[November 18, 2014]

University of North Texas Students Win TD Ameritrade's First Collegiate Trading Competition, the thinkorswim Challenge

Calling themselves "GoMeanGreen," three students from the University of North Texas traded their way to a 213 percent total portfolio gain in four weeks and won the first-ever thinkorswim Challenge, a nationwide virtual trading competition for students sponsored by TD Ameritrade Services Company, Inc., an affiliate of TD Ameritrade, Inc. ("TD Ameritrade"), a broker-dealer subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYSE: AMTD). Nearly 900 students from 96 colleges and universities in 32 states put their best investing ideas into action in the competition, amid earnings season and heightened market volatility.

The 2014 thinkorswim Challenge was held from Oct. 12 through Nov. 8, 2014, and was open to all students at post-secondary educational institutions in the United States. Each of the 245 competing teams started with $500,000 in virtual money to invest in real time using the paperMoney® program on the thinkorswim platform. Prizes were awarded to the three teams whose portfolios had the highest percentage gains in aggregate value at the end of each trading week. The three teams with the highest percentage gain overall were also awarded prizes at the close of the competition, as were their respective schools.

"We're excited for the team from University of North Texas, and we're even more pleased that so many students experienced the markets in real time without fear of failure," said Nicole Sherrod, managing director at TD Ameritrade who heads the firm's young investors program. "The thinkorswim Challenge gave them an opportunity to learn outside of the walls of a traditional classroom, to test their investing ideas and find opportunities amid whatever turn the market takes."

At the end of the competition, 68 percent of teams saw gains in their portfolio. Despite some extremely choppy waters, students largely remained optimistic about the market overall, with 50 percent of trades being bullish, 42 percent bearish and 8 percent volatility plays.

GoMeanGreen Takes Top Prize

GoMeanGreen won the competition outright, boasting a 213.04 percent portfolio gain and a final portfolio value of $1,565,175.83 after four weeks of trading. The team consisted of three undergraduate finance majors at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas: Sophomore Mason Hendrickson, originally from Muskogee, Okla.; Sophomore Bao Lam, from Houston, Texas; and Sophomore Josue Leija, from Dallas, Texas. A second UNT team finished fourth in the competition.

Each member of the winning team received $3,500 deposited into his own TD Ameritrade brokerage account as the prize for winning the Challenge overall and for winning week four of the competition. As the school affiliated with the overall winning team, the University of North Texas received $30,000 from TD Ameritrade for its role in teaching students about the importance of investing.

"We are so proud of these three students, who are junior analysts in our Student Investment Group," said Marilyn Wiley, senior associate dean at UNT's College of Business. "The dedication and discipline they showed in the thinkorswim Challenge will take them far in their future finance careers. We are honored to receive the school prize from TD Ameritrade."

Students from California State University, Fullerton, trading as "Tons of Fund," took second place in the overall competition, and their 124.10 percent gain translated into a portfolio valued at $1,120,488.73 at the competition's close. Third place went to team "B2W-FMC" from Suffolk University, which ended up with a 114.55 percent gain and a portfolio worth $1,072,760.43.

The winners from each week of the competition are listed below:

Real-Time Experience is the Best Teacher

When it comes to refining one's investing acumen, the competition revealed that real-time practice makes perfect. Students grew more sophisticated with their trading strategies as they spent more time in the market. During the last week of the thinkorswim Challenge, 80 percent of trades were options, and 20 percent were stocks, compared with 55 percent stock trades and 45 percent options trades at the start of competition.

Students tended to invest in names they knew, generally favoring the technology sector more than any other. The SPDR® S&P® 500 ETF (SPY) was the top traded symbol throughout the competition, and the number one traded option. Apple (News - Alert) Inc. (AAPL) was the most frequently traded stock as well as one of the most frequently traded options. Tesla Motors (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) rounded out both the top three stocks and top three options traded.*

"It's quite impressive that these young investors were able to teach themselves about options trading by observing the strategies from the top teams and taking it upon themselves to learn more," said Sherrod.

Like TD Ameritrade clients, students in the thinkorswim Challenge could place trades from their desktops and mobile devices. The competition showed that Gen Z investors are at ease trading using mobile devices compared to other retail investors. Twenty seven percent of trades in the Challenge were placed via a mobile device, a usage rate that is more than 100% higher than TD Ameritrade clients. The iPhone (News - Alert) was the most frequently used mobile device for trading in the competition.

Financial Literacy is Not a Game

The 2014 thinkorswim Challenge was offered through TD Ameritrade U, an educational program for professors and college-run organizations that provides free access to virtual trading through paperMoney® on the thinkorswim trading platform. TD Ameritrade developed the program earlier this year to help students prepare for the real world of personal finance by giving them the ability to put classroom theory into real-life investing practice. The firm believes that access to leading-edge investment resources and education is the first step in helping young people form savings and investing habits that can last a lifetime.

"We want Gen Z to have the right financial tools and education so they can be confident investors in the stock market," said Sherrod. "The thinkorswim Challenge is an engaging way to learn very real lessons about investing, and we look forward to having even more students participate next year."

For more information about TD Ameritrade U or the thinkorswim Challenge, visit www.tdameritradeu.com or www.thinkorswimchallenge.com. To receive updates on the 2015 thinkorswim Challenge, interested students and educators can email [email protected].

For the latest news and information about TD Ameritrade, follow the Company on Twitter (News - Alert), @TDAmeritradePR.

*References to these specific securities should not be considered a recommendation or offer to buy or sell a particular security. Please consider your individual financial position and goals before making an investment decision. All investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

The paperMoney® application is for educational purposes only. Successful virtual trading during one time period does not guarantee successful investing of actual funds during a later time period as market conditions change continuously.

Source (News - Alert): TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

About TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation

Millions of investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) have turned to TD Ameritrade's (NYSE: AMTD) technology, people and education to help make investing and trading easier to understand and do. Online or over the phone. In a branch or with an independent RIA. First-timer or sophisticated trader. Our clients want to take control, and we help them decide how - bringing Wall Street to Main Street for more than 39 years. An official sponsor of the 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, as well as an official sponsor of the National Football League for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons, TD Ameritrade has time and again been recognized as a leader in investment services. Please visit TD Ameritrade's newsroom or www.amtd.com for more information.

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