Free university trading competition
A fun, free competition for your university trading or investment society. Build without code, compete against fellow students on a live leaderboard and win Pipster swag—all with virtual funds and no personal money at risk.
No entry fee · No coding required · No student capital at risk
Idea
Your market thesis
Build + test
Level2 strategy logic
Signal
Level2 generates it
Execute
Pipster trades + scores
Build
No-code strategy
Compete
University leaderboard
Learn
Coach + daily macro
Win
Pipster swag
What this is
Students compete against people they know, watch the leaderboard move and learn practical systematic-trading skills along the way.
Compete
A short, friendly competition against other students in your trading or investment society.
Learn
Everyone gets the same practical learning experience, regardless of where they finish.
Win
Top performers get recognised and receive a Pipster swag pack after the results are verified.
How the technology works
Students design and backtest in Level2. Level2 generates the signals, and Pipster executes them with virtual funds, applies the two drawdown limits and updates the leaderboard.
Build · Backtest · Signal
Students build and backtest the strategy in Level2, then use Pipster’s fundamental market context to decide when conditions suit it—and when it should be paused.
Execute · Enforce · Coach
Pipster executes each signal with virtual funds, checks the two drawdown limits, updates the university leaderboard and gives the student a post-trade coaching record.
→EUR / USD
Breakout momentum · 15m
LONG
Buy 0.60 lots
Virtual competition account
1.08475
Competition equity
$104,420
Rule monitor
HealthyEvery executed signal updates drawdown headroom and the university leaderboard.
Balance
$104,250
+4.25%
Daily DD left
$4,370
4% limit
Signals executed
18
Virtual trades
University rank
#14
62 competitors
Signal-to-execution route
Students own the strategy logic. Level2 watches the market and generates the signal. Pipster executes it with virtual funds and applies the competition rules.
Stage 01 · Idea
Choose indicators, conditions and risk controls. Level2 makes the strategy logic visual, so coding is not a barrier.
Stage 02 · Build + test
Compare parameters, study historical performance and improve the strategy before it enters the competition.
Stage 03 · Compete
Level2 generates the strategy signals, Pipster executes them with virtual funds and every result moves the university leaderboard.
Tradeable universe
Build around the market you understand—or test whether the same systematic logic travels across asset classes.
Foreign exchange
Major and minor currency pairs
Gold + metals
Gold, silver and available metals
Oil + energy
Crude oil and available energy markets
Global indices
Major US, UK, European and Asian indices
Crypto
Selected cryptocurrency markets
Commodities
Selected additional commodity markets
The final instrument list is confirmed before registration and limited to markets supported by both Level2 and the Pipster competition account.
The only trading rules
Students simply keep their strategy inside the 4% daily and 8% maximum drawdown limits while competing for leaderboard position. No other trading rules apply.
Two simple drawdown rules
Keep the strategy inside both limits to stay on the leaderboard.
4%
Daily drawdown
Equity must not fall more than 4% below the equity recorded at the start of that trading day.
8%
Maximum drawdown
Equity must not fall more than 8% below the opening simulated balance at any point in the competition.
The competition desk
A backtest shows how a strategy behaved before; it does not mean the strategy should always be running. Students use the Daily Macro Playbook to understand the fundamental environment, decide when conditions fit, and pause when they do not. Pipster Coach then helps them review the outcome.
Pip reviews timing, sizing, losses and risk, helping students understand whether the strategy was used in market conditions that suited it. It analyses the trader; it never predicts markets.
A concise fundamental briefing covers the economic calendar, central-bank themes, market regimes and volatility, helping students decide when their strategy should be active or paused.
Students can follow their place throughout the competition and see how their strategy compares with other members of their university.
Participants learn the platform, test virtual deployment and ask questions before scored competition trading begins.
Daily and maximum drawdown stay visible as Pipster executes Level2’s signals, helping students learn disciplined risk management.
Participants receive a performance summary and strategy-reflection prompts they can use to explain what they learned.
For society committees
The partnership is designed to be valuable for members without creating another large admin project for the committee.
Pipster + Level2 provide
Your society helps with
Interested, but the dates are not right yet?
Start the conversation anyway. The pilot format and timing can be planned around your society calendar.
Questions
It is a free, friendly competition for members of a university trading or investment society. Students build a strategy in Level2, run it with virtual funds on Pipster and compete for a place on their university leaderboard.
Tell us which university and society you represent. Our partnerships team will help shape the format, dates and prizes around your members.
University partnerships
Pipster support
support@pipster.io
Include your university, society name and approximate membership.
Competition dates, final instrument availability, eligibility, tie-breakers and prizes are confirmed before registration. All signals are executed with virtual funds; no participant capital is required.
