THE search is on for the top 10 investors in Kent and the South East, with prizes worth £5,000 on offer and a chance of earning even bigger dividends.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has launched InvestaQUEST, a national stock picking competition to find Britain's best investor.

Total prize money worth £100,000, provided by sponsor Barclays Stockbrokers, is up for grabs by investors who pick the best performing shares on the LSE.

Regional entrants will first compete in a regional heat with a £5,000 prize for the holder of the best-performing portfolio.

The South East winner and nine other top performers in the region will then go forward to the national final and the chance to win a £40,000 prize.

Launching the competition, LSE chief executive Clara Furse said: "InvestaQUEST is a groundbreaking stock-picking competition for the Exchange.

"We are looking forward to finding Britain's best private investor and helping to demystify the workings of the stock market.

"It gives a real incentive for people from the South East to join in and show the City that it doesn't have a monopoly on investment know-how."

Ray Greenshields, managing director of Barclays UK Private Client business, said: "We are delighted to be sponsoring InvestaQUEST as it gives everyone the chance to get a taste of investing in shares.

"Recent increases in our dealing volumes mean that current interest in the stock market is high which bodes well for the success of the competition."

The deadline for entries is March 4. Shares will be assessed over the period March 7 to August 26, with the regional winner announced in the week commencing September 12.

Stocks for the national final must be chosen between September 19 and 30, with the final held from October 3 to November 5. The national winner will be announced in the week commencing November 14.

During the regional heat, entrants will allocate a total of £50,000 equally between ten equities, one of which must be from their home region.

Entrants can buy and sell their InvestaQUEST holdings throughout the duration of the competition, making up to 20 "substitutions" in total. The 10 best performers from each region will then progress to the national final.

The 100 national finalists will be asked to select a further portfolio of 10 stocks, with the winners choosing shares that show the best price performance over four weeks.

The contest will be run via www.investaquest.com. Entrants can monitor the progress of their portfolio through the website as well as their performance against other competitors.

Competitors will have direct access to research tools on the main stock exchange website, giving them the latest price information and news as they buy and sell their holdings.

A full list of local companies is available on the website.