Stock Pickers University Challenge

The Stock Pickers University Challenge ("Contest") is a simulated portfolio-management competition open to eligible university students in the United States and Canada. Teams construct a 13-stock model portfolio following the composition rules in Section 4, and submit a video outlining their thesis which will be posted to social media by each team and the Contest sponsors. Winners are determined solely by portfolio performance over the Contest Period.

This document constitutes the full and binding rules of the Contest ("Rules"). By registering, each participant agrees to be bound by these Rules and by the FRC Platform Terms of Use and Cboe's applicable terms, incorporated here by reference.

2.1 Open to students currently enrolled full-time or part-time at an accredited post-secondary institution (university or college) in the United States or Canada at the time of registration.

2.2 Participants must be the age of majority in their province/state of residence, or have parent/legal guardian consent on file.

2.3 Employees, contractors, and immediate family members of the Sponsors (Cboe, FRC) are not eligible.

2.4 Each individual may register on only one team. Registering on multiple teams will result in disqualification of all teams involving that individual.

2.5 Sponsors reserve the right to verify enrollment status (e.g., valid .edu email or proof of enrollment) at any point before, during, or after the Contest.

3.1 Teams must consist of a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of three (3) students.

3.2 Team members need to attend the same institution.

3.3 Each team must designate one member as team captain who will also be the FRC Campus Ambassador, responsible for registration, submissions, and communications with organizers.

3.4 Team rosters are locked as of the registration deadline of September 19, 2026. No substitutions or additions after this date, except in cases of documented hardship approved by the organizers at their sole discretion.

Each team must build a single model portfolio meeting all of the following criteria:

4.1 Sector Coverage — Exactly one (1) stock from each of the eleven (11) GICS S&P sectors: Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Information Technology, Communication Services, Utilities, and Real Estate.

4.2 Cboe Canada-Listed Security — One (1) additional holding, separate and distinct from the 11 sector picks in Section 4.1, must be a security (ETF, public company, or CDR) listed on Cboe Canada.

4.3 FRC-Covered Company — One (1) additional holding, separate and distinct from the 11 sector picks in Section 4.1 and the Cboe Canada-listed security in Section 4.2, must be a company with active equity research coverage on the FRC platform at the time of selection.

4.4 Portfolio Size — Each portfolio must contain exactly thirteen (13) holdings in total: the 11 GICS sector picks (Section 4.1), plus the 1 Cboe Canada-listed security (Section 4.2), plus the 1 FRC-covered company (Section 4.3). No holding may be counted toward more than one of these three requirements.

4.5 Starting Capital & Weighting — Each team begins with $1,000,000 in hypothetical starting capital, allocated across the 13 holdings at the team's discretion. There is no maximum single-position weight, but each of the 13 required holdings must be funded with at least $25,000 at the time of the trade. Beyond that, teams may allocate capital across the 13 required holdings however they see fit. The entire amount does not need to be allocated. However, any portion of the capital held in “cash” will NOT accumulate interest.

4.6 Mandatory Tracking Platform — All portfolio construction, and every subsequent buy/sell, must be executed through the FRC portfolio tracking platform provided for the Contest (the "Platform"). No trades or holdings recorded outside the Platform will be recognized for scoring purposes. Portfolios are considered "open" for initial construction from October 1, 2026, at which point the Contest Period begins.

4.6a Rebalancing — After the initial portfolio is set, a team may rebalance (add or remove picks) at any time during the Contest Period, provided that:

• The resulting portfolio still conforms to the full structure in Sections 4.1–4.4 at all times (one stock per GICS sector, the Cboe Canada-listed security, and the FRC-covered company — 13 holdings, no exceptions, no gaps);
• Every rebalancing trade is executed through the Platform; and
• The team submits a new short video (per the format in Section 7) explaining the logic for the swap before, or promptly after, executing the trade.

There is no limit on the number of times a team may rebalance. This flexibility exists so teams can act on genuine changes in their thesis — it is not intended to support high-frequency or day-trading behavior, and organizers may flag or disqualify a team whose trading pattern is inconsistent with the spirit of a thesis-driven contest (see Section 14).

4.7 Eligible Securities — The 11 sector picks (4.1) and the FRC-covered pick (4.3) must be publicly listed common equities. The Cboe pick (4.2) must be an ETF, CDR, or public company listed on Cboe Canada. No options, futures, cryptocurrencies, private placements, or leveraged/inverse products are eligible anywhere in the portfolio.

