Contact: Liz Pierce, 212.313.1173, [email protected]

SIFMA Congratulates All Participants of
the SIFMA Foundation’s 9th Annual
Stock Market Game™- “Capitol Hill Challenge”
Top Five High Schools Win Trip to Washington, DC 

More Than 13,000 Students from 400 Schools Participate in the SIFMA Foundation Competition to Teach Financial Literacy and Expose Students to Fiscal Policymaking

Washington, DC, May 15, 2012— SIFMA and the SIFMA Foundation today congratulated all the participants of the ninth annual SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game™- “Capitol Hill Challenge,” and announced the five winning teams and who have won a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet their Members of Congress, tour the nation’s Capitol, and see first-hand how our national economic policies are developed. This year, a record number of students and schools participated in this real-world education program promoting student financial literacy.

Over the course of 14 weeks, teams of three to five students each invested a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio in real-world securities.

Students from Lewisburg High School in Lewisburg, Pa., took first place after producing a portfolio value of $285,443.03; second place was awarded to students from Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill., with a portfolio valued at $180,549.48; third place went to students from West Ranch High School in Stevenson Ranch, Calif., with a portfolio totaling $168,764.26; fourth place was awarded to students from Troy High School in Troy, Mich., with a portfolio valued at $160,950.04; and in fifth place with a portfolio valued at $154,140.25, were students from International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

“SIFMA congratulates this year’s participants of the Stock Market Game™ – ‘Capitol Hill Challenge,’” said Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., executive vice president, public policy and advocacy at SIFMA. “Now more than ever, it is critically important for students to learn about the basics of savings, investing, and financial planning.  The Stock Market Game™ – ‘Capitol Hill Challenge’ helps our future leaders develop math, research, and team-building skills that are critical in American businesses, and a global economy.”

The competition uses the curriculum-based Stock Market Game™, a program of the SIFMA Foundation, to help students develop math, economic, and research skills associated with long-term saving and investing.

The five teams with the highest return on their portfolio have won a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet their elected Member of Congress, tour the nation’s Capitol, and see first-hand how our national economic policies are developed.

Since the Capitol Hill Challenge began in 2004, nearly 1,200 Representatives and Senators have engaged in this special version of the Stock Market Game™ Program with more than 30,000 students from schools across the country. High school students from all 50 states participated in this year’s competition.

To view the final rankings from this year’s participating schools, visit the SIFMA Foundation’s website: http://www.sifma.org/2012chc/.

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About SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game
SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game is a curriculum-based program where student teams in grades 4-12 learn about the global marketplace and long-term saving and investing fundamentals by using a hypothetical brokerage account. The program serves 25,000 teachers and 600,000 students annually. Teachers receive grade-level specific curriculum guides, lesson plans and newsletters to incorporate the program into their core mathematics, social studies, business, economics and language arts programs. For more on the Stock Market Game please visit: http://www.stockmarketgame.org.

About the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education
The SIFMA Foundation is dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds. Drawing on the support and expertise of the financial industry, the SIFMA Foundation provides financial education programs and tools that strengthen economic opportunities across communities and increase individuals’ access to the benefits of the global marketplace. Notable Foundation programs include the Stock Market Game, which has served more than 14 million students since it began in 1977, the InvestWrite national essay competition, and the Capitol Hill Challenge. For more information on the work of the SIFMA Foundation, visit http://www.sifma.org/foundation.

About SIFMA
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) brings together the shared interests of hundreds of securities firms, banks and asset managers.  SIFMA’s mission is to support a strong financial industry, investor opportunity, capital formation, job creation and economic growth, while building trust and confidence in the financial markets.  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