The Financial Times is set to launch the second season of its stock picking game on Monday, October 5, following a successful debut earlier this year. The initial competition, which ran for nine weeks over the summer, attracted nearly 13,000 participants who competed by constructing and managing virtual portfolios.

Participants are allowed to select between five and 20 stocks, adjusting portfolio weights and making unlimited trades throughout the competition. The objective is to achieve the highest portfolio return by the end of the contest, with the overall winner receiving a cash prize of £1,000.

Alongside the trading competition, players receive a weekly newsletter, the Top Trader, compiled by the Money desk. The newsletter reviews major market movements from the preceding week and highlights notable player performance, offering both commendations for top trades and lighthearted critiques of less successful ones.

In the first season, 75 percent of competitors finished the game with profits, although less than half were able to outperform the S&P 500 index during the same period. The winner of that season was Swapnil Ingole, a 40-year-old supermarket store manager from Surrey, who achieved a portfolio return of 36 percent.

Eligible participants must be over 18 and can register for the upcoming season through the Financial Times’ dedicated website. The competition will run from 8 a.m. on October 5 until midnight on November 27. Terms and conditions apply.