4.8 Performance Measurement — Portfolio performance is measured on price return only (i.e., percentage change in each holding's closing price, adjusted for any rebalancing trades executed per Section 4.6a), as calculated by the FRC portfolio tracking Platform from the portfolio's initial lock at the start of the Contest Period through December 31, 2026. The Platform is the sole official source of record for holdings, trade timestamps, and performance calculations — no other data source will be used to resolve scoring questions.

4.9 Public Leaderboards — The Platform will display public, continuously-updated leaderboards showing each team's standing throughout the Contest Period. By registering, participants consent to their team's performance being publicly visible to all Contest participants and Platform users for the duration of the Contest.

4.10 Treatment of Dividends — The Contest calculates standings on price return, excluding dividends, for the following reasons:

• Consistency across a mixed portfolio. Teams are required to hold a mix of sectors (e.g., Utilities and Real Estate typically carry higher yields than Information Technology or Communication Services), a Cboe Canada-listed security, and an FRC-covered pick. Including dividends would materially reward teams for tilting toward high-yield names rather than for the quality of the underlying thesis, which skews the comparison being judged.
• Data reliability across a short, actively-rebalanced window. Because teams may rebalance at any time under Section 4.6a, accurately layering in dividend timing, ex-dividend dates, and reinvestment assumptions on top of a changing holding set would add significant complexity and dispute risk. Price-only calculation on the Platform keeps the methodology consistent and auditable regardless of how often a team trades.

4.11 Trade Execution & Pricing Methodology (Anti-Front-Running Rule) — To ensure every team's entry, exit, and rebalancing price reflects information genuinely unavailable to them at the moment they acted — and to prevent any team from using intraday price movement it has already observed to “lock in” an artificially favorable historical price — all trades on the Platform are priced as follows:

• (a) Live-market orders. Any order (initial construction or rebalancing) submitted through the Platform while the relevant exchange is open for regular trading executes at that security's actual live market price at the exact timestamp the order is submitted ("Live Execution Price"), as sourced and timestamped by the Platform. A team that places an order at 3:55 PM is filled at the real 3:55 PM price — never at that day's opening price, the previous close, or any other earlier reference point.
• (b) Orders submitted outside market hours. Any order submitted after regular market close, before market open, or on a non-trading day executes at the next trading session's official opening price ("Next-Open Price"), a price that does not exist and cannot be known at the moment the order is submitted. This "blind forward pricing" convention is the same principle mutual funds use under SEC forward-pricing rules, specifically to prevent stale-price arbitrage.
• (c) Daily leaderboard mark. Independent of individual trade execution prices under (a)/(b), each team's total portfolio value for the daily public leaderboard (Section 4.9) is marked using the Official Closing Price — the exchange's official closing print for each holding — as of the end of each trading day. This is a valuation snapshot only and has no effect on any team's actual cost basis.
• (d) No amendment or backdating. Once submitted and filled, an order's timestamp and execution price are final and cannot be edited, cancelled and resubmitted at a different price, or otherwise altered by the team or the organizers, except to correct a documented Platform technical error.
• (e) Backstop. Notwithstanding (a)–(d), organizers may audit Platform trade logs at any time and, per Section 14.2a, review any team's trading pattern that appears designed to exploit Platform latency, quote-staleness, or any other timing mechanic not contemplated by this Section.

• September 19 — Registration deadline / team rosters locked
• September 28 — Mandatory launch meeting via Zoom
• October 1 — Contest Period begins; initial portfolios must be entered on the Platform
• October 7 — Initial portfolio video submission deadline
• October 1 – December 31 — Rebalancing window (any time, per Section 4.6a; each swap requires its own video)
• December 31 — Contest Period ends; portfolios marked to market on the Platform
• January (date TBD) — Winners announced
• Date TBD — Awards weekend in Las Vegas

6.1 At least one member of each registered team must attend the live Zoom orientation session on September 28. Attendance is mandatory for the team to remain eligible.

6.2 The session will cover platform onboarding (FRC), Contest mechanics, judging criteria, and Q&A. A recording may be provided for excused absences at organizers' discretion, but does not waive the attendance requirement for full eligibility.

7.1 By October 7, 2026, each team must submit one (1) initial portfolio video that:

• Introduces all team members;
• Explains the overall portfolio thesis and sector-picking logic;
• Explains the rationale for at least one individual stock selection from the 11 S&P sectors;
• Describes specifically how the team used the FRC platform to conduct due diligence;
• Explains the rationale for the Cboe Canada-listed security selection;
• Explains the rationale for the FRC-covered company selection.

