Financial Advisor Challenge: students take on the role of financial advisor
| Grades | Characteristics | Cost |
| 9–12 |
|
Complimentary |
Register for contests and lessons at www.econworks.org
Energize your classroom with an experiential and dynamic program!
As a math, economics, business or finance teacher you know that students learn by doing. The Financial Advisor Challenge puts students in 
charge of their learning, along with you and a CCEE-provided classroom mentor.
As students learn how to invest in their human capital and become successful decision makers, they benefit from the California state standards realized in the curriculum.
Register now to participate in the Financial Advisor Challenge.
Students learn how to:
- Create a professional investment portfolio for hypothetical investors
- Go beyond understanding how investments work and explore how to invest in themselves and their own human capital
- Compete with student teams across Southern California for prizes
- Develop 21st century skills and knowledge while learning economics and personal finance
Teachers:
- Add a vital and dynamic learning tool to their teaching repertoire
- Offer their students an unforgettable learning experience
- Help their students apply their newfound skills and knowledge to themselves; students will become aware of important strategies for their personal financial future
- Add rigor and relevance to their curriculum with the lessons and resources contained in the program
Here’s how it works
Students participate in an online stock market simulation and learn how to create an investment portfolio for a hypothetical prospective investor. Participating teachers receive a complimentary electronic subscription to the Wall Street Journal.
Download the 2012 Warren Buffet Division’s winning presentation
Preliminary Competition
Teachers create student teams of four. There are no limits to the number of teams that can participate. Tasks for each team include:
- Teacher’s enroll all student teams in the CSU Fullerton Stock Market Simulation (SMS). Note: CCEE pays SMS fees for all students participating in the challenge.
- CFALA provides mentors to teach up to three lessons on financial markets and financial planning basics. (No financial products will be marketed to teachers or students).
- All post-testing and teams’ one-page project are due by May 10; all teams invited to the finals will be notified on May 15, 2012
- Each student team develops an investment portfolio based on an investor profile, taking on the role of a financial advisor. Students develop a strategy for an investment portfolio that is appropriate to the goals and objectives of the investor. The portfolio should correlate to these criteria:
- Investor goals and objectives
- Risk tolerance
- Time horizon
- Investment Instruments
Final Competition
The Finals will take place on May 22, 2013 in the Downtown Los Angeles area.
Prepare your students with the 2012 Financial Advisor Challenge Guide
At the completion of the SMS, all teams answer post-test questions and turn in their brief, one-page investment portfolio based on a given investor profile.
The five highest scoring teams from the post-test and investment portfolio are invited to participate in the CFALA/CCEE-sponsored finals.
- Each finals team:
- Presents their investment portfolio strategy
- Responds to questions by a panel of judges about how to develop an investment portfolio
- Points are awarded:
- The portfolio’s composition
- The presentation of the portfolio
Cash team prizes
- First place — $2,500
- Second place — $1,500
- Third place — $750
Purposes
- Promotes understanding of the relationship between economy and capital markets.
- Highlights the economic impact of announcements from the three major financial market indicators — Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Indices.
- Promotes interest in economic education and honors high-achieving students.
California Council on Economic Education