Financial literacy is an essential life skill that enables people to develop a personal safety net, reduce their stress over money and prepare for the future. Yet many students leave college without any education in finance or understanding about financial planning. In fact, a majority of American test-takers are unable to pass a basic financial literacy test.
To empower the next generation to take an active role in their financial future, the Young Investors Society (YIS) offers free financial literacy education and programs to high school students.
How YIS Began
YIS was founded in 2014 by James Fletcher, a portfolio manager at APG Asset Management. Fletcher created the program after receiving a letter from a Los Angeles high school student named Edgar, whose class Fletcher had visited to speak about stock trading.
Edgar was moved by the lecture, informing Fletcher that the presentation had reoriented his goals and given him something new to strive toward. “It’s awesome to have someone give their time to teach us,” he wrote, “adults don’t really do that anymore, especially for teenagers”
This letter had shown Fletcher the power of sharing his knowledge and pushed him to establish a new program to help provide financial literacy education to students in underserved communities.
Motivated by the statement “adults don’t really do that anymore,” Fletcher founded YIS with the goal of providing multi-faceted and engaging programs to learn about finance.
Free Financial Literacy Education Resources
To this end, YIS provides high school students with access to a variety of free financial literacy education resources through a program called the YIS Access Initiative. The YIS Access Initiative was established with the intention of providing students in underserved and low-income communities with access to these resources, as well as industry opportunities and mentorship.
“You see a lot of disparity and poverty when you look at black and brown communities. There is a huge wealth gap there and a lot of it has to do with the knowledge of money, the stigma around money, how people manage their money, and the decisions that are made in those communities, as well as outside those communities that impacts those communities,” Brandon Miller, Charlotte Independence goalkeeper and YIS East Coast Advisory Board Member, explained.
“If we can help the youth to have a better understanding of how to best use their money and how to grow their money and build businesses within those communities, that’s one way you can better develop those communities and the next generation to build something greater than what they have now,” he added.
The YIS Access Initiative includes over 30 interactive lesson plans to help teach students the basics of investing, personal finance, economics and accounting. YIS lessons are composed of 45 minutes of engaging educational content that includes videos, presentations and group activities. YIS students will learn personal finance skills like budgeting and saving, as well as proven investing strategies designed to help them earn a steady long-term investment income.
Students in grades 7-9 can participate in YIS’ Money Skillz Bootcamp, a six-week intro to personal finance course that teaches some of the core principles of investing and finance, including the “7 Golden Rules of Investing” and the “5 Steps to Financial Freedom.”
In addition to these resources, YIS also provides students with access to mentorship, STEM career guidance, and unique scholarships and awards.
YIS members can also participate in global competitions and challenges involving students from all over the world.
The Dollar-a-Day Challenge tasks students with putting one dollar each day into an investment account. Some students who participate in the program are eligible for a Free Money Match funded by YIS donors. This means that for every dollar they contribute to their fund, a donor will match their contribution.
YIS’s flagship annual event is the Global Stock Pitch Competition, where students have the chance to produce a stock report and defend their analysis to a panel of university professors and industry professionals.
These are just a few of the many events, challenges and competitions that YIS offers to students.
Follow Young Investors Society on TUN
Students can follow Young Investors Society on TUN to get news and learn about upcoming financial literacy programs!
