"Trainee cabbie scoops £100,000 in ‘X-Factor for traders’"

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A trainee London cab driver has triumphed in a competition, run by the spread betting firm of Icap boss Michael Spencer, to find the UK’s top amateur trader.

John Walsh, a 29 year-old client services executive who is currently studying to become a cab driver, was today confirmed as the winner of City Index’s Trading Academy. Walsh saw off competition from a recruitment consultant and a freelance journalist to scoop the £100,000 cash prize.

Styled as “the X-Factor for traders”, in a nod to the popular TV pop contest, the competition aimed to teach aspiring traders how to successfully trade the securities markets. 

Walsh was crowned the winner after delivering a notional return on investment of 23.6% during the final week of trading, impressing the judges with his ability to trade out of losing positions and maintain a high level of consistency throughout the competition.

Walsh told Financial News he had no plans to give up his ambition to become a cabbie despite the windfall, and would still sit his exams for The Knowledge – the gruelling training course required to drive a black cab....MORE