Investing

Students will be able to

• Recognize the value of young people investing early, regularly, and long-term to extract maximum earnings from their investments
• Explain how compound interest works and how to harness its power when saving and investing 
• Understand the importance of estimating how much you will need for retirement

Students will be able to

• Explain what it means to own stock and how you can make money from it 
• Identify the risk of investing your money in the stock market  
• Analyze the performance of individual stocks over time

Students will be able to

• Explain what a bond is and how an investor makes money from it 
• Read a bond fund fact sheet
• Understand the importance of diversifying your investment portfolio

Students will be able to

• Explain what Mutual Funds, Index Funds, Exchange Traded Funds, and Target Dates Funds are
• Understand the impact a brokerage fee has on your investment returns

Students will be able to

• Work with your classmates to see how a Mutual Fund functions 
• Understand the mix of stocks in a popular Index Fund - the S&P 500
• Explain how investing in funds can help you minimize risk and diversify your portfolio

Students will be able to

• Use an online, interactive simulation to test your investment strategy
• Understand the cognitive functions and behavioral tendencies humans have that can influence investing decisions

Students will be able to

• Explain what a brokerage account is and how you can open one 
• Identify different types of retirement accounts and their characteristics 

Students will be able to

• Explain what robo-advisors are and why more young people are using them today 
• Identify some of the advantages and disadvantages of using robo-advisors
• Conduct research on some of the most popular robo-advising and investing apps that people use

Students will be able to

• Select investments that you want to invest in through a (fake) 401(k) account
• Take a risk assessment test and evaluate your results

Students will be able to

• Recognize the value of young people investing early, regularly, and long-term to extract maximum earnings from their investments
• Explain how compound interest works and how to harness its power when saving and investing

Students will be able to

• Identify the differences between stocks and bonds
• Explain how risk tolerance plays a role in determining your asset allocation 
• Understand the power of diversification when building your investment portfolio

Students will be able to

• Differentiate various approaches you can take towards investing and identify which one is best suited for you
• Explain what a Target Date Fund is and how it can be useful in reaching your retirement goals 
• Apply everything you’ve learned about investing through an online interactive game

Students will be able to

• Explain what a 401(k) and a Roth IRA are and how they differ 
• Choose funds in a 401(k) for a retirement fund

In this lesson, students will be able to: 

• Define investing and distinguish it from saving and trading
• Identify reasons for investing, including outpacing inflation
• Analyze how compounding builds wealth over time. 
• Reflect on how investing contributes to wealth inequality

In this lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe what stocks are, how you can earn profit from stocks, and the risks of investing
• Summarize long-term trends in the stock market
• Analyze the performance of individual stocks over time
• Consider how personal values may influence investing decisions

In this lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain what a bond is and the pros and cons of investing in bonds
• Understand the various factors that can influence bond prices such as interest rates
• Identify the difference between an individual bond and a bond fund
• Read a bond fund fact sheet

In this lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain what risk is and its role in investing
• Analyze effective strategies to manage investment risk
• Identify which strategies you might use to manage risk when you start investing

In this lesson, students will be able to:

• Explain the difference between active investing and passive investing
• Identify a variety of popular investment funds including mutual funds, index funds, exchange traded funds, and target date funds
• Read a fund fact sheet for an index fund and a target date fund

Students will be able to

• Arrange companies to create a diversified mutual fund or index fund
• Evaluate how the composition of a mutual fund or index fund is associated with risk and reward
• Analyze the composition of the S&P 500

In this lesson, students will be able to: 

• Discuss best practices how to prepare for the psychological elements of investing
• Determine your investor profile based on time horizon and risk tolerance
• Discuss specific investing strategies
• Understand what a brokerage account is and how to open one
• Demonstrate your understanding of investing strategies by creating a simulated portfolio

In this lesson, students will be able to: 

• Investigate how investing can be a powerful tool to meet your retirement goals 
• Explain why most Americans cannot rely on Social Security and pensions alone for retirement 
• Explore factors that can impact how much you might need in retirement and your ability to meet your retirement savings goal
• Understand the growing popularity of the F.I.R.E. movement

In this lesson, students will be able to: 

• Explain the advantages of a 401(k)
• Analyze who has access to 401(k) accounts
• Compare different types of retirement accounts, including Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and pensions
• Simulate signing up for a 401(k) or IRA account

In this lesson, students will be able to: 

• Discuss the function and growth of robo-advising, along with its relationship with human investment managers
• Explain the function, pros, and cons of micro-investing
• Identify best practices to use when evaluating a mobile investing app
• Understand the capital gains tax and how it applies to gains realized through modern investing tools
• Compare modern investing tools

Students will be able to:

• Explain the difference between saving and investing
• Explain the difference between simple interest and compound interest
• Calculate compound interest using an online compound interest calculator

Students will be able to:

• Discuss the basic elements of the stock market
• Explain upward and downward trends (bear vs. bull) in the stock market 
• Analyze several firms’ performance in the S&P 500 over various periods of time

Students will be able to:

• Compare the difference between stocks and bonds
• Evaluate when it would be beneficial to invest in stocks and bonds
• Decide how much someone should invest in stocks and bonds based on personal goals and risk tolerance

Students will be able to:

• Analyze how diversification effects risk when investing
• Explain the benefits and more favorable levels of risk when investing in an index fund vs. picking individual stocks
• Analyze the long-term performance of an index fund like the S&P 500 alongside the performance of individual stocks

Students will be able to:

• Explain how young people can start investing responsibly
• Outline the process of investing using a custodial account
• Analyze an index fund’s fact sheet