This. Assuming there's no prize for second place, do this. It's like starting a race trying to hang with guys that are way faster than you. It will probably end very very poorly, but maybe today is your day. I assume that the lesson of the assignment is to teach kids that dumb risky bets are bad ideas. Go big or go home! Unless you think you'll get brownie points for being the dweeb that invests in a conservative balanced fund just to prove a point.
Sam wrote:
Assuming you can't use leverage, derivatives etc, you should put 100% in a single highly volatile stock. You probably won't win, but the winner probably will use this strategy. You're not trying to give yourself a secure retirement income, you're trying to make massive gains in a short period of time. Fundamentals are irrelevant. Diversification will just dilute your gains if you do hit the jackpot. In this game, there is only one winner - a sustainable positive return is no better than crashing out and losing everything.
Look for things like small pharmaceutical companies, small mining/energy companies, small tech companies with big hype. If it's got momentum and a good story and looks a lot like a lottery ticket, it's what you want. You'll probably fail horribly, but no sensible investment is going to double in three months. When it's mostly hot air, the price can go anywhere.