DMP).
"It felt really cool, looking at different stock tickers, putting in buy or sell orders for them based on my strategy, and applying financial concepts I have been exposed to, some of which I have learnt from my university’s financial management course."
Andrew Z. from NSW
Out of the leagues with fewer than 10 participants, team All About The Timing from Queensland earned the number one spot - a feat they attribute to their shared insights into markets.
The league ended Game 2 with an average portfolio value of $69,056.09 – just a hair below the league’s top performer, Pakmeng Sunsets, whose individual portfolio balance stood at $70,270.70.
The league attributed their success to the breadth of ideas shared among its members - which they described as their ‘wider net’ strategy.
Using these communal insights, All About The Timing targeted companies based on their upward momentum and sold out of their positions once they thought a company had reached its resistance level.
Throughout the course of the game, the league’s members owned companies including Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL), Peninsula Energy (ASX:PEN), Siteminder (ASX:SDR) and Iperionx (ASX:IPX).
"We came away with a few ideas one being to watch the geo-political mood as this can affect markets."
Pak M. from QLD
The best performing league with more than 10 members was Western Australia’s TulleTraders, who wrapped up with an average portfolio value of $51,976.78.
It’s an excellent result for a league which formed as a way for staff working at a wedding dress and accessory company to practise investing and learn from their more experienced colleagues.
In addition to taking first place in the major league competition, league administrator Robert G. explained that an internal leader board was set up at work - and everyone who participated was encouraged to share their knowledge and strategies in the office kitchen each day.
The league’s members used a variety of strategies, with many newer investors experimenting with a ‘buy and hold’ approach through to more experienced participants trialling riskier strategies like targeting more volatile ‘penny stocks’.
Perhaps more importantly, several of the participants who tried investing for the first time as a member of their company league have started to invest some of their own money.
"As our business is around designing wedding dresses and accessories, and very female focussed - the majority of our company team are young women. As the financial markets are quite male dominated in general, the ASX Game was a perfect vehicle to introduce to our company team."
Robert G. from WA
Save the date for 2026 Game 1
Registrations will open on 5 February.
Trading will run for 15 weeks from 5 March to 18 June.
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