1. Welcome. Start Here with The Stock Market Game™ and Invest It Forward™
Welcome! Start Here with The Stock Market Game™ and Invest It Forward™ Presented By: (Insert your Name & Firm Logo Here) FINRA Reviewed, June 17, 2014
Thanks so much for taking the time to put your skills to work as a fin lit volunteer! Here are a few tips for you as you offer this presentation to the group.
Average duration:
If a single class, a period is on average of 40 – 50 minutes depending on grade level. Sometimes a teacher may be using SMG in multiple classes and may combine students into more of an assembly style in a computer lab, library or auditorium. This will be confirmed in advance. Teacher is always present and volunteer(s) never left alone with class.
Materials needed:
This powerpoint suggested, but not required. Teacher may distribute slides as handouts or may have av equipment to display to a large screen or whiteboard. To add a fun element if you are willing and able, check with your teacher about whether you might bring Hershey kisses candy to the class.
Equipment needed:
Powerpoint sent ahead to teacher via or volunteer may elect to bring it on a flashdrive.
Special Tips:
Be yourself. Authenticity is key. Your role is to augment the curriculum your teacher will be presenting in class. You are not there to teach The Stock Market Game, but to bring your real world experience to this class as they begin their investment education. You do not need to be an FA, wealth manager or trader to participate. Diversity in background, academic and profession is welcomed and encouraged. And a key part of feeding the pipeline of the next gen of industry talent.

2. The Stock Market Game™ www.stockmarketgame.org
The SIFMA Foundation's acclaimed financial education programs help children become financially literate and provide a foundation for youth to be vital contributors to our society and economy.
Since 1977, the SIFMA Foundation has enabled nearly 18 million students and their teachers to learn about the importance of investing, saving and long-term planning, as well as the role of the global capital markets in their lives.
Some 600,000 students and 15,000 teachers benefit every school year from the academic and life skills impacts of The Stock Market Game program.
Congratulations! You are starting a fun challenge with a big pay out at the end – your future financial success!
Who we are. Firm name and description.  Why we are here. Talk about your own and your firm’s commitment to financial education.  Share a personal story from your own life about what saving and investing has meant to you. Any lessons you learned along the way?
We hope at the end of our time together you will want to be an investor like me and start building your own wealth!  The Stock Market Game shows you how!

3. Volunteer Introduction
Introduce yourself (name and role / function)
Quick review of your firm and market niche?
Where did you go to school? What did you study?
Briefly describe your career’s progression
What do you do now?
About Us - In front of your class, cover these basics and any other fun facts about yourself – family, pets, sports, etc.
Reason for the classroom visit:
- We will look at how to start saving and how individuals can invest their savings in the capital markets to achieve their life goals
- We will provide tools to help get started with The Stock Market Game

4. What would you do with $100?
If I were to give each of you a $100, what would you do with it? 
Encourage students to shout out answers. These might include things like:
- buy a new pair of sneakers, video game, clothes
- save it to buy something bigger down the road or save it for … ie) car, college, etc

5. Savers? What are you saving for?
Savings
Expand on this with the savers in the group, what are you saving for?  a car, college, assist with family expenses? 
What are some ways they are saving their money? piggy bank, under mattress, bank account?

6. For the savers in our group, savings alone will not be able to pay for the bigger items you want or to provide for you in retirement.
Investing in the stock market or capital markets is necessary and important to realize long-term goals.
Using the content on this slide, discuss the differences between saving & investing – short term vs long term.

7. How Do You Invest?
What are some different ways you can invest? stocks, bonds, mutual funds, gold, real estate
There are many different ways to invest, but today’s session will focus on companies and stocks.

8. What is a Company? Company
A company is a person or group that makes something for other people to buy.
Stock
A stock represents a share of ownership in a company.
A PUBLIC company issues stock that is then bought and sold on an exchange like the NYSE or Nasdaq.
Review the definition of a company. Ask students to name some of their favorites: Apple, Nike, Snapchat, etc.
Did you know each of you can own a part of these companies? In order to purchase a small piece of the company, you purchase their stock.
A company that is “public” issues stock that is bought and sold on an exchange like the NYSE or Nasdaq.

