Financial Education for Real Life Success

Thank you to everyone who joined our recent LinkedIn Live, The Future of Financial Education: Families, Policy, and Opportunity. We’re grateful for the thoughtful discussion on expanding opportunity and building long-term financial confidence. We encourage you to keep the conversation going! Explore tools to support financial education below: SIFMA Foundation 🔹SMG IQ: https://www.smgiq.org/ 🔹SMG Summer Session: https://lnkd.in/d3vNzh6 Charles Schwab 🔹Subscribe to the Money Talk LinkedIn Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gc76_diw 🔹Explore https://lnkd.in/gChizFxR: calculators, resources, Financial Fitness Quiz The Milken Institute 🔹Shifting the Retirement Paradigm: Moving Toward Lifetime Financial Security: https://lnkd.in/ee3UBN5B 🔹Rewiring for Wealth: Making the Pivot from Debt Dependency to Saving and Investing: https://lnkd.in/ef_rxEu8 The Wall Street Journal 🔹What’s Cool in High School? Personal Finance: https://lnkd.in/e2Nm9JBk 🔹Meet the Teens Investing in Stocks for Their Future Home and Retirement: https://lnkd.in/eWSPfc_B 🔹The Hack That Turns Trump Accounts Into Multimillion-Dollar Tax-Free Nest Eggs: https://lnkd.in/e78vZ3Cj 🔹The Financial Planning Expert Who’s Boycotting 529s for His Kids: https://lnkd.in/eu7uWwKk Missed the Live? Watch it here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/eXVJ5P_K

Your investment in Young WallStreet funds: 🎯 Financial Literacy Programs – Real-world curriculum on investing, saving, and wealth-building 🎯 Wealth Mindset Training – Teaching students to think strategically about money 🎯 Confidence-Building Skills – Tools students carry into adulthood What students gain: → Understanding of investing basics → Confidence to ask financial questions without shame → Skills to build generational wealth This measurable impact is how you close opportunity gaps. 📕 Explore our programs here → https://lnkd.in/gg4CScZT #HowWeServe #YouthWealth #FundTheFuture #ImpactInvesting

April 23rd is Teach Your Child To Save Day and the ACC Securities Division would like to share 2 trusted resources to help you teach financial literacy to children.✏️📝📚 The ACC Securities Division - AZ Investor is a great resource for people of all ages! Find resources for Students and Educators that include: •Basics of Saving and Investing for Students •Money Smart for Students •Grades PreK to 12 Learning Fun: Games, Puzzles, Cartoons & Quizzes •Presenters for Your Classroom •Teaching Guides •Helpful Websites about Personal Finance and Investing https://lnkd.in/g-JMrrxM Another trusted resource to check out is FINRA-Investor Education which includes topics like: •Thinking Money for Kids •Con 'Em If You Can •Thinking Money Documentary •Money Math for Teens (Money Basics, Introduction to Earning Interest, Credit and Debt, Small Business Concepts) https://lnkd.in/gfbij9Ja educators If you have additional questions or financial literacy topics you would like the ACC Securities Division to cover please share them with our Investor Education and Outreach Coordinator at ☎️(480) 204-4180 📧Lgonzalez@azcc.gov #FinancialLiteracy #FraudPrevention #ScamPrevention #Resources #Reliable

Financial literacy shouldn't feel confusing. With the right tools, every student can understand money. → The problem isn't that finance is inherently complicated, it's that it's rarely taught in language people can actually understand. 🌞 At Young WallStreet, we strip away the jargon and teach students money concepts in clear, accessible terms. No intimidation. Just practical knowledge they can use immediately. Because financial confidence shouldn't be reserved for the privileged few, it should be accessible to everyone. Learn more about how we make money simple ⭐️ Our Summer Bootcamp is now open!!! ▶️ Register Now → https://lnkd.in/gg4CScZT #MoneyMadeSimple #FinancialLiteracyMonth #AccessibleEducation #YoungWallStreet

The financial industry has been targeting children for decades. I remember when my kids were in grade school being handed stock picking games sponsored by major Wall Street firms. We called it financial education. It was grooming. What looks like a fun investing app for kids is really the earliest possible introduction to speculation and gambling dressed up as a skill. The habits formed earliest are the hardest to break. Parents, take control of your children's financial education NOW. Every day you wait someone else is filling that gap.

