The Gekko effect raises £5,000 for a good cause
May 31 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal
DEEP in the heart of every businessman and woman, however staid and sensible they appear, there is a wild risk-taking maverick waiting to break out.
Nowhere was this more evident than at the Newcastle Stock Market Challenge charity event where respectable professionals in 19 teams from North East companies got in touch with their inner Gordon Gekko to impressive effect.
Jackets were off in seconds, drink was consumed and charging and barging was commonplace as funny money was swapped for shares in made-up companies.
The event, which was sponsored by Allied Irish Bank (GB) and Sintons solicitors as well as The Journal, saw the teams lock their financial horns over five 20 minute sessions, representing a full week of trading, with TV reports and intense media speculation adding to the frivolities.
With a room full of the battered and the bruised by the end, only one team stood out as the North East’s very own fantasy stock market heroes.
Junk Bond Junkies, also known as the team from Newcastle Building Society, took first prize with an amazing portfolio of £666,600 from their initial investment of £10,000.
Team captain Tony Pierce said: “We bought into a lot of airline shares and hung on to them while others were selling until we saw them rocket. We just kept plugging away and didn’t get too panicked when our stocks went down. It was all about selling at the right price.”
And, most importantly of all, the evening’s high jinks at the Marriott Gosforth Park, Newcastle, raised more than £5,000 for The Children’s Foundation, the region’s leading child health charity. Barbara Gubbins, chief executive at The Children’s Foundation, said: “Wow what a great night. It was really great fun joining in the trading frenzy and experiencing the stock market for real.”
Simon Ross, corporate business banker at Allied Irish Bank (GB), said: “This is a different way of fundraising and a great way to encourage healthy competition in the professional services market of the North East. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and were happy to support The Children's Foundation once again to raise funds for children in our region.”
As brow-beaten investors left the trading area, only the Junk Bond Junkies were afforded the top prize of the legendary Stock Market Challenge Red Braces and a big bottle of bubbly courtesy of The Journal.
