November's Stock Challenge Concludes - A Photo Finish

In a rather tough month for the markets, Pinnacle members showed, yet again, their ability to find winners and make a profit no matter what the volatility levels may be. 

November’s Stock Challenge was the closest we’ve seen in several months. 7 different members held the lead in the final week of the challenge (3 lead changes in the final day!).

In total, we saw 14 different Pinnacle members hold the lead at some point during the month of November (a new record); it was rather fitting considering how volatile the markets were in November, with the VIX staying above 30 for most of the month. 

171 Pinnacle members participated in November’s Stock Challenge and many familiar faces made a run at the title; however, in the end, it was long-time Pinnacle member ‘MJCA’ who took the title - despite dropping as low as third for a couple hours on the final day of the challenge.

MJCA captured his first Stock Challenge title despite being threatened by a perennial contender. Two-time Stock Challenge champ, TaiwaneseChallenger, made a run at the lead up until the final hour of trading, which saw TC lose momentum and drop to third spot. 

MJCA, a member of the Pinnacle community for over 3 years, finished with an average overall return of 30.63% after selecting Pinnacle’s Featured Oil & Gas Company of 2011, Aroway Energy (ARW:TSXV) and Sego Resources (SGZ:TSXV). It was Aroway Energy that contributed to most of MJCA’s gains for the month of November as the Calgary based oil and gas company began its winter drill program and climbed from $0.42 to $0.62 within the month. Sego Resources managed to climb a few percentage points after it increased from $0.26 to $0.30 per share in the month of November. As mentioned, this was MJCA’s first Stock Challenge title and was well-earned as it took a strong final day performance to capture the ‘Stock Star’ status.

* Pinnacle member, DiamondsAce, summed it up in this statement "Congratulations mjca, always gratifying to get in at the bottom and then take some or ALL out at a top.Was a FUN challenge this month as the lead changed often.Today the markets moved North in a hurry and only a few looked to challenge you for No 1 but you put an exclamation mark on it in the end.Again Congrats on the win and your first star." 

After edging out perennial contender, TaiwaneseChallenger, in the final hour, TA_Sleuth took second place with a relatively impressive overall 30 day return of 27.23%. TA_Sleuth, a member of the Pinnacle community for over 3 years, selected Allana Potash (AAA:TSX) and the heavily traded Petroamerica Oil (PTA:TSXV). Petroamerica, another Calgary based oil and gas company, was responsible for most of TA_Sleuth’s gains as it went from $0.095 to $0.145 per share in the 30 day stretch. Although TA_Sleuth has yet to capture the Stock Challenge title, this marks the 3rd time the Halifax native has finished as the runner-up - a commendable track record.

As mentioned, TaiwaneseChallenger took third place after finishing with a 30 day return of 26.38%. You may remember TaiwaneseChallenger from earlier in the year when he had just joined the Pinnacle Community and quickly captured two Stock Challenge titles within a couple months (quickest member to win two titles after joining). Since then, TC hasn’t faltered and is regularly finishing within the TOP 10. He currently holds the best average return for the Stock Challenge over the past six months at 9.84%; an impressive statistic considering how poorly the markets have done in that time period. 

A new contender is emerging within our Stock Challenge. Turbomut, a member of our community for just 12 weeks, is quickly making a name for himself. After a second place finish in October, Turbomut held the lead multiple times in November before being bumped down to fourth spot on the final day of the challenge. In addition to strong performances in the Stock Challenge, Turbomut currently sits amongst the Pinnacle Brainiacs for the Junior Resource Investor iQ Challenge - finishing with a very impressive iQ of 140! It is our speculation that it’s only a matter of time before we are announcing Turbomut as a Stock Challenge champ. Clearly this newcomer knows a thing or two about investing in the resource sector. Keep an eye on Turbomut.

Congratulations to MJCA on his first ever Stock Challenge title! Welcome to the Stock Stars Wall of Fame...

VIEW TOP 10 LEADERBOARD FOR NOVEMBER

November’s Stock Challenge Statistics:

Highest Return: 30.63%

Lowest Return: -34.09%

Average Return: 1.10%