The final
“iN aN EXCiTiNg FiNaLE, JohN WaLSh TooK guTSy, yET CaLCuLaTED DECiSioNS To DELivER a STRoNg RETuRN oN iNvESTMENT oF 23.6 PERCENT aND ovERCoME FELLoW FiNaLiSTS ShaZaD aShER aND RyaN oLivER-ThoMPSoN.” A 29 year-old aspiring Black Taxi Cab driver has beaten off seven competitors to win City Index’s Trading Academy, and scoop the £100,000 cash prize. In an exciting finale, John Walsh took gutsy, yet calculated decisions to deliver a strong return on investment of 23.6 percent and overcome fellow finalists Shazad Asher and Ryan Oliver-Thompson. The Trading Academy was launched by City Index, the retail trading services leader, in October 2012 as an innovative web series to demonstrate that, with the right education and technical support, anyone can be taught how to make money from the financial markets. After five weeks of competition, the eight challengers had been narrowed down to a final three by an expert judging panel who deemed that they had demonstrated the ability to learn and put in place successful trading strategies. In a tense final showdown at London’s City Hall, Trading Academy Mentors, Ashraf Laidi and James Chen, were joined by City Index’s CEO, Martin Belsham, to decide on who should take home the title and £100,000 cash prize.
The winner, John Walsh, was praised for his strong final week in which he delivered a strong return on investment and impressed the judges by demonstrating the ability to trade out of his losing positions. Walsh was also praised for the high level of consistency he demonstrated throughout the competition. Despite the substantial cash windfall, Walsh plans to continue his knowledge of London studies, although he admits that trading will continue to play a big part in his life The runners up, recruitment Consultant Shazad Asher and freelance journalist Ryan Oliver-Thompson, were rewarded for their achievement of reaching the final with £5,000 in a new City Index trading account. “The message at the heart of Trading Academy is that if you are disciplined and committed to embracing the educational element, you can have a successful trading experience, and it was very pleasing to see all of the competitors making such significant strides in a short period of time,” Ashraf Laidi explains. “John won not only because he had the best ROI, but his willingness to continue learning and then applying this to his trading throughout was what impressed the judges the most.”
January 2013
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