YOUNG INVESTOR CHALLENGE
Educating students about investing
Stephen Cox, MD of Share
Navigator tells us about their
student competition ‘Young
Investor Challenge’ and the
need to train students to
budget, save and invest for
their future.
Less than 47% of the working
population has a pension. Many
pension funds are in deficit and
the country will not be able to
pay for the pension crisis that is
expected in the next 10 to 15
years. Ireland has an ageing
population and the state
pension may not be able to
support people when they retire.
!
Our society has a culture of
spend today and worry about it
tomorrow. This is great until
debt becomes too big and then
the stress begins.
!
Student loans are now the norm,
with banks and credit unions
queuing up at colleges giving
loans to students. Students get
into debt before they’ve even
started earning and, when they
do start earning, there is very
little left to save or invest. Once
they get into that debt cycle it is
hard to get out of it.
Unfortunately that is where the
stress begins for most people.
!
Students need to be educated
about investing for their future.
A student who invests just €50
per month for 30 years at an
annual rate of return of 10%
would receive €113,966 before
taxes! But where can you get a
10% annual rate of return these
days? With the current interest
rates on savings there is no hope
from a savings account with a
bank.
!
Learning how to invest in the
stock market is an option. Over
the past 100 years the S&P 500
stock market index has
Pictured above are 2nd Year St. Andrew’s College student Tom Gorman
and Jason White from Share Navigator. Tom successfully competed
against other (including some 3rd level) students.
delivered average annual
returns of 11.28%. The S&P 500
is a basket of 500 of the largest
publicly quoted companies on
the US stock market and
includes stocks like Apple,
McDonalds and Chevron.
!
Investing in stocks is not rocket
science and I have taught people
from all walks of life about the
basics of investing sensibly. And
gaming and competition is a
great way to teach teenagers
about investing. Having three
children of my own I understand
that teenagers think less than a
couple of days into the future,
never mind 30 years from now!
!
The YOUNG INVESTOR
CHALLENGE is a fun and
competitive programme that
encourages students to embrace
the challenge and want to learn
about investing. The simulated
investing environment
comprises 3 elements:
!
1. Investment Training
Share Navigator provides
education for TY classes.
!
2. Simulating Investment
Gaming
Each student receives a personal
simulated investment account
T Y U P D What
A we
T are E suggesting
M A is a Y
2017
simple two box approach...s
ide by side...with lh one containing the QQI logo
and the rh one containing the TYI logo(see attached
screen grab from their website?..Jim will get a/w for same over to you).....
then the words 'In partnership' underneath and in a strip stretched
funded with $1,000,000 of
virtual capital. The student uses
this account to buy and sell
shares in the US stock market.
The platform is the same used
by professional investors.
Everything is real except the
money!
!
3. Investment Competition
Students compete against each
other and their teacher.
!
Stephen Cox holds an MBA
majoring in financial services
from Smurfit Business School, is
a registered stock broker and is
a graduate member of the
Institute of Bankers. You can
contact Stephen on:
087 903 2086 or 01 807 8883
will be exhibiting at the
TY EXPO in September.
!
!
TY EXPO 2
OPTION 1
017
B
R
DISCOVE T
CONNEC
ED
E INSPIR
11 & 12 SEPTEMBER 2017 / PUNCHESTOWN RACECOURSE / NAAS / CO. KILDARE
IN PARTNERSHIP
OPTION 2