A team from Saltus Grammar School sits atop the leaderboard after the opening month of the18th annual KPMG Senior School Investment Challenge.

Saltus FUD cc has increased its pot to $102,675.56, up from their original stake of $100,000 in virtual funds.

The CedarBridge Academy team of StockXer’s is in second spot with $100,087.33.

Sitting in third spot is The Berkeley Institute team of Goldbusters, with $99,939.63.

Fifteen teams from eight schools are taking part in the challenge, which was launched in 2005 as part of KPMG’s ongoing commitment to education and youth development.

Two KPMG mentors are assigned to each team, with competition starting in November.

Under the terms of the investment club-like initiative, each school is permitted to enter a maximum of three teams per year, comprised of three to ten students, and each team is given $100,000 in virtual funds to trade over six months.

At the end of the programme, real cash prizes of $10,000, $6,000 and $4,000 are awarded to the first, second and third placed teams, respectively.

These funds can be used by the schools for a variety of educational initiatives.

The objective of the challenge is to stimulate interest in the concept of “investing for the future”; develop awareness of the capital markets, the types of securities available and career opportunities (accountants, bankers, lawyers, regulators, analysts, investment advisers, fund administrators, pension planners, educators, etc).

KPMG also wanted to increase the students’ exposure to international business activities as they impact global and local stock markets; create a programme that can be specifically structured to complement and enhance each school’s current curriculum; co-ordinate the participation of KPMG and other affiliate speakers upon request; generate more interest from the business community in Bermuda's senior schools; and provide a fun project for both students and teachers that is highly visible in the community.