Students in Schools across the U.S. Participate in SIFMA Foundation Competition that Fosters Financial Capability and Capital Markets Literacy

Washington, D.C., February 4, 2019—SIFMA and the SIFMA Foundation today kicked off the 16^th annual Stock Market Game Capitol Hill Challenge (CHC) supported by the Charles Schwab Foundation. This national 14-week financial education competition pairs individual members of Congress and financial capability programming with public schools in every congressional district to teach middle and high school students about saving and investing.

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 11. For the past five consecutive years, schools in every congressional district and every member of Congress have participated in the program.

“We’re pleased to kick-off the 2019 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 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,” 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 made more than 4,300 matches of U.S. representatives and senators with schools, reaching more than 116,000 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 weekly updates about this year’s participating schools, visit the Capitol Hill Challenge website at  www.stockmarketgame.org/capitol-hill-challenge.html

 

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About SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game^™

SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game is a curriculum-based program where student teams in grades 4-12 learn about the global marketplace and long-term saving and investing fundamentals by using a hypothetical brokerage account. The program serves 15,000 teachers and 600,000 students annually. Teachers receive professional development and grade-level specific curriculum guides, lesson plans and newsletters to incorporate the program into their core mathematics, social studies, business, economics and language arts programs. For more on the Stock Market Game please visit: www.stockmarketgame.org/capitol-hill-challenge.html

About the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education

The SIFMA Foundation is dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds, with a focus on youth.  Drawing on the support and expertise of educators and the financial industry, the SIFMA Foundation provides financial education programs and tools that strengthen economic opportunities across communities and increase individuals’ access to the benefits of the global marketplace. Notable Foundation programs include The Stock Market Game^™, which has served 18 million students since it began in 1977, the InvestWrite^® national essay competition, the Capitol Hill Challenge^™, and Invest It Forward^®. For more information on the work of the SIFMA Foundation, visit www.sifma.org/foundation.

About SIFMA

SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly one million employees, we advocate on legislation, regulation and business policy, affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.

About Charles Schwab Foundation

Charles Schwab Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization funded by The Charles Schwab Corporation (Charles Schwab). Its mission is to create positive change through financial education, philanthropy, and volunteerism. More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com/community. The Charles Schwab Foundation is classified by the IRS as a charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is neither a part of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) or its affiliates.

About Charles Schwab

At Charles Schwab, we believe in the power of investing to help individuals create a better tomorrow. We have a history of challenging the status quo in our industry, innovating in ways that benefit investors and the advisors and employers who serve them, and championing our clients’ goals with passion and integrity. More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.