7.1a Rebalancing videos. Any time a team rebalances its portfolio under Section 4.6a, it must also submit a short follow-up video explaining the logic for the swap, before or promptly after executing the trade on the Platform.

7.2 Length and format: Videos should be sized appropriately for the social media platform(s) they'll be posted to (e.g., vertical/short-form for Instagram Reels or TikTok, standard widescreen for YouTube) — there is no fixed minimum or maximum runtime, but videos should be long enough to substantively cover the required points above. Videos must use the FRC contest hashtag (to be provided). Acceptable platforms: Instagram (Reels), TikTok, YouTube (Shorts or standard), LinkedIn.

7.3 Videos are for content and promotional purposes only and do not factor into standings. Per Section 9, winners are determined solely by portfolio performance. Submitting a complete, on-time video is nonetheless mandatory for a team to remain eligible to win — it just isn't scored or weighted against other teams' videos unless there is a tie as per 9.2 below.

7.4 See Section 11 for ownership and usage rights in submitted videos.

7.5 AI Policy — 0% of the core substance (team intros, spoken thesis, and stock rationale) may be AI generated. These have to be real team members, on camera or in their own actual voice, saying their own analysis. No AI avatars, no voice cloning, no fully AI-scripted narration. However, up to 20% of total runtime can contain AI-generated b-roll, graphics, transitions, background music, or a thumbnail. If a team uses an AI tool as part of their due diligence process alongside the FRC platform, it must be disclosed (e.g. “we used the FRC platform for stock selection and cross-checked with [XYZ AI Platform]”).

8.1 Each team must designate one (1) member as the team's "FRC Ambassador."

8.2 The FRC Ambassador is responsible for promoting the FRC platform on their campus during the Contest Period (and any extension period specified by FRC).

8.3 The Ambassador will sign an additional separate agreement independently outlining their specific responsibilities and incentives.

8.4 Participants should note that ambassador incentives may have tax reporting implications and should consult a tax advisor as needed.

9.1 Final standings are determined by portfolio performance only (price return per Section 4.8). The video submitted under Section 7 is mandatory for eligibility but is not scored and has no bearing on standings.

9.2 Portfolio performance will be calculated and verified using the FRC portfolio tracking Platform (Section 4.8), with oversight from FRC. Tiebreaker: in the event two or more teams are tied on portfolio performance as of December 31, 2026, the tie will be broken by total social media likes across the tied teams' initial portfolio videos (Section 7.1), as counted on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and X of the official Contest account, as of January 2, 2027, at noon Pacific time. The team with the higher like count wins the tie. Platform-recorded performance calculations and Contest-verified like counts are final.

9.3 Grand Prize: US$5,000, awarded to the winning team (split among team members at the team's discretion).

9.4 Awards Weekend: Up to three (3) members of the winning team will be flown to Las Vegas, Nevada for an awards weekend (exact dates TBD). The prize package includes:

• Round-trip flight of FRC's choice, departing from any city in Canada, the continental United States, Hawaii, or Alaska (other origins are not covered; winners departing from outside these regions are responsible for arranging their own travel to a covered departure city, at their own expense);
• Hotel accommodations for the duration of the weekend;
• Two (2) group dinners — a welcome dinner and the awards dinner;
• Scheduled group activities and opportunities to meet representatives of Cboe and FRC.

Meals outside the two included dinners, incidentals, and any travel outside the covered departure regions are the responsibility of the winning team members. The trip is non-transferable and has no cash-equivalent value if declined, in whole or in part.

9.5 Reference Letters: Every participant who completes the Contest in good standing (i.e., submits a compliant portfolio and video, and does not withdraw or get disqualified) will receive a signed letter from FRC confirming their participation, suitable for inclusion in a resume or job application. Members of the winning team will additionally receive a distinct letter from FRC recognizing them as the Contest winner.

9.6 Prizes are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash, except at the sole discretion of the Sponsors. Winners are solely responsible for any taxes associated with the prize (a Form 1099 or equivalent may be issued where required by law).

9.7 Travel for the Awards Weekend is subject to a signed travel waiver and, where applicable, proof of valid identification/passport for travel.

10.1 All registered participants will receive a complimentary FRC Premium account for the duration of the Contest Period plus three (3) months thereafter.

