Mathis Bitton is 16 and has already almost doubled his money in the sharemarket

Mathis Bitton found academics at Massey University's Albany campus (above) and Auckland University to be more open than French academics to supporting high-school students. Photo / Jason Oxenham

He's only 16, but Mathis Bitton has already started an investment society - and almost doubled his own investment in the sharemarket.

He speaks four languages, plays three musical instruments and has composed music for student movies.

Now Crimson Education has named him their first Stand Out Student of the Year, winning $20,000 worth of academic counselling to help him get into an American university where he hopes to study economics next year.

Professor David Buisson, who was one of six judges for the awards, said Mathis was destined to be "a foremost leader of the future impacting world change".

Born in Morocco and sent to high school in France, Mathis came to New Zealand on an exchange with Kristin School in Albany in 2016, and liked it so much that he has stayed ever since and is now in Kristin's Year 13.

Mathis Bitton (left) received his Stand Out Student of the Year award from Crimson co-founder Sharndre Kushor on Thursday night. Photo / Supplied

His father is a financial adviser, his mother is a former accountant, and Mathis tried to start an investment club in France. But he found no support until he moved to Kristin, where he started a club called Xneosis, based on the Latin words for "new era".

He found early support from a Massey University finance lecturer who runs business boot camps for high-school students, Dr Jeff Stangl, and has since involved other academics at the University of Auckland and Massey University to review Xneosis students' research.

Massey University finance lecturer Dr Jeff Stangl (right) founded business boot camps for high school students.

"In New Zealand there are much more opportunities than in France," he said. "France has a very conservative and very rigid academic system. New Zealand is much more open and very keen to help young students."

Mathis has personally invested $4847 since January 2016, partly from his mother and partly from a summer gardening job back in Morocco.

His portfolio is now worth $8543, a 76 per cent gain. He has done well out of leading US stocks such as Amazon, Netflix and Apple. He also invested in Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies late last year and sold out at their peak in mid-January.

Mathis Bitton found academics at Massey University's Albany campus (above) and Auckland University to be more open than French academics to supporting high-school students. Photo / Jason Oxenham

"The only time when I was really wrong was Tesla," he said. Shares in Elon Musk's electric car maker dropped 8 per cent last week after its credit rating was downgraded and a California motorist died while driving a Tesla car on autopilot.

"I dropped it last week because I was aware the value of the stock was going down," Mathis said. "I lost 5 per cent."

Xneosis started as a club at Kristin, but now involves 105 students at six North Shore schools plus Auckland Grammar and King's College.

"It's just a lot of networking and 'I know I know I know' stuff. Beyond this, I try to go and speak at assemblies around Auckland to promote the project," Mathis said.

Mathis Bitton worked with academics at Massey University's Albany campus (above) and Auckland University to establish the Xneosis youth investment society. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Mathis also plays the viola, bassoon and piano, composes music, is a Kristin prefect and debater and a youth ambassador for Save the Children. He speaks Moroccan, French, English and German.

"I wake up in the morning and take a look at the financial news and maybe do some day trading," he said.

"I go to school, I do debating, and I try to allocate one or two hours a day to Xneosis."

He said he is "not set on anything" after he finishes his planned economics degree in the US.

"I have a complicated equation to solve. I've always been passionate about academia and research. On the other hand, I love free enterprise," he said.

"If I could somehow equate those two, to help young people achieve their dreams and create businesses and get involved with markets and stuff like that, that would be a great dream."

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