Release Date: February 1, 2016
Contact: Carol Danko, [email protected], 202-962-7390

                 SIFMA and the SIFMA Foundation Kick-Off the 13^th Annual  Stock Market Game™-Capitol Hill Challenge  

Students in Schools across the U.S. Participate in SIFMA Foundation Competition that Fosters Financial Capability and Exposes Students to Fiscal Policymaking

Washington, DC, February 1, 2016-SIFMA and the SIFMA Foundation today kicked-off the 13^th annual Stock Market Game™-Capitol Hill Challenge (CHC). This national 14-week financial education competition organizes teams of middle and high school students by congressional and senatorial district and teaches them about saving, investing, and government.

Student teams invest a hypothetical $100,000 in listed stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and learn about the capital markets as they work together to maximize the return of their portfolios. The national top 10 teams will be recognized at an awards reception in Washington, D.C. this June.   

“We are thrilled to kick-off this year’s Capitol Hill Challenge, an important financial education competition that brings the capital markets to the classroom through the SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game,” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA’s president & CEO. “The financial services industry is committed to helping students learn about the importance of saving and investing, while providing them with a solid foundation to achieve their future financial goals.”  

The competition uses the SIFMA Foundation’s curriculum-based Stock Market Game^™, a program to help students develop a better understanding of the global economy, become college and career ready, and improve their knowledge of math, economics, and business. The program is proven to raise student scores on tests of mathematics, economics and financial knowledge. It is also proven to positively impact students’ and teachers’ personal financial behavior.

Since the Capitol Hill Challenge began in 2004, more than 3,140 Members of Congress matches have been made to schools reaching more than 90,000 students. Middle and high school students from all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are participating in this year’s competition.

To view the weekly updates in the rankings from this year’s participating schools, visit the SIFMA Foundation’s website: http://www.sifma.org/chc/.