Rules

1.Overview

The Brasília Finance Challenge (BFC) is a student investment competition open to teams from 8th grade through high school at schools anywhere in Brazil. Following the format of the leading international finance competitions, the BFC challenges participants to act as investment managers, presenting a complete portfolio strategy to a simulated institutional client.

Competition Objectives

• Promote practical financial education, preparing students to manage their own money in adult life.
• Build real skills in investment analysis and portfolio construction among students from 8th grade through high school across Brazil.
• Serve as structured preparation for teams that want to compete in international finance competitions.
• Create a network of finance-minded students across schools nationwide.
• Connect students with working finance professionals through evaluation and mentorship.

2.Eligibility

2.1 Who Can Take Part

• Any student duly enrolled from 8th grade through the 3rd year of high school at a school in any state of Brazil.
• Teams may be made up of students from a single school or from different schools, and from different grades. for example, a 9th grader from one school and a 1st-year high school student from another may form the same team.
• No prior finance knowledge or coursework is required.

2.2 Team Composition

• Minimum: 1 member per team.
• Maximum: 4 members per team.
• Each student may belong to only one registered team.
• Teams must designate a Team Leader, responsible for all official communication with the Organizing Committee.

2.3 Registration

• Registration period: July 20 to October 3, 2026.
• Registration closes: October 3, 2026.
• Registering while the competition is under way: the Trading Days began on 21 September, but registration remains open. Teams joining after the start trade for the remaining time and are assessed by the same criteria — which, as item 5 details, do not score return. Arriving later shortens your simulator time, not your chance of scoring well.
• To register, the Leader must fill out the official form with the full name, school and grade of every member.
• Registration is free.

3.Competition Format

The BFC uses the institutional client model. Participating teams take on the role of an investment manager advising an institutional client. The client profile and investment horizon will be released at the launch of the competition.

4.Final Report

4.1 Objectives

• Assess the quality of the team's investment strategy, not the return the portfolio made in the simulator.
• See how the team turns a client's mandate into portfolio decisions.
• Recognise the team's own reasoning: the thesis, the choices and the conclusions.

4.2 What it must show

• That the team understood the client's goal, constraints and profile.
• That every asset in the portfolio is there for a clear reason.
• That risks were identified and have mitigation.
• That the portfolio answers the client's mandate.

4.3 The structure of the report

There are four parts, in this order: cover, portfolio allocation, strategy explanation and bibliography.

The strategy explanation follows a recommended order, but it is not mandatory:

4.4 Format

4.5 Delivery

The team Leader sends the PDF inside the BFE site by 18 October.

4.6 AI and plagiarism

Use of AI. Tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Larry, the BFE tutor, can help with research. The thesis, the portfolio decisions and the conclusions must reflect the team's own reasoning, and a submission that looks entirely AI-generated, with no analysis of its own, is disqualified.

Plagiarism. Copying published research, another team or a previous submission leads to immediate disqualification.

4.7 Before you submit

• A one-page cover with team, members, school(s) and date
• Portfolio allocation with 5 to 15 positions, each with an identifier, asset class and weight, and weights adding up to 100%.
• Client with the mandate's objective, constraints, risk tolerance and time horizon presented
• Central thesis stated directly.
• Risks identified and with mitigation, preferably measured.
• Conclusion linking the expected result to the mandate.
• Up to 5 content pages, Times New Roman 11, 1.5 cm margins, 1.5 line spacing, as a PDF.
• Bibliography with every source cited.
• PDF sent by the Leader inside the BFE site by 18 October.

5.Evaluation Criteria: Phase 1

Seventy percent of the grade rests on two things: how the portfolio was built and how good the thesis is. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 10, and the final grade is the panel's weighted average.

The portfolio's return earns no points. A team that had a high return and nothing else loses to one that built a coherent portfolio and defended it well.

In practice: the simulator is for putting the decision into practice. What goes in the report is why each asset is there, how the risk was measured and mitigated, and how well the portfolio answers the mandate.

6.In-Person Final

6.1 Qualifying for the Final

The 5 teams with the highest weighted score in Phase 1 advance to the Grand Final. In case of a tie for 5th place, the team with the higher "Quality of the Investment Thesis" sub-score advances.

6.2 Final Format

• Each team gives a live presentation to a panel of external professional judges.
• Presentation length: 8 minutes.
• Q&A session: 4 minutes of questions from the panel immediately afterward.
• Total per team: 12 minutes.
• All team members must be present. Absent members cannot be replaced at this stage.
• Presentation media: slides in PowerPoint, Keynote or PDF projected on screen.

6.3 Final Evaluation Criteria

The Grand Final introduces an additional "Live Performance" dimension. Phase 1 scores do not carry over. The Final is scored independently.

6.4 Venue and Logistics

• Venue: to be confirmed by the Organizing Committee.
• Finalist teams will receive confirmation and logistical details at least 10 days in advance.
• Guests and non-competing audience may attend at the discretion of the Organizing Committee.

7.Prizes

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top-placed teams in the Grand Final, deposited into a Blue3/XP account.

8.Conduct and Academic Integrity

8.1 Original Work

All written reports and presentations must represent the original work of the registered team members. Teams may use public data, academic research and financial databases as sources, provided they are properly cited in the bibliography.

8.2 Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Larry, the BFE tutor, can help with research. The thesis, the portfolio decisions and the conclusions must reflect the team's own reasoning, and a submission that looks entirely AI-generated, with no analysis of its own, is disqualified.

8.3 Plagiarism

Copying published research, another team or a previous submission leads to immediate disqualification.

8.4 Confidentiality of the Evaluation

The identity of the judges and the individual scores are confidential. Consolidated results will be announced officially by the Organizing Committee.

9.General Rules

• The Organizing Committee reserves the right to amend these rules. Changes will be communicated to registered teams by e-mail at least 5 days in advance.
• The Organizing Committee's decisions on all matters of the competition are final.
• Taking part implies full acceptance of these rules.
• The BFC is not responsible for transport or accommodation costs incurred by participants because of the competition.
• Photos and videos of the Final event may be published by the Organizing Committee for promotional purposes. Participants consent to this upon registering.
• These rules are valid solely for the BFC 2026.

10.Key Dates

11.Contact

For questions, registration issues or clarification on any rule, get in touch with the BFC Organizing Committee: