First winners announced for Moomoo and Macquarie University ESG investing research competition
Leading Australian share trading platform moomoo Australia and Macquarie University Business School have announced the winners and runners-up for the first five seasons of the Trade for Good research project and paper trading competition. Trade for Good aims to understand how trading education and the transparency of company social responsibility credentials impact Australian investor behaviour.
The study, which launched in September 2022, consists of 11 one-month long competition seasons and is conducted on moomoo’s paper trading platform, a simulated trading account that allows investors to trade with virtual funds. The top earning investor from each season wins a $500 stock coupon and all participants receive a gift card for their contribution to the research.
On moomoo’s paper trading platform, participants have access to real-time market data and can trade a variety of securities, including AU, US, Hong Kong, China A-Shares and Singapore stocks and ETFs and options. Participants also have access to educational resources, including seminars with Macquarie University Business School professors, webinars and research reports, to help them develop their understanding of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.
“We are thrilled to continue our research competition with Macquarie University Business School,” said moomoo Australia Chief Market Strategist Matt Wilson. “While we are only at the halfway mark, feedback from early round participants has shown that many investors, when given choices, are beginning to consider ESG in their strategy.”
Trade for Good season five winner, Julian, says the competition made him consider the long-term ESG (Environment, Society and Governance) impacts of companies and their exploitation of natural resources at a deeper level.
“I started looking at different sectors and companies that aligned with my [environmental] values, [but] they can be difficult to find,” he said.
Season four runner-up, Xia, aged 40, began investing during the pandemic and credits moomoo’s paper trading tool for providing him detailed information about companies.
“I will check the relevant information before investing and avoid those dirty businesses,” he said.
Professor Tom Smith, one of the leading finance academics in Australia and the leading expert in Environmental Finance at Macquarie University, said the study is already highlighting some of the drivers and barriers associated with socially conscious investing.
“We are finding that the more information the traders have about the way environmental changes are affecting companies and the way companies are affecting the environment, the more traders consider this information in their trading,” he says.
Season three winner, Peng, aged 25, says Trade for Good has made him pay more attention to a firm’s fundamentals, but says ESG doesn’t shape his investment strategy.
“ESG is not the key point that influences my decision; I care about the value. I knew [about] ESG before, but I did not apply this rule to my investing.”
Other winners used the competition as an opportunity to develop their general investment knowledge, making the most of having direct access to leading finance academics and a cutting-edge trading platform.
“The best thing I learned from taking part in this project was the importance of diversification and having a well-rounded portfolio,” says Season one runner-up, Cameron, aged 19. “I also learned the importance of doing thorough research before making any investment decisions.”
Professor Smith says that the next half of the experiment will reveal what type of information in particular drives impact investing. So far, the results have been very encouraging, and the second half of the experiment will narrow down more specifically the drivers behind impact investing.
Since its launch in the Australian market in March 2022, moomoo has rapidly expanded its presence and, through the sharing of investing knowledge and market insights via its platform, helped Australian investors practice responsible investing.
Moomoo is a technology-led investment and trading platform that offers Australians access to global markets, real-time market data and visualised company financial analysis.
The competition’s next season will take place 1 May to 31 May 2023. Investors who are interested can register at Macquarie University’s Invest for Good project page.
