SIFMA and the SIFMA Foundation today kicked off the 17th annual Stock Market Game Capitol Hill Challenge supported by the Charles Schwab Foundation. This national 14-week financial education competition pairs individual members of Congress with public schools in every congressional district to teach middle and high school students about saving, investing and civics.
Student teams invest a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio in listed stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and learn about the capital markets as they work together to maximize the return of their portfolios. The national top 10 teams will be recognized at an awards reception in Washington, D.C., on June 10. For the past seven consecutive years, schools in every congressional district and every member of Congress have participated in the program.
“We’re pleased to kick-off the 2020 Capitol Hill Challenge, an important financial education competition that brings the capital markets into classrooms using SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president & CEO. “Our industry is committed to helping students learn the importance of saving and investing, while also providing them a solid foundation to achieve their future financial goals. Along with the SIFMA Foundation, we are proud to partner with Charles Schwab Foundation as the title sponsor of the Capitol Hill Challenge.”
“Many teens do not receive the financial education they need to successfully manage their money, and programs like the Capitol Hill Challenge can help advance middle and high school students’ understanding of personal finance and the capital markets,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President, Charles Schwab Foundation. “Our commitment to this program and SIFMA Foundation stems from our belief in the power of financial education to enable people to achieve long-term financial success.”
The competition uses the SIFMA Foundation’s curriculum-based Stock Market Game™, a financial education program that gives students a better understanding of fiscal policymaking, capital markets, and global economic trends. It is proven to advance students’ performance on math and economics tests and improves students’ and teachers’ personal financial behavior.
“SIFMA Foundation is proud to offer every member of Congress an extraordinary opportunity to help their local public schools’ access financial education through the Capitol Hill Challenge,” said Melanie Mortimer, president of the SIFMA Foundation. “By investing in students’ financial capability now, we are investing in their future success and the future prosperity of this nation.”
Since the Capitol Hill Challenge began in 2004, the program has coordinated more than 5,000 matches of U.S. representatives and senators with schools, reaching more than 125,000 students. Middle and high school students from all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are participating in this year’s competition.
For more details and to view updates about this year’s program, visit the Capitol Hill Challenge website at www.stockmarketgame.org/capitol-hill-challenge.html