10.2 At the end of that complimentary period, participants may elect to continue their FRC Premium subscription at a permanent student rate of 50% off the then-current standard retail price, for as long as they maintain eligible student (or, per FRC's policy, alumni) status — subject to FRC's standard subscription terms, which may be updated from time to time.

10.3 Account access is personal to the registered participant and may not be shared, resold, or used on behalf of a third party.

11.1 Portfolio & written materials. As between the team and the Sponsors, teams retain ownership of the underlying analysis and thesis they create. By submitting a portfolio and written materials, each team grants the Sponsors a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, and display that content for purposes related to the Contest, including marketing, judging, archival, and promotional purposes.

11.2 Video submissions. By submitting a video, each participant grants the Sponsors a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable license to host, edit, excerpt, reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the video (or portions of it) across Sponsor websites, social media, and marketing materials, with credit to the team/participants where practical. Participants retain the right to also use and share their own video for personal/professional purposes (e.g., a portfolio or resume reel).

11.3 Each participant warrants that their submission is original work, does not infringe any third party's intellectual property, and does not contain confidential or proprietary information belonging to any employer, university, or third party.

11.4 Participants may not use copyrighted music, footage, or images in their video submissions without proper rights or licensing.

12.1 By participating, each participant grants the Sponsors permission to use their name, likeness, voice, photograph, video, biographical information, and quotes for purposes of promoting the Contest and related Sponsor activities, in any media now known or later developed, without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.

12.2 Winners specifically consent to being named, photographed, and featured in connection with the Awards Weekend and related publicity (e.g., press releases, social posts, case studies), unless they notify organizers in writing of an objection prior to the event.

12.3 Participants may withdraw publicity consent for future, not-yet-used materials by written request to info@researchfrc.com, though this will not retract materials already published.

13.1 Personal information collected during registration (name, school, email, etc.) will be used to administer the Contest and may be shared among the Sponsors (Cboe, FRC) for that purpose, and, where the participant has opted in, for future marketing communications.

13.2 FRC platform usage during the Contest is governed by FRC's standard Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, available at https://www.researchfrc.com/privacy-policy.

13.3 Sponsors will not sell participant personal information to unaffiliated third parties.

14.1 All portfolio selections and rationale must reflect the team's own independent work. Plagiarized analysis, use of another team's picks, or fabricated due-diligence claims (e.g., falsely claiming use of the FRC platform) are grounds for immediate disqualification.

14.2 Teams may not attempt to manipulate the price of any security selected in their (or another team's) portfolio.

14.2a Rebalancing under Section 4.6a is intended to reflect genuine, thesis-driven changes of view — not short-term or day-trading behavior. Organizers reserve the right to review any team's trading frequency and, at their sole discretion, disqualify a team (or exclude specific trades from scoring) if the pattern of activity is inconsistent with the educational, thesis-driven intent of the Contest.

14.3 Any attempt to interfere with the Contest, other participants, or the administration of these Rules (including fraud, hacking, or misrepresentation of eligibility) will result in disqualification and forfeiture of any prize.

14.4 Organizers reserve the right to disqualify any team or individual, at their sole discretion, for conduct they deem unsportsmanlike, unethical, or in violation of these Rules.

14.5 Sponsors reserve the right to request supporting documentation (e.g., trade blotters, FRC platform activity logs) to verify a team's compliance with the Rules.

15.1 The Contest is a simulated/educational exercise. No real money is invested, and stock selections do not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security.

15.2 Sponsors make no representation regarding the future performance of any security discussed or selected during the Contest.

15.3 To the maximum extent permitted by law, Sponsors and their affiliates, officers, employees, and agents are not liable for any damages, losses, or injuries (including but not limited to technical failures, platform outages, travel disruptions, or cancellation of the Awards Weekend) arising from participation in the Contest or acceptance/use of a prize.

15.4 Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, suspend, modify, or extend the Contest, or these Rules, at any time, for any reason, including circumstances beyond their control (e.g., market disruption, platform outage, force majeure), with notice to registered participants where reasonably practicable.

15.5 By participating, each participant releases the Sponsors from any claims arising from the awards weekend travel, including but not limited to injury, illness, or property loss, except to the extent caused by Sponsors' gross negligence or willful misconduct.

16.1 These Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Nevada, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

16.2 Any dispute arising from the Contest will first be addressed through good-faith negotiation with organizers before any formal proceeding, and, where applicable, may be subject to arbitration in the State of Nevada.

For questions about registration, platform access, or these Rules, contact: info@researchfrc.com