The man who is beating the Aspen crowd in South Africa’s most popular stock pick competition

Sam Brozin leads David Shapiro’s 2026 Cristal Challenge and is the only competitor in the top 5 who did not have Aspen in his selection.

Shapiro, the chief global equity strategist at Otto1890, formerly Sasfin Securities, started the Cristal Challenge in January 2021.

With over 50 years of experience on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), highly regarded in South African investment circles.

He launched the Cristal Challenge, named after the famous premium champagne, as a fun and exciting opportunity to encourage participation in the stock market.

“The idea is to attract people, particularly youngsters, to the fun of following individual stocks over a ten-month period,” he said.

“It’s a great learning game and is simple in concept. The fun comes from seeing what stocks other people choose and how these perform relative to your picks.”

The concept is simple. Entrants must select five JSE‑listed shares which are priced above 10c, excluding ETFs, unit trusts, commodities, and specialised products.

The performance of these shares is tracked from 1 February to 31 October, based on total returns, including dividends and corporate actions.

“The point is not to simulate professional portfolio management, but to capture the joy and difficulty of forecasting markets over ten months,” Shapiro explained.

“Entrants learn about diversification, the impact of dividends, the psychology of cutting losses, and the humility required when markets defy expectations.”

What began in 2021 as a light‑hearted lockdown diversion among a handful of friends has grown into the most popular stock-picking competition in South Africa.

Shapiro initially started with 15 players. The challenge has rapidly grown in popularity, and in 2026 it attracted a record 494 entrants.

2026 Cristal Challenge

The 2026 Cristal Challenge attracted people from all walks of life, including restaurateurs, helicopter pilots, boiler makers, and surgeons.

There are also violinists, dentists, goldsmiths, accountants, auditors, analysts, and even a few reverends.

Together they selected 190 different counters, proving just how wide the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE’s) appeal can be,” Shapiro said.

With 190 shares available, there are more than 2.5 billion possible five‑share combinations.

This year’s most popular picks were Sibanye with 113 selections, Purple Group with 89, Naspers with 83, Afrimat with 72, and Sasol with 70.

Shapiro, along with many other professional investors and fund managers, participates in the annual Cristal Challenge.

This year, he picked the retailers Truworths, Foschini, and Mr Price, as well as Aspen and Afrimat. His belief in Aspen CEO Stephen Saad was well-founded.

The Aspen share price increased by 46% between 1 February and 28 August, which bodes well for participants with this share in their basket.

The latest Cristal Challenge leaderboard showed that four out of the top 5 leaders have Aspen as one of their picks.

However, the overall leader, Sam Brozin, is the exception. He picked Thungela, Sasol, Glencore, Shoprite, and HCI.

With a return of 32%, he is leading a chasing pack of Raymond Steyn, Giscard Pieters, Monde Ntsoko, and Laurence Hill.

The table below shows the 2026 Cristal Challenge at the end of August, seven months into the competition, with two months to go.