Fifth-Grader Charlotte Parker Wins First Place in New York in
SIFMA Foundation’s Spring 2022 National Competition
We could all learn something from fifth-grader Charlotte Parker. At only 11 years old, this portfolio prodigy from Port Washington, New York has developed an investment strategy primed for long-term financial success. Parker’s vision of how to invest judiciously for the future cinched her an exhilarating win in the SIFMA Foundation’s Spring 2022 InvestWrite competition. Competing in the elementary school division, Parker, who attends John J. Daly Elementary School, researched and composed an impressive long-term financial plan and now she is being recognized as first place in the state of New York.
SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite national essay competition bridges classroom learning in math, social studies, and language arts with the practical research and knowledge required for saving, investing and long-term planning. It also serves as a culminating activity for The Stock Market Game™ curriculum-based financial education program that challenges students to manage a hypothetical $100,000 online portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and cash over a period of 14-weeks, a semester or a school year.
“The SIFMA Foundation ensures young people of all backgrounds are better prepared for their financial lives,” said Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation. “We congratulate Charlotte on this remarkable achievement and commend her teacher and school for their commitment to financial education.”
The Spring 2022 InvestWrite competition asked fourth to twelth graders: What is something you learned about investing that you didn’t know before participating in The Stock Market Game. Explain how this can help your future and help others. If you were investing $100,000 to perform well over the next 30 years, what stocks, bonds, and mutual funds would you choose and why? Parker wowed the panel of expert judges with her thoughtful and insightful essay.
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 1 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 www.sifma.org.
Investing in the Future
Winning Essay by Charlotte Parker
Investing is a great way to earn money and give money to trustworthy companies and industries. But alas, buying and selling stocks can be tricky over a 30-year period. You must consider all of the risky factors that go into making a solid investment, especially when investing $100,000.
While playing The Stock Market Game, I learned diversification is a key factor in investing. Simply because, if you were to deposit all of your money in one sector, it could cause trouble. If that one sector were to lose an abundance of money, it could cost you more than imaginable. If you were to diversify your portfolio, you would still have money to spare and gain. Buying a variety of stocks makes it more likely that some will go up in value and make losses easier to bear.
Furthermore, it is also crucial to be careful what company you invest in. Sometimes a stock or bond may rise in the present, but severely plummet in the long run. The stock market is full of twists and turns and it is crucial to be heedful.
Additionally, your stocks may change due to world events, drastic weather, or anything that may affect it. For example, my partner and I invested in The Walt Disney Company (DIS) very early on. The fortunate thing about Disney is that it has many branches such as Disney+, Disney Theme Parks, ESPN, ABC, Lifetime, History, A&E, FX, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. Therefore, if one branch of Disney fails, there are still many diverse branches of the company. At the start of COVID, the parks were shut down because nobody could travel, but Disney+ came out right then and gave people something to watch while stuck at home. So, Disney still made money. The 52 week range this year is 128.38 – 190.40. Unfortunately, Disney has taken a dive due to the new bill in Florida. Disney received backlash for their disapproval of this controversial bill. The location of Disney World being in Florida affected its earnings. This is a short-term problem. Overall, I think that Disney is a dependable company and it lives up to its expectation to be great. Even successful companies experience peaks and troughs.
I think this investment knowledge will help my future career because it has taught me how people make money and has started to set my path to success for a long-term plan. If I do end up succeeding, it will give me an aid in helping those who have less than I have and doing my crucial part in making the world a better place.
Over the span of the next 30 years, I would consider investing in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that were eager to explore through the depths of the oceans and the unknown world of outer space. Investing $100,000 in a company that’s just starting now or in the next few years would make me a major owner of that company. And, as it grows, my investment would grow with it. I find it important to venture in these unknown places to find new creatures and species that could help our earth. With this, we could find medicines and new things we have never discovered right here in our beloved planet Earth, and far away in the universe.
To culminate, investing can be fun and make you successful in the long run, but it is a risky experience. It’s good to have tips and tricks by your side when entering the big world of buying and selling stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
—Submitted by SIFMA
