Fullerton and SGX Bet on Students to Revitalise Singapore Equities
As Singapore sharpens its focus on deepening its equities ecosystem, Fullerton Fund Management and SGX Group have launched the Fullerton / SGX Value-Up Singapore Equities Challenge – a market-facing initiative that blends financial education with real-world capital markets exposure.
The programme targets tertiary students aged 18 and above, positioning them not as passive learners, but as active participants in Singapore’s listed equities landscape, according to a media release issued on Monday.
At the core of the Challenge is a six-week online trading simulation hosted on InvestSG, where student teams construct and manage portfolios of Singapore-listed securities. This design deliberately mirrors institutional investment workflows, requiring participants to research companies, assess fundamentals, and make allocation decisions under market conditions rather than academic assumptions.
High-Stakes Incentives Align Learning With Performance
The competition structure reinforces discipline and accountability. With total cash prizes of up to S$18,000 and an in-person stock pitch final at SGX Centre, the programme introduces competitive pressure similar to buy-side investment environments. The top six teams advance to present their investment theses before judges from SGX Group, Fullerton, Temasek, and IMAS, ensuring professional-level scrutiny.
Beyond prizes, the Challenge doubles as a recruitment and assessment mechanism. From the twenty-four finalists, up to ten participants may be shortlisted for an assessment at Fullerton, with as many as five internship offers available. These internships are explicitly framed as potential pathways to permanent research analyst roles, subject to performance – a rare and direct bridge between student competitions and front-office careers.
Aligned With Broader Equity Market Reforms
The initiative is launched against the backdrop of Singapore’s Equity Market Development Programme, which seeks to strengthen asset management, research depth, and investor participation. Recent regulatory shifts by SGX RegCo towards a more disclosure-based regime further underscore the relevance of initiatives that cultivate analytical rigour and market discipline among future investors.
Jenny Sofian, Chief Executive Officer of Fullerton Fund Management, said the programme reflects the firm’s commitment to developing investment talent grounded in Singapore’s market realities, noting that the Challenge provides «hands-on exposure to the asset management industry» while helping students understand opportunities in local equities.
Ng Yao Loong, Head of Equities at SGX Group, highlighted the initiative as a way for participants to experience investing «from inside the ecosystem», rather than through theoretical models.
Building Confidence in Singapore Equities
By combining experiential learning, professional evaluation, and career pathways, the Value-Up Singapore Equities Challenge addresses two strategic gaps at once – financial literacy among young investors and sustained interest in Singapore’s stock market.
For a financially savvy audience, the initiative signals how education, regulation, and market infrastructure are increasingly being aligned to support the next phase of Singapore’s capital markets development.
