The U.S. Investing Championship (USIC) has run since 1983 — one year ahead of the Robbins WCTC. Organized by Norm Zadeh under Money Manager Verified Ratings, USIC scores on audited percentage return of a real broker account over the calendar year. The Stocks Division is the canonical one; options and enhanced-growth divisions came later.
Three USIC winners anchor its reputation: Marty Schwartz (1984, 781% return — later featured in 'Market Wizards'), David Ryan (three back-to-back titles 1985-1987), and Mark Minervini (1997, 155% — later wrote 'Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard'). Each built a career on top of the credential.
The Divisions
- Stocks Division. The flagship division. Long-only stocks, calendar-year scoring on percentage return. The original USIC.
- Options Division. Real-money options account scored on percentage return over the calendar year. Separate leaderboard from stocks.
- Enhanced Growth Division. Stocks with margin permitted. Higher-volatility track for traders confident in their edge.
- Money Manager Verified Ratings. The USIC organizer (Norm Zadeh's MMVR) maintains a separate audited-track record for professional money managers running real client capital.
Notable champions
Full canonical list lives in the Hall of Fame. The names that anchor the championship:
- Marty Schwartz (1984). Won the USIC with a 781% return. Known as 'Buzzy', he is the canonical example of a discretionary day trader winning a championship. Featured in Jack Schwager's 'Market Wizards' two years later.
- Mark Minervini (1997). Returned 155% in the year, winning the Stocks Division. Built a multi-decade educational franchise on top of the credential ('Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard').
- David Ryan (Multiple years). Three-time USIC winner (1985, 1986, 1987 — back to back to back). Pre-IBD methodology applied with discipline; later became a William O'Neil collaborator.
How to enter
USIC follows the same multi-decade pattern as WCTC: open a real-money brokerage account, register for the relevant Division, pay the entry fee, trade the calendar year. Money Manager Verified Ratings audits broker statements directly. Past results are published on the USIC organizer site.
USIC vs WCTC
Robbins WCTC covers futures and forex; USIC covers stocks and options. They launched within a year of each other (USIC in 1983, WCTC in 1984) and run on the same scoring principle: audited real-money percentage return over a calendar period. If you trade stocks, USIC is the credential. If you trade futures or forex, it's WCTC. A handful of traders have entered both circuits in different decades.
See all live championship-tier events on the Championships index, or the per-platform USIC page at /exchanges/usic.
What is the U.S. Investing Championship?
Real-money stocks and options championship organized by Money Manager Verified Ratings (MMVR), running continuously since 1983. Scored on audited percentage return of a real brokerage account over the calendar year. The Stocks Division is the canonical one. A USIC title is a career-grade credential — winners are introduced as 'former U.S. Investing Champion' decades later.
Who has won USIC?
Marty Schwartz won the inaugural year (1984) with a 781% return, later featured in Jack Schwager's 'Market Wizards'. David Ryan won three consecutive years (1985, 1986, 1987). Mark Minervini won the Stocks Division in 1997 with a 155% return and later built a multi-decade educational franchise on top of the credential.
How is USIC different from WCTC?
WCTC covers futures and forex; USIC covers stocks and options. They launched within a year of each other (USIC 1983, WCTC 1984) and use the same scoring principle: audited real-money percentage return over a calendar period. If you trade stocks, USIC is your circuit. If you trade futures or forex, it's WCTC. The credential value is comparable.
Can non-US residents enter?
USIC has historically focused on US-resident participants but accepts international entrants where local brokerage access permits. Verify with the current organizer; the rules and accepted brokers shift between contest years.
Where are USIC results published?
Money Manager Verified Ratings publishes contest top-three results on their official USIC site. We catalog the multi-decade champions in our /hall-of-fame with citations to primary sources. Current calendar contests live in the Open 2026 Divisions section above.