New York, NY, August 28, 2024 – Echoing the immortal words of Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it’s done,” Rowan Smith defied the odds by creating a high-powered investment portfolio that could make Wall Street proud. While enrolled in 5th grade at Manorhaven Elementary School in Port Washington, NY, Rowan developed a diversified investment portfolio aimed at securing long-term financial success.
Rowan’s investment strategy placed him 1st in New York State and 2nd in the nation in the SIFMA Foundation’s Spring 2024 InvestWrite competition. Rowan triumphed among thousands of participants nationwide for his astute insights into the dynamics of capital markets in the elementary school division. In recognition of his accomplishment, Rowan and his teacher, Kimberley Singh, were honored by the SIFMA Foundation during a special ceremony with his family, classmates, and principal.
The SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite national essay competition serves as a vital bridge between classroom education in mathematics, social studies, language arts, and the practical application of research and knowledge essential for saving, investing, and long-term financial planning. The competition is a culminating activity for the acclaimed Stock Market Game™, a curriculum-based financial education program challenging students to manage a hypothetical $100,000 online portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash. InvestWrite empowers students to apply their hands-on learning in real-world scenarios that teach the fundamentals of investing.
SIFMA Foundation’s programs are proven to enhance participants’ test scores in math and economics, foster financial planning skills, promote teamwork and interpersonal social-emotional learning, and better prepare students for future academic and professional endeavors. With a steadfast commitment to closing opportunity gaps in society, the SIFMA Foundation equips young people from all backgrounds, with a particular focus on underserved youth, with a robust understanding of financial markets.
A number of studies have emphasized the critical need for financial education to navigate today’s complex economic landscape. Investing in financial education yields long-term benefits, both for individuals and for society as a whole, by fostering economic stability and reducing financial vulnerabilities, according to Financial Literacy and Financial Education, a recent study by Tim Kaiser and Annamaria Lusardi. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive and accessible educational programs from an early age. SIFMA Foundation’s programs are leading the way in reaching and engaging youth and their teachers and families.
“It brings me immense joy to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Rowan and his teacher for a remarkable achievement in InvestWrite,” said Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation. “Rowan’s essay details a very thoughtful and compelling plan for long-term financial independence. His achievement signals the value of early financial education in setting youth on a path to positive financial life outcomes.”
The Spring 2024 InvestWrite competition posed the following challenge to 4th-12th graders: ‘Which investment in your Stock Market Game portfolio performed the best and why? Using this investment, recommend a diversified $25,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, and/or mutual funds to save for a personal, family or community goal in the year 2030. Be sure to mention what your goal is.’
Thousands of volunteer financial professionals from hundreds of financial firms select the winners of InvestWrite each year. Rowan captivated this panel of expert judges with a compelling and insightful essay.
Rowan Smith
Dr. Mace, Rowan Smith, Ms. Kimberley Singh
Rowan Smith and family
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Winning Essay
From research to math, the Stock Market Game engaged many of my interests. Every time I looked at stock prices or thought about gains and losses, I got to play with numbers. With each company we considered, I was able to dive into the details. I learned so much about making investment decisions, types of stocks and how I would approach the market.
During the Stock Market Game, my partner and I worked together to choose stocks. We wanted to make our portfolio diverse so we chose companies that cover different areas such as Nike and Disney. We picked Disney because they recently invested in Epic Games. One of their games, Fortnite, will likely hit 500 million users this year which should have a positive impact on their stock value. Vanguard Mutual Fund was one of our investments because we learned a mutual fund is a reliable and easy way for people who are not financial professionals to invest. We chose Vanguard because compared to other mutual funds, they have lower management fees allowing investors to keep more money.
Unfortunately, our portfolio hasn't produced a great return. We spent so much time doing research and not much time actually buying stocks. We only felt comfortable focusing on companies we knew but when we looked into them, the research was mixed. This left us not knowing where to put our money. As we learned more about investing, we were taught about mutual funds and decided this would be a safe way to invest.
When I look ahead to 2030, I have many goals. At that point, I will be a junior in high school and probably thinking about college. I'm fortunate that my parents saved money for me to go to school. They explained what a 529 savings account is and how that is a better way to save for my education than picking individual stocks. It made me feel good knowing college is paid for and I really like that feeling. My goal is to create scholarships so more students can also feel secure about their education.
If I were given $25,000 to invest in order to achieve my goal, I would continue to choose Vanguard because they are efficient with their money. I would also invest in NRG Energy, a renewable energy company. I think clean and renewable energy sources will be important for our future. Another company I would invest in is Lithos Group. They developed a method to get lithium for batteries that is more environmentally friendly and efficient than their competitors. I believe companies like Lithos will be expanding between now and 2030 as more cars are required to be electric. I would also invest in stocks that provide dividends. Having investments that pay dividends will allow me to get money out of the market each year without having to sell stocks. This money can be reinvested or go towards reaching my goals before 2030. One stock I would buy is Pfizer. It pays about a 6% dividend based on today’s share price plus, I think they will do well in the long term as they develop newer, better vaccines and as people live longer and need medications as they age. Another dividend paying stock I would buy is Brookfield Renewable Partners. They invest in renewable energy sources. I think they are a good choice because they are in hydro, wind, and solar power, not just one of these areas. That diversity makes them a safer choice as green technology evolves. The final dividend paying stock I would buy is Equinix. They are a real estate investment trust, REIT. An REIT is able to get tax benefits by paying back 90% of their earnings to shareholders. I chose Equinix because the real estate they own is for data centers. The amount of electronic data being created is always increasing, especially as AI technology expands. I think this is a good area to invest in because the need to store that data will grow over time.
My portfolio would be diverse including a variety of companies across different areas. I would have investments in healthcare stocks with Pfizer, in different types of energy with NRG Energy, Brookfield and Lithos and in technology and real estate with Equinix. I would also have money in a mutual fund, Vanguard. Additionally, my portfolio would be balanced in terms of risk with more stable investments like mutual funds and higher risk stocks like Lithos.
Overall, I enjoyed the Stock Market Game and I learned a lot. Even though my first experience didn’t go as well as I had hoped, the knowledge I gained will help me to be a better investor going forward and I hope to be able to reach my goals in the future.
About the SIFMA Foundation
The SIFMA Foundation is committed to closing the opportunity gap by fostering greater knowledge of the financial markets for young people of all backgrounds. Drawing on the support and expertise of educators and the financial industry, the Foundation provides financial education to strengthen economic opportunity across communities and increase awareness of the benefits of the global marketplace. Since 1977, the Foundation’s flagship program, The Stock Market Game™, has guided more than 22 million students on their path to financial independence by attaining stronger life skills, improving academic achievement, and boosting their social-emotional learning. For more information on the SIFMA Foundation, visit www.sifma.org/foundation.
About InvestWrite®
InvestWrite® is a culminating activity for Stock Market Game students extending their classroom learning with a written challenge to address real-world financial issues and situations. Students must analyze, think critically and problem solve about a long-term saving and investing scenario. More than 275,000 student essays have been evaluated by their teachers and over 50,000 financial professionals have served as volunteer judges. Essays are judged by financial professionals who volunteer their time each year to ensure young people are exposed to the essentials of personal finance early in life. Judges evaluate students’ understanding of long-term investing, diversification, the global capital markets, and factors that drive investments as well as their expression of investment ideas in essay form. Winners locally and nationally rise to the top to earn exciting awards including laptops, classroom pizza parties, trophies, plaques and banners, and certificates.
For more information about InvestWrite®, visit www.investwrite.org.