PROLOGUE INVESTMENT ACADEMY
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STARTS TUESDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 16:30-18:30
Learn about the principles of Investment Management and then build and actively manage a simulated portfolio on behalf of a fictional client with £150,000 of virtual money.
Watch a 3 minute video of Prologue Founder, Simon Selkirk, introducing the Prologue Investment Academy
ACADEMY DETAILS
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PROLOGUE INVESTMENT ACADEMY
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£150,000.
One client.
Competing teams. Twenty weeks.
A rigorous, applied supercurricular programme for ambitious sixth-form students.​​
The Prologue Investment Academy is built around Katie, a fictional client with £150,000 to invest. She has a defined mandate, clear investment objectives, personal preferences and her own attitude to risk.
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Over 20 weeks and 40 hours of structured sessions, students work in small teams to interpret Katie's requirements and turn them into an investment strategy. They then build and actively manage a portfolio using current market data on the StockTrak Virtual Stock Market Simulator, competing to build the portfolio that best meets her mandate.
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The Academy ends with each team presenting and defending its strategy and portfolio performance to a panel of industry professionals.
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THE ACADEMY
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Real decisions. Real scrutiny.
Real-world.
During the six-week Foundation, students develop their understanding of financial markets, investment products, risk and return, diversification and portfolio construction. They research investment ideas, evaluate evidence and begin to build a strategy within the constraints of the client's mandate.
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The competition begins with the 12-week Challenge. Teams implement and manage their strategy, competing to best meet the client's requirements. As markets move and circumstances change, they must decide whether and when to act.
The Academy culminates in a Presentation and Awards Evening, where teams present their portfolio and defend their decisions before a panel of investment professionals. A final Reflection Session brings the cohort together to review the decisions each team made, what worked and what the experience has revealed about their own interests and strengths.
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Teams are assessed on how well they meet the client's brief and the quality of their judgement, not on portfolio returns.
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Is this decision right for this client?
Investment management provides the context.
The wider purpose is to challenge students to apply their academic ability to complex, real-world commercial problems and to build credible evidence of how they think, what they can do and where their interests may take them.
THE OUTCOME
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Evidence of capability.
Evidence of ambition.
Every student leaves with concrete examples of what they did, why they did it and what they learned.
Throughout the programme, each student builds a Prologue Evidence Pack: a documented record of their named role in the team, their research and analysis, the decisions they made and why, feedback from the professional panel and their own reflection. It is material they can draw on directly in UCAS personal statements, university and apprenticeship interviews and early-career applications.
Along the way, they develop capabilities valued well beyond finance:
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Commercial awareness. Understanding how economic events, markets and individual circumstances shape real decisions.
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Analytical judgement. Weighing evidence, challenging assumptions and reaching sound conclusions when there is no single right answer.
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Professional communication. Explaining complex thinking clearly and defending it under questioning.
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Collaboration and accountability. Holding a defined role in a small team and taking responsibility for the quality of the work.
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The Prologue Investment Academy is designed so that students leave with more than a claim to commercial awareness. They leave with the evidence to support it.
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PROFESSIONAL BY DESIGN
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Designed and delivered by Simon Selkirk
Simon Selkirk is the founder of Prologue. He spent 20 years in recruitment, placing candidates across investment banking, investment management and banking with firms including Deutsche Bank, NatWest Markets, Macquarie and Westpac. He then taught Economics at Stamford School, where he was Head of Year 13 and part of the sixth-form leadership team.
Simon leads every session and supports each student individually throughout the programme, helping them make sense of what they are learning and what it means for the decisions ahead.
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Practising investment professionals contribute along the way, sharing how they assess evidence and make decisions. At the Presentation and Awards Evening, they form the panel that questions each team and gives every student structured individual feedback.
WHO IS IT FOR?
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Curious, committed and ready to be challenged.
The Prologue Investment Academy is designed for students in Years 12 and 13 who are ready to extend their learning beyond the classroom through a serious, applied experience.
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Students do not need previous investment experience, nor do they need to be studying Maths, Economics or Business. They do need intellectual curiosity, a willingness to engage with financial market data and current affairs, and the commitment to contribute fully to a small team over 20 weeks.
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The Academy will particularly suit students considering university courses or degree apprenticeships in mathematics, economics, finance, business, management or related fields. It may also suit students who want to understand whether these areas are right for them before committing to a direction.
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What students should expect
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One to two hours of independent work between sessions, with additional preparation around key portfolio decisions and the final presentation.
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Active participation throughout the Challenge as teams respond to changing circumstances.
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Professional scrutiny, culminating in the presentation and defence of their recommendations.
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Individual accountability, with every student expected to contribute fully to the work of their team.
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Places are deliberately limited to keep teams small and every student accountable.
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