The long wait is over and at last we have a winner! The Sharetrack 100 top prize of £15,000 goes to Declan Magee and his Harold portfolio which more than doubled in value over the course of the competition.
Although the portfolio made frequent appearances in the overall leaderboard during the three months of Sharetrack, Harold's best ranking prior to winning was 27th while it was numbered 29th going into the final week.
But Tullow's 40 per cent gain in the last week of the competition catapulted it up the leaderboard into first place. Harold also scooped the weekly prize of £1,000 and a year's free share dealing for Mr Magee.
"Nobody was more shocked than I," says Mr Magee, who only returned to Dublin last February after spending five years in Hong Kong. "I was almost not going to transfer Harold into Tullow. I couldn't find the codes because my wife had thrown out the newspaper."
Mr Magee, who works as an analyst for EuroPlus Research and Management, a fund management company based in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), has already decided what to do with his prize money.
"I'm going to put it into that other great gamble, the property market, as we haven't yet bought a house," he says.
Runner-up in the competition was Tipperary-based GP Dr Edward Staunton and his Bonus 1 portfolio which was also invested in Tullow. He too has definite plans for his £5,000 prize.
"My daughter is getting married next Friday so the money will go toward defraying expenses," he says.
Dr Staunton very nearly shifted his ST5 portfolio, which was one place ahead of Declan Magee and Harold going into the final straight into the exploration group as well, a move which could have seen him land the top spot but he changed his mind. However, he says he is very satisfied to be among the winners. And as someone who never read the business pages before entering the competition, he also says he learnt a lot from playing.
Third prize goes to Vincent Kennedy, who fittingly for an information technology consultant, invested his portfolio, The Sting, in CBT shares. He was rewarded with a 33 per cent rise on the week and a £3,000 cash prize which he is considering investing in shares.
Commiserations and polo shirts go to Andrew Nixon, who despite his long dominance of the leaderboard, finished the competition empty-handed. A Sharetrack shirt is also on its way to Kathy Endersen who was yet again the runner-up, finishing in fourth place behind the leaders and just out of the prize money.
To both, and all the other contestants who failed to make the final cut, we can only say thanks for taking part and better luck next time.
