2018 Sharesight stock picking competition

Today we are launching the new and improved Sharesight stock picking competition for 2018! This year’s competition includes a number of differences to 2017’s that we hope will make it more exciting for everyone involved. But first, let’s recap the 2017 stock picking competition before we dive into the changes for 2018.

2017 Sharesight & Livewire stock picking competition

Back in December 2016 we asked Sharesight’s Australian and New Zealand based clients to pick one stock listed on the ASX to help Sharesight compete against our friends over at Livewire (who also asked their readers for stock picks). We created Sharesight portfolios consisting of the top 5 (most popular) stocks picked by Sharesight clients and Livewire readers respectively, as well as a portfolio of the top 5 stocks picked by a group of Australia’s top fund managers.

2017 stock competition result?

By the end of 2017 the fund manager portfolio as well as Livewire readers’ portfolios had significantly outperformed Sharesight’s community portfolio. Why? The Sharesight portfolio unfortunately included one of the worst performing shares included in the ASX 200 in 2017. (RFG.ASX) Retail Food Group generated a -58.28% total return (loss) for the year -- wiping out almost all of the gains made in other parts of the portfolio.

2018 Sharesight stock picking competition details

Last November (via our blog and email newsletter) we asked you to:

Pick your #1 performing stock of 2018 for one of the following markets

• Australia (ASX)
• New Zealand (NZX)
• Canada (TSE or CNSX)
• United Kingdom (LSE)
• USA (NYSE or NASDAQ)

We collated your responses (discarding invalid picks/typos/duplicates) and have created a Sharesight portfolio with a holding of each share picked, with the following rules:

• The 2018 Sharesight Stock Picking Competition portfolio was created with a tax residency in Australia (with the performance of shares in markets outside Australia subject to currency effects)
• We “invested” $10,000 in each holding, but did not include brokerage for matters of convenience here. (Sharesight factors the impact of fees when calculating portfolio performance, as reducing portfolio fees can improve returns)
• All dividends are/will be included in the total performance calculation, and are reinvested.
• Performance figures are total return (versus annualised) as none of the portfolio positions has been held for longer than one year.
• The winner will be the person(s) who picked the top performing stock over the period January 1st through to December 31st 2018.

Following the performance of your stock pick is easy

We’ve made the 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition portfolio public for anyone to view, removing the need to be logged-in to Sharesight to follow your stock’s performance against all other entries throughout the competition.

Even if you don’t have a stock pick, this is an excellent way to follow the Sharesight competition. Bookmark the 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition public portfolio to check back at any time.

Are there prizes for the winner(s)?

YES!

The winner (or winners if multiple entries picked the same stock) will receive the glory of being the 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition champion!

They’ll also receive an Amazon Echo (2nd Generation) so they can quickly find out their Sharesight portfolio performance simply by asking Alexa -- thanks to the new Sharesight Alexa skill (more details to be announced shortly)!

Good luck and happy investing in 2018!

(PS: Entries to the competition have unfortunately closed. Follow the progress this year and start thinking about your 2019 picks.)

All articles in this series

• 2017 Sharesight stock picking competition -- final results
• 2018 Sharesight stock picking competition

FURTHER READING

• Blog – How your broker’s performance numbers mislead you
• Blog – How much money can Sharesight save you?
• Blog – 7 reasons why Sharesight is better than a spreadsheet