Washington, DC, April 20, 2022 —Today, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) visited with Cypress Palm Middle School students participating in the SIFMA Foundation’s Capitol Hill Challenge program, underwritten by the Charles Schwab Foundation. This national 14-week financial education competition pairs individual members of Congress with public schools in every congressional district, equipping middle and high school students to become financially capable and civics minded.

Rep. Diaz-Balart spoke with Cypress Palm Middle School’s student teams who are spending the semester managing a hypothetical $100,000 investment portfolio of listed stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and impact investments, learning about saving, investing, and the global capital markets. The competition uses the SIFMA Foundation’s curriculum-based Stock Market Game^™, a financial education program that is proven to advance students’ performance on math and economics tests and improve students’ and teachers’ personal financial behavior.

“For more than a decade, the SIFMA Foundation’s Capitol Hill Challenge and Stock Market Game have helped students from around the country become financially capable,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president and CEO. “Our industry is committed to helping students learn the importance of saving and investing, while also providing them a solid foundation to achieve their future financial goals. I’d like to give special thanks to lawmakers like Rep. Diaz-Balart who are connecting personally to engage students on these important issues.”

“Since day one, Schwab has been committed to making investing and financial education accessible to everyone,” said Jeff Brown, managing director for legislative and regulatory affairs at Charles Schwab. “Our support of the Capitol Hill Challenge^™ is an extension of our commitment to advocating for more financial literacy programs and to giving people the education and tools they need to take control of their financial futures. We applaud Congress for its commitment to advancing students’ understanding of personal finance.”

“Now more than ever, we understand the critical need to inform and prepare young people for their financial lives,” said Melanie Mortimer, president of the SIFMA Foundation. “Through public-private collaborations like the Capitol Hill Challenge, the SIFMA Foundation is pleased to work with every U.S. Member of Congress and Charles Schwab to bring financial capability to public schools nationwide. We thank Congress for this commitment, and we commend leaders like Rep. Diaz-Balart who enhance the program’s impact by visiting their local schools.”

Since the Capitol Hill Challenge began in 2004, the program has coordinated more than 7,000 matches of U.S. representatives and senators with schools, reaching more than 158,000 students. Middle and high school students from all 50 states, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia are participating in this year’s competition.

For more details and to view updates about this year’s program, visit the Capitol Hill Challenge website at www.stockmarketgame.org/capitol-hill-challenge.html.

About SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game^™

The Stock Market Game™ is an online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students grades 4-12 in the world of economics, investing, and personal finance and prepares them for financially independent lives. More than 600,000 students including 300,000 girls and 200,000 students of color take part annually, across all classroom and virtual learning environments, in all 50 states and around the globe. The Stock Market Game has reached over 20 million students since its inception and is proven to raise student standardized test scores in math and economics and positively impact teachers’ personal financial behavior. To learn more, please visit www.stockmarketgame.org.

About the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education

The SIFMA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds, with a focus on youth in underserved communities and students of color. Drawing on the support and expertise of the financial services industry, the SIFMA Foundation provides high-quality financial education programming that strengthens economic opportunity across communities and increases individuals’ access to the benefits of the global marketplace. Notable Foundation programs include The Stock Market Game^™, the InvestWrite^® national essay competition, the Capitol Hill Challenge^™, and Invest It Forward^®. For more information on the work of the SIFMA Foundation, visit www.sifma.org/foundation.

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 http://www.sifma.org.

About Charles Schwab Foundation

Charles Schwab Foundation is an independent nonprofit public benefit corporation, funded by The Charles Schwab Corporation and classified by the IRS as a charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is neither a part of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) nor its parent company, The Charles Schwab Corporation. Its mission is to educate, volunteer and advocate on behalf of those in need so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve financial well-being. More information is available at https://www.aboutschwab.com/citizenship.

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