The Money Circle Capstone marked the close of our first cohort—and the beginning of something much bigger. Mentees were exposed to real decisions, real scenarios, and real opportunities, challenging their thinking about money and its role in their future. And now, that work is moving into action. Through Son of a Saint, in partnership with EPIC Federal Credit Union, each mentee has secured a $600 investment in a Certificate of Deposit—a starting point that reflects both commitment and possibility. The room was filled with mentors, partners, supporters, and community members who showed up to witness what happens when young people are given access to both opportunity and responsibility. This is what it looks like when exposure turns into action. The Money Circle is just getting started.

Vanguard kicked off Financial Literacy Month early by hosting financial wellness events designed to build confidence, skills, and real-world insight. 💡 Vanguard was proud to serve as host for the Council for Economic Education’s Pennsylvania Personal Finance Challenge State Finals in March, welcoming teams of students from across the state. Students explored investing at Vanguard, connected with crew members across the business, and experienced the trade floor firsthand. The result? An engaging, inspiring day that students described as unforgettable and one of the highlights of their school year. We’re proud to support financial education and help the next generation learn, grow, and see what’s possible. https://lnkd.in/e44YqWSk #LifeAtVanguard #MyClassroomEconomy #MyCommunity365

Brokerages are rolling out investment and trading accounts aimed at teens, including some that don’t require a parent’s approval. Here’s what you need to know: •Who has control? New accounts from Schwab and Fidelity give teens more independence than traditional custodial accounts. •What do the accounts allow? The Schwab and Fidelity accounts that let teens place trades don’t allow riskier trades, such as options or margin trading, Otherwise, both allow most U.S. stocks, some ETFs and mutual funds. •Do the accounts affect financial aid? Financial accounts owned by a teen would typically be considered student assets, which are assessed more heavily than parent assets in the financial-aid formula. Read more: 🔗 https://on.wsj.com/4cs1o8W

This is the 2025 summer intern for the program I created with the support of former colleagues Kenneth Coleman and Kristen Lucas . We could not be more proud of Aleka Dodla and our partnership with Laurel School . When I retired from the firm in 2024, my only ask ( and instead of the big party they wanted to throw me) was to ensure this program continued to introduce young women to our industry. When I participated at a think tank about 10 years ago with InvestmentNews led by Suzanne Siracuse , I knew we had to get to the young women earlier than college if possible. (Thanks Suz for inspiring me and Kristen for being the energetic boots on the ground support) . This has been a win for the women, a win for the school, a win for the firm and a win for the industry. If you are interested in doing something similar don’t hesitate to reach out or ask me to speak at your program. What will you do to attract more smart, dynamic women to the industry? #investinwomen #futurewomenadvisors #impact #lumathrive

Gen Z absorbed every financial education framework available. Yet the wealth transfer data shows they're 40% less wealthy than millennials at the same age. The education-to-outcome gap isn't a knowledge problem—it's a system design flaw. --- I've observed this working with thousands of Gen Z: They can recite compound interest formulas. Explain index funds. Debate crypto. They're still living paycheck to paycheck. Why? Financial education teaches *what to do*, not *how to think about money*. The frameworks are everywhere. YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, apps. Yet the Federal Reserve data is clear: knowledge isn't moving the needle. The real problem? Traditional financial education skips the foundational mindset work. You can know budgeting inside-out but sabotage yourself with scarcity thinking. You can understand investing but freeze when volatility hits because no one taught you emotional resilience around money. The first step isn't about numbers—it's about rewiring how you *relate* to money. Then comes the system to actually build financial freedom. But here's the key: once you're trained, it's repeatable for life. The gap between Gen Z's financial knowledge and their actual wealth isn't about smarter advice. It's about whether the system teaches you to *think* differently first. Do you see this pattern in your own financial journey—knowledge without the mindset shift?