9. Do you know these guys? Do you know what this is?
However, there are some companies that are “private” and you cannot own part of it.
Ask students to identify the familiar confectionary characters/images.
To encourage conversation, you may wish to ask if they like these candies or which candies they like better?
Do you know what this is?

10. Mars Incorporated is a private company.
Mars Incorporated makes M&M’s, Snickers, and many other familiar candy brands. They are also the company behind Uncle Ben’s Rice and Whiskas cat food.
The Hershey Company make’s Hershey’s Kisses, the Hershey bar, Twizzlers, and many familiar candy brands.
Explain the difference between a privately held company and a publicly traded company:
Mars is a privately held company that is owned by a person, family, or small group of investors that don’t sell shares to the public. Hershey’s is a public company owned by investors who purchase shares of stock and become “part owners” in the company.
Emphasize even if you buy a single share in a share you “own” that part of the company.
Mention we will be focusing on public companies.
The Hershey Company is a public company.

11. Tell students that many of the products and services they use everyday are created by companies they can become a “part owner” (invest in) . Ask if they recognize these logos and brands?
Help the students consider how they might identify prospective stocks:
Ask the students for examples of products they buy. Try to help them connect the product to its listed (parent) company (such as Taco Bell and Baskin Robbins to Yum Brands).
Think about your ride to school – whether your parents/adults drive you or you take the bus: what companies do you pass on your way? Do your parents stop to get coffee, take out money from the ATM, grab breakfast? Where? What are those companies?
Explain that they can buy shares in any of these companies and many others that are available on Stock Market Exchanges.

12. Selecting Companies: What to consider?
What do they sell?
Do people want it or need it?
Who are their competitors?
Some other things to think about: Discuss how the average person might choose companies to invest in.
What does the company sell? Do people want it or need it? Discuss companies that make staples/necessities like paper towels, soap, toothpaste. People need these items every day regardless of the time of year or their financial circumstances.
Discuss companies that make products that people want: Tesla (or another luxury car brand). People do not need their products, but rather the products are wanted/desired.
Also to think about: who are the company’s competitors?
Where can students find this information? Yahoo and/or Google Finance, Company website, other?

13. What is a Ticker Symbol?
A unique combination of up to five letters used to identify a publicly traded company. In some cases a company’s ticker symbol may look like an abbreviation of the company’s name and in others it may bear no resemblance at all.
A ticker symbol is a set of letters used to identify a publicly traded company on the stock exchanges. A ticker symbol can be as short as one letter or as long as five. Apple is “AAPL” Others, AT&T is the letter “T.” The ticker symbol for Amazon is “AMZN”.
Ticker symbols are used in The Stock Market Game to enter your team trades in your portfolio.

14. The Stock Market Game™
In The Stock Market Game you strive to create the best performing and diversified virtual portfolio of $100,000 with real-world stocks. You follow the markets to see how your companies are performing over a set period of time (10 weeks, a semester fall or spring or over the entire school year).
Your first step is to log into your portfolio at and start thinking of companies you think would be a great investment. Be sure to think about the questions discussed earlier: “Do people want or need their products? Is the company making money? Who are their competitors?”

15. Students engaged in personal finance are?
What does playing SMG mean to you and your future? Why is financial education so important?

16. Quick Review. Questions?
Are you ready to put savings and investing to work for you?
Let’s revisit the original question – if you were given $100, what would you do with it now? Show of hands – who would spend it/who would save it? And would you now invest it?
Practice this again and again as you play the SMG!
Time permitting – video may be appropriate:

17. Possible next steps for teachers: have your students view the following videos to familiarize themselves with the SMG trading portfolio, how to enter trades, along with ideas on how to begin researching companies:
The Stock Market Game- Trading Portfolio Overview (10 mins)-
The Stock Market Game- Entering Trades (11 mins)-
The Stock Market Game- Research (8 